Throttle cable

[Eldon Webb]

H elp!I have excessive play in the throttle cable on my 01 ST . How do I take this out?:unsure:

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

There was a post on doing that. It deals with putting "zip strips" on the cable just above the pedal. Do a search. It was awhile ago so do "all posts".



There are a few of them, but here is one:

 

[Eldon Webb]

Thanks, I will try it if I can get my big ass under there......:unsure:

 

[Todd Z]

Here is what happens if you do that and have a heavy lead foot....

If when you push your gas pedal to the floor it opens the throttle body to the plastic stop under the hood, DO NOT adjust the slack out... The spring on the pedal side is too strong if you hit that safety, and something will break..

Todd Z

[Broken External Image]:

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Eldon, I'm by no means a small guy. (far from it) It was a tight fit and not comfortable on the back. It took a couple of tries to get it figured out on the easiest way to do it but it can be done by a big guy.

 

[Johnny O]

Thanks, I will try it if I can get my big ass under there......

Your ass won't be the problem, it's shoulders that don't fit real well.

 

[Eldon Webb]

OK Todd Z, is there some adjustment under the hood? I noticed all this play after I removed the infamous Throttle body spacer. I had probaby 1/2 to 3/4 inch play. I have a row of zip ties on there now 1" long. I have a Haynes Ford Explorer Repair Manual which showes how to take the cable loose under the hood to service and adjust, but it doesn't show how to do it. Any ideas?

 

[Todd Z]

There is no adjustment under the hood either, You can bend the bracket a little, but this may cause the cable end to crack. You may be able to place some washers under the bracket, BUT again, You push the pedal to the floor and have some one look under the hood to see if the throttle hits the stop, IF it does, then you can not take out the slack, and IF you do you will break something..

Todd Z

 

[Fudged Undies]

What ToddZ said. I had the cable "mod" done and do have a heavy foot. On 7/4/2005 on my way to pick up a friend the cable snapped at the pedal. Not a big deal but the cable isn't a stocked part and took a week and about $35 to get a new one. Not difficult to replace either. Had to idle all the way back to the house. Needless to say the new cable doesn't have any zip ties on it.

 

[Yardsale]

This really is a matter of leaving "a little slack" in the cable. A couple of millimeters should ensure that nothing breaks. This is what I did several months ago and it's fine (knock on wood). I placed a heavy vise in the pedal, so that it was pushed as far as it would go. I marked the cable at the engine side and release the vise. I combined different cable ties to get the thickness I wanted, leaving a couple of millimeters slack.



FWIW - the truck is not really faster because of this change, but it does downshift at lower RPMs, so accelerates a bit better.