Pride hatch/fuel release

[F3BZ]

i was trying to get the OEM KIA remote levers for the LHD 2 door Pride but everything is unavailable sooo how bout the remote set up from the german 4 door Pride WAGON? cables are just a little longer. 4GREEN showed that one available so i took a shot and ordered it. from what i see, it should be a no- brainer install. there is already a square hole and mounting bolt hole punched into the floorpan of the U.S. Festiva right where this goes. just have to slit the carpet. i'll get a list together of the parts needed for the complete installation. this was a phenominal deal at under $20. i especially dig the pictogram on the hatch lever. looks just like a 2 door Festiva!

[MONSOON]

Ive got the same set up with the clips and everything needed. May have to modify it to work on a Festiva since it came from a 90 or so Protege. But I seen no reason it couldnt work with just a little fab work.

[F3BZ]

it took awhile for 4GREEN to ship the latest package but i didn't want to list the parts needed until i was sure they were correct. just to quickly recap, i had been trying to find the cable releasev set-up for the 2DOOR Festiva/Pride/121 LHD car but they were no longer available from 4GREEN. a seller on Ebay.DE has had a new Mazda assembly for sale for awhile but the price is high and the levers probably have orange pictograms. looking through the German parts for the Kia Pride 4DOOR wagon, i noticed that the release levers looked the same as the 2DOOR and hatch striker plate and gas door latch are also the same. the only difference should be the length of the cables since the wagon is a bit longer than the 2 or 4DOOR hatch cars. there are part numbers for the 2DOOR for just the cables but once again, these too were no longer available. it was important to get the parts for a LHD car because i believe the welded nut on the back of the lever mounting plate would be on the opposite side on a RHD lever assembly and wouldn't bolt in to the existing hole in the U.S. Festiva. here is a pic of the square mounting hole in the Festiva that is covered by the carpet. the lever assembly inserts into the hole and is anchored with 1 bolt through the hole marked with the red arrow. (the larger round hole to the left is the left front drivers seat mounting hole)



the hardest, or at least most time consuming part of the job is going to be routing the cables. you will have to remove the carpets and rear interior panels to run and anchor the cables to the floorpan. it is important because of the extra length of these cables that the excess length is gently curved and not coiled. too tight of a bend will cause the ball at the end of the braided inner cable to retract and your release levers will have little or no movement to actuate the cable. just make sure there is as much braided cable showing after the install as there was when the cables were laid out straight on the ground. i don't have a LHD 2DOOR cable set to compare with but my guess is that there is about a foot more cable here than you need and it would be difficult to shorten them since the ends have the puck and ball soldered to the braided wire cable. here is a pic of the special striker for the hatch. it's the same as the one in the Festiva except for the spring loaded post/tab. when the lever is pulled, the cable pulls that tab to the right and kicks the metal finger hanging from your existing hatch latch mechanism to pop the latch. this is the tab you can use to lock the hatch before you shut it without using a key. Kia Prides with the remote hatch release have a different part number for the hatch strut. i am assuming this strut has a little higher pressure to pop the hatch open a little when you use the lever. i don't know if the standard Festiva strut will work but the special strut is a $50 item.



here is the termination for the fuel door. you can re-use your existing spring clip but the Kia part is very cheap and comes with the rubber snubber. be sure to at least order the rubber grommet you see behind the spring clip. it fits tightly over the cable casing and has a lip to hold it into the sheet metal. you will have to drill a hole of course in the filler pipe bucket. i will give the size and location for the hole shortly once i take apart the clip and cable from the car it is on. you might need or have to borrow a right angle drill for this if you can't drill it from inside the car. there is a rubber mounting bushing towards the end of the gas door cable that MUST be anchored. also, Kia shows that there is a small flat spring that attaches to the hinge of the gas door to help pop it open but that is no longer available but the JDM car that is pictured doesn't have one and the door seems to open enough to fully open it with your fingers.



OK, finally here are the part numbers if you want the convenience of a factory remote release system. the cable/lever assembly as shown at the beginning of this thread is KK310 56 850. this is a STEAL at under $20. the grommet is KB048 42 453. the rear striker is KD001 62 361. about $5. and the gas door spring clip is KD001 62 361. the hatch striker is black powder coat. Kia didn't get fancy with gold anodized. these parts were still available from 4GREEN as of march.



here is a quick pic of how the cables attach to the plates

[PhoenixSHO]

ure the best F3 , awesome writeup

[bravekozak]

That's funny. A day or two before I go to Lewiston to pick up some Four Green stuff, you publish a picture of the part I ordered for my shaved gas filler door release that I was intending to adapt to my actuator. I have decided to go electric. I didn't feel like snaking cables. The only trouble with electric, is you have to run the wires down the other side of the car. The wire bundle going into the hatch is maximum on the left side. So, I am going up the empty right side. It's almost the same amount of work as you are doing.

[sketchman]

Wow. Thanks. Repped.

[F3BZ]

thanks for the great feedback. i hope to soon have pics of actual install on a gutted mule. forgot to mention it might be best to cut the hole for the levers before removing carpet. you should be able to feel it behind the carpet and carve it out. it's possible that the plastic finishing trim escution from an escort/tracer could painted to match your interior and be slipped over the levers to make a neater install.

[F3BZ]

gerard pointed out an error here. the fuel door spring clip part# was given wrong. the correct number for that part is KDA01 42 450.