Help please?? Throttle linkage assembly - how easy to fix?

[blueyonder]

Only had the Chim a week and I've broken down already!!!! Typical, it would happen on such a gorgeous day.....roof off, shades on. I suppose I need to be thankful for small mercies.....it could have been raining!

Driving along and suddenly nothing from the throttle pedal. Coasted into a side road, engine was ticking over OK but nothing from the throttle pedal! Called Al (Burriana) for any pointers and suggested I look at the throttle linkage at the plenum to see if I could move it and rev the engine. Went to twist the throttle arm and the shaft that goes into the nut with the spring around it came away from the plenum end. The throttle cable is still attached at the linkage end so I don't think the cable has snapped. It appears that a bolt that holds the linkage to the plate at the bulkhead end has worked loose and dropped out. I found the nut resting on the rocker cover, no sign of the bolt though!! This has made the linkage loose and allows the shaft to come out of the plenum end.

Al suggested speaking to Del(Seasider)for advice, what a star Guided me through a fix that involved wedging a stick between the linkage plate and the arm to stop the shaft from coming out, then initially wedged a five pence piece under the stop on the plenum which set the revs at 2,000 RPM. That going me going and I crawled along holding all the Saturday traffic up This was too slow so decided to pull over and wedge a small pebble under the stop and that got me 3,000 Rpm...much better, got me home.

Big, Big respect and thanks to Al & Del for helping me out

Now I need help please.....has anyone attempted to remove the throttle assembly from the plenum? How easy is it? Will all the springs stay in place or will they ping out? I need to replace the bolt and I may not be able to do it without undoing the 3 bolts that hold the assembly to the plenum (access is a bit tight)- might give it a try though, if I can get this nut and bolt replaced it should hold the linkage in place and fingers crossed, should fix the problem. It doesn't look like a major job (famous last words).

Any tips/advice greatly appreciated. Should I even attempt this or should I get it to my nearest TVR garage, David Geralds in Inkberrow - would they come out to me to fix it? Anyone know of anybody in the Evesham area who would come out and fix it for me?

Thanks as always for any help....it's greatly appreciated

Edited by blueyonder on Saturday 3rd February 18:46

Edited by blueyonder on Saturday 3rd February 18:55

[Roberto Rica]

Hi Ron

Did you get the AA cover with Parts and Labour?

If so you should have just called the AA - they would have taken you to David Geralds and paid (all but 25quid)for the repair too.

Rob

[blueyonder]

Hi Rob

Only got basic AA cover with my Lloyds TSB bank account and also I wasn't sure if I was more than 1 1/2 miles away from home.

As I only got the car last weekend I was still contemplating the various merits of upgrading my AA to include Relay, Homestart and the repair service vs RAC and a Green Flag type cover offered to me by Mannings who insured the Chim. I hadn't decided yet not expecting to breakdown so soon. Heard conflicting things re the AA breakdown repair cover in that there are strict conditions re having the car seriviced at the recommended intervals/car being less than 10 yrs old e.t.c. Still might be worth it for £65 extra.

If I don't go for that then £79.99 for RAC's Solution 3 will have to do and at least I know they'll take the car to DG's if they can't fix it at the side of the road....it would just mean paying for parts (side of the road) or parts & labour if DG's have to do the work?? Dilemmas, dilemmas!!

Anyway need to get this throttle fixed first.

Edited by blueyonder on Saturday 3rd February 22:15

[GreenV8S]

It's easy enough to do if you can get access, I imagine it would be a pig to do it in situ on a Chimaera though because of that mesh panel over it. I haven't quite figured out which bolt it was that came loose on yours, but if you have any chance at all of just putting it back as it stands that will probably be the easier option.

[blueyonder]

Well I have the nut so I need to find a bolt that fits it. Would prefer to try and replace it in situ but I imagine that it will be awkward to get to as it's the hole at the bottom of the linkage plate underneath the shaft, looks fiddly!! Would taking the 2 springs off make it any easier?

[seasider]

blueyonder said:

Would taking the 2 springs off make it any easier?

Might give you a bit more access if its the bolt i'm thinking of & nothing should fall off if you remove them

Also anytime mate just prefer not just before the Rugby

[blueyonder]

seasider said:

blueyonder said:

Would taking the 2 springs off make it any easier?

Might give you a bit more access if its the bolt i'm thinking of & nothing should fall off if you remove them

Also anytime mate just prefer not just before the Rugby

Cheers Del....got to see most of the Rugby though. Wilkinson was awesome, good to see him back.

Might have a go at fixing it tomorrow...and then get it to DG's who could have a look at it for me to check that it's secure.

[oggs]

These Griff owners come in useful sometimes dont they

[blueyonder]

oggs said:

These Griff owners come in useful sometimes dont they

[spend]

IIRC there are three small bolts (with lock washers) that hold the throttle linkage assembly on to the plenum (no nuts ~ tapped directly into the plenum ~ well the normal ally one anyway?). I wouldnt attempt to replace them without tweezers, magnetic pickup... It may be worth reassembling with a dab of loctite. Any LR place should be able to supply the bolts & washers, or even a decent fixings specialist.

