Throttle cable replacement.
Discussion
Hi all.
Thankfully on the driveway today, the throttle pedal sank to the floor and has gone floppy. I've had a look at the linkage, the cable seems to have popped off - the ball bearing seems to have popped off its slot.
Do I need a new cable - if so, how simple are they to replace. I really don't want to have the car recovered for something so small!
Thanks.
Thankfully on the driveway today, the throttle pedal sank to the floor and has gone floppy. I've had a look at the linkage, the cable seems to have popped off - the ball bearing seems to have popped off its slot.
Do I need a new cable - if so, how simple are they to replace. I really don't want to have the car recovered for something so small!
Thanks.
This happened to me over a year ago, I pulled out the old broken inner cable threaded a brake cable from a mountain bike in to the old sleeve then fitted an adjustable nipple I got from the motorist centre, total job cost less than £5, a fraction of the price for a full cable and much easier to fit. I now carry a spare cable and nipple in the boot....just in case!!!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dave.hinns/files/Joos...
At the bottom you will find pictures and description of how to do it.
At the bottom you will find pictures and description of how to do it.
I had to do this during the summer - I got a replacement cable and had a couple of challenges whilst fitting :
- the top of the accelerator pedal has a slot with a hole, in which the nipple end of the accelerator cable sits. The slot however, has been squeezed shut so I could fit the new cable into it. This entailed removing the accelerator padal (and mine had a UNF sized bolt holding it on!) and then opening it up in a vice. Refitting it with the cable attached meant I couldn't get any pliers etc to squeeze the slot back together - fortunately the tension of the spring holds it all together quite niceley.
- the new cable's fitting was different to the old one so I had to fettle it to fit in the bracket in the footwell.
Otherwise not too bad a job, apart from the fact the you are working upside down in the dark, with no shoulder room. If you're a big build it would have been very difficult to get access....
HTH
- the top of the accelerator pedal has a slot with a hole, in which the nipple end of the accelerator cable sits. The slot however, has been squeezed shut so I could fit the new cable into it. This entailed removing the accelerator padal (and mine had a UNF sized bolt holding it on!) and then opening it up in a vice. Refitting it with the cable attached meant I couldn't get any pliers etc to squeeze the slot back together - fortunately the tension of the spring holds it all together quite niceley.
- the new cable's fitting was different to the old one so I had to fettle it to fit in the bracket in the footwell.
Otherwise not too bad a job, apart from the fact the you are working upside down in the dark, with no shoulder room. If you're a big build it would have been very difficult to get access....
HTH
Edited by Bollycerb on Saturday 8th October 20:03
Sorted it tonight chaps but just need to clarify a couple of things. To start from the beginning, I took the F1 panel off for access - when I mentioned a ball bearing in my OP, I was talking about the cable at the engine and throttle linkage end as opposed to the pedal end. I gave the cable a tug from the engine bay and it was quite clear that the cable hadn't snapped. So I went into the driver's footwell to see why the throttle pedal would go so floppy, and sure enough the nippled end of the cable had popped off the accelerator pedal.
Now the nipple wasn't lost so that's just slotted back into place on the end of the pedal, but is it not worth plugging a bit of silicone sealant in the slot to hold it in place indefinitely?
Secondly, upon connecting at the pedal end and then heading back to the engine bay, I've rehooked the cable around the arc on the end of the throttle linkage bar and the ball bearing on that end LOOKS as though as it has its own slot too. But, I'm about 2cm away from engaging it properly, if that makes sense. I've taken a photo to make explanation easier:
So, the ball bearing in the red circle should come around the arc in the yellow circle, and then the ball bearing by my reckoning should settle in the slot in the blue circle, is that correct? Currently the ball bearing is sitting a couple of centimetres shy of that area but the throttle is engaging fine. JensenA has mentioned cable adjustment - is that an easy job and necessary to do?
Lastly, there seems to be a little click coming from the throttle pedal when you put your foot down. The pedal was doing this intermittently before it gave up the ghost the other day, so not necessarily related to what I've done tonight. Apologies for the rambling post, even the simplest of tasks confuse me.
Now the nipple wasn't lost so that's just slotted back into place on the end of the pedal, but is it not worth plugging a bit of silicone sealant in the slot to hold it in place indefinitely?
Secondly, upon connecting at the pedal end and then heading back to the engine bay, I've rehooked the cable around the arc on the end of the throttle linkage bar and the ball bearing on that end LOOKS as though as it has its own slot too. But, I'm about 2cm away from engaging it properly, if that makes sense. I've taken a photo to make explanation easier:
So, the ball bearing in the red circle should come around the arc in the yellow circle, and then the ball bearing by my reckoning should settle in the slot in the blue circle, is that correct? Currently the ball bearing is sitting a couple of centimetres shy of that area but the throttle is engaging fine. JensenA has mentioned cable adjustment - is that an easy job and necessary to do?
Lastly, there seems to be a little click coming from the throttle pedal when you put your foot down. The pedal was doing this intermittently before it gave up the ghost the other day, so not necessarily related to what I've done tonight. Apologies for the rambling post, even the simplest of tasks confuse me.
Read through the link yes Mike, cheers. Looks like the 13mm nut is what I need to loosen to adjust the cable. I've been at work, day off tomorrow so I'll have another look at it in the morning. Haven't driven her for a week now. Feeling very irritable with people as a result. 
Looks like I'll need the engine running?
Looks like I'll need the engine running?
Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff