Peter,

I just did this on my 87 Syncro.  The cable goes through some tight
quarters on its way past the trans and gas tank and up into the engine
bay.  What made the job much easier was that I attached a length of appox
12 gauge electrical wire to the engine end of the throttle cable, made
sure the connection was tight and pulled the throttle cable out from
underneath the middle of the van from where it attaches to a support
bracket bolted to the frame.  Now the throttle cable was lying on the
gargage floor but I had a nice 12 gauge wire tracing the path the new
cable had to be routed through.  I connected the new cable to the 12
gauge wire and had my nine year old apprentice mechanic pull on the wire
from the engine bay while I coaxed, poked, and proded a bit underneath
the van.  The new throttle cable pulled into place along the path of the
old quite easily.  I then fed the pedal end up through the plastic
conduit to the front of the vehicle, bolted the ends to their anchors,
and again with the help of my young apprentice tested the action.  Nice
and smooth, no binding!

Hope all goes as well for you,

Tony

Anthony L. Mourkas, Chief Wrench
Michael A. Mourkas, Apprentice
Hampden, Maine, USA
1984 Vanagon Westfalia
1987 Vanagon GL Syncro
1991 Jetta Eco Diesel