I cant fathom the nut bit tho....

Dave

[seasider]

From what Ron said i think the three bolts are ok, it sounded like the plate/bracket right next the bulkhead was moving. On mine it has a small nut/bolt just under the throttle spindle. Is this the one thats missing Ron ?

oggs said:

These Griff owners come in useful sometimes dont they

Do i know you

blueyonder said:

roof off

You've mastered that then

[blueyonder]

spend said:

IIRC there are three small bolts (with lock washers) that hold the throttle linkage assembly on to the plenum (no nuts ~ tapped directly into the plenum ~ well the normal ally one anyway?). I wouldnt attempt to replace them without tweezers, magnetic pickup... It may be worth reassembling with a dab of loctite. Any LR place should be able to supply the bolts & washers, or even a decent fixings specialist.

I cant fathom the nut bit tho....

Dave

Thanks Dave....sorry I may have not described the nut bit correctly - unfortunately I'm not a mechanic. It's not any of the bolts that hold the linkage to the plenum (those are the ones I would need to take off to remove the throttle linkage which would give me easier access to the offending area)they're all OK, it's at the other end of the linkage, where the throttle cable is attached. There's a hole at the bottom end of the plate that has the pivoting arm with the 2 springs attached, where I assume the bolt fits through the plate and holds the pivoting arm in place thus preventing the shaft form coming out at the plenum end.

I assume taking the bolts out that hold the linkage to the plenum won't be a problem?

Edited by blueyonder on Saturday 3rd February 22:40

[blueyonder]

seasider said:

From what Ron said i think the three bolts are ok, it sounded like the plate/bracket right next the bulkhead was moving. On mine it has a small nut/bolt just under the throttle spindle. Is this the one thats missing Ron ?

you just pre-empted my last post

[blueyonder]

seasider said:

blueyonder said:

roof off

You've mastered that then

Oh Yes...and what a day for it! Shame I couldn't enjoy it for long

[spend]

If its the 2 fixings that sandwich the 2 brackets together ~ my LR docs say 1 is a screw (1/4'' UNF x 1/2'') and the other is a nut (10 UNF) and bolt (SCREW-10 UNF x 7/16''), both are fitted with spring washers. From Land Rover Indies they should only cost @ £1 I reckon (duplicates / tweezers / magnets..... & magnifying glass + hands of a ladies doctor required I reckon )

Dave

[blueyonder]

spend said:

If its the 2 fixings that sandwich the 2 brackets together ~ my LR docs say 1 is a screw (1/4'' UNF x 1/2'') and the other is a nut (10 UNF) and bolt (SCREW-10 UNF x 7/16''), both are fitted with spring washers. From Land Rover Indies they should only cost @ £1 I reckon (duplicates / tweezers / magnets..... & magnifying glass + hands of a ladies doctor required I reckon )

Dave

Cheers Dave

Is it still a good idea to remove the linkage from the plenum to make it easier to get to the brackets?

[spend]

I would have a try first, if it is just the nut & bolt that are missing. Spin the braket to line up the holes & push the bolt thru. May need a bit of Heat Robinson like ringspanner + plasticine/blu tack to keep nut in, but with a bit of care I'd try it. If you cant manage it, then strip it off ; you just might be lucky, get a couple & you wont lose anything even if you drop one?

Any small nut & bolt should suffice as a temp fix to get you going, providing we are talking about the same fixing (but I only know of the 5 we've mentioned in that complete unit). I would have thought the AA/RAC would have been able to get one out of their bits kit straight away.


Dave

[blueyonder]

spend said:

I would have a try first, if it is just the nut & bolt that are missing. Spin the braket to line up the holes & push the bolt thru. May need a bit of Heat Robinson like ringspanner + plasticine/blu tack to keep nut in, but with a bit of care I'd try it. If you cant manage it, then strip it off ; you just might be lucky, get a couple & you wont lose anything even if you drop one?

Any small nut & bolt should suffice as a temp fix to get you going, providing we are talking about the same fixing (but I only know of the 5 we've mentioned in that complete unit). I would have thought the AA/RAC would have been able to get one out of their bits kit straight away.


Dave

Cheers Dave...might be a trip to B&Q tomorrow for some nuts & bolts then an attempt at a temporary fix to get the car to David Geralds for a permanent and hopefully inexpensive fix

Wasn't certain if I was more than 1 1/2 miles from home... see my earlier post re AA/RAC.

I'll keep you posted and thanks for the tips

[spend]

Maybe I was being too subtle? I wonder if you just happened to drive it to a pub about 2 miles away for Sun Lunch....

Dave

[victormeldrew]

For the work involved (6 bolts) I'd suggest you not p*ss about with removing the linkage and take the plenum off instead.