Sticking Throttle

[pezzonovante88]

Lately, at a stop my idle will suddenly stick at 2000rpm. When I touch the gas pedal it goes back to its normal idle (rev hunting - that's another story). Then today when I took the car out the pedal was REALLY stiff. It caught me off-guard and almost stalled it. While driving along, I gave the gas pedal a quick tap and things went back to normal. Could it be the pedal itself or more likely something with the throttle cable? Anyone have this happen before?

[sdg3205]

It could be some rust or crud in the cable line or perhaps your butterfly valves are not returning to home base properly.

Try cleaning the cable (you can use compressed air) or oiling it and check the springs on the spool and throttle arms are not catching.

[pezzonovante88]

It could be some rust or crud in the cable line or perhaps your butterfly valves are not returning to home base properly.

Try cleaning the cable (you can use compressed air) or oiling it and check the springs on the spool and throttle arms are not catching.

I sprayed some WD40 on the spool. I'll go from there. Thanks.

[sdg3205]

I sprayed some WD40 on the spool. I'll go from there. Thanks.

That could help, but it's what's under the spool which will cause resistance. There is a plastic sheath that might be gummed up.

[pezzonovante88]

That could help, but it's what's under the spool which will cause resistance. There is a plastic sheath that might be gummed up.

Okay. I'll have to take a look tomorrow. Thanks again.

[AdmiralSenn]

Uhh.. WD40 is not a lubricant. It is a water displacer.

You may find the situation worse in a while when it dries up. Try using some penetrating oil instead?

[dvonk]

Uhh.. WD40 is not a lubricant. It is a water displacer.

You may find the situation worse in a while when it dries up. Try using some penetrating oil instead?

+1, i use it to clean gunk off of parts, but it is not a lubricant... it will collect dirt and dust.

[Ron]

Check the strap(s) holding the cable sheath near the spool end...

[David T]

It really could be anything in the entire throttle control system from the cable to the throttle spool, and quadrant link. When you have a problem like this the best advice is to just go over the whole thing from the pedal to the throttle plates. Lubricate the cable as per the recall, disassemble, clean, and lubricate everything else. If the cable is fraying and you have loose strands it should be replaced. Make sure the carpet and floor mats do not interfere with the pedal or cable.
David Teitelbaum

[Rich]

+1, i use it to clean gunk off of parts, but it is not a lubricant... it will collect dirt and dust.

+1 on using WD-40 for cleaning, not as a long-term lube in dirty environments.

WD-40 is OK for the cleaning step if the cable is gunked at the end of the sheath near the throttle spool. Brake cleaner works well, too. After the cleanup go in with a proper cable lube or lithium grease spray. Or even nothing at all, after it's cleaned up.

Clean the cable-sheath - if it's dirty at the end - whether this is your throttle-sticking cause or not. WD-40 might have been used there by the PO. You want it to be clean and free to move.

[Martyn]

I had a simular problem over the weekend.
Turned out the ball joint on the bottom of the throttle spool which the throttle linkage connects to had play init.
just that little bit of play upset the running mainly on tick over.
Because of The play in the ball joint the throttle linkage was not pushing the micro switch back and hence ticking over at 2000rpm.
All i did was pop the linkage off and put a bit of super glue in the hole and it's solid.

[DMCMW Dave]

I had a simular problem over the weekend.
Turned out the ball joint on the bottom of the throttle spool which the throttle linkage connects to had play init.
just that little bit of play upset the running mainly on tick over.
Because of The play in the ball joint the throttle linkage was not pushing the micro switch back and hence ticking over at 2000rpm.
All i did was pop the linkage off and put a bit of super glue in the hole and it's solid.

That will wear. The more permanant fix would be to loosen the lock nut on the link rod, pop the linkage back off and unscrew the ball end one turn.

[Martyn]

I hear what your saying Dave as I tried that,but you still have that play on the ball joint which the throttle linkage (spool end) can't loose.
As soon as you tickle that throttle with your foot all your doing is moving the play in the ball joint.

[Grover]

That will wear. The more permanant fix would be to loosen the lock nut on the link rod, pop the linkage back off and unscrew the ball end one turn.

:thumbup:

[Martyn]

All i'm saying is,it worked for me and your right in that the glue probably wont hold forever but I know now what the problem is, and at some point will need to replace the throttle control because of the play in the ball joint.
It's just a shame that the ball joint is rivited and not screwed in.

[dmc6960]

All i'm saying is,it worked for me and your right in that the glue probably wont hold forever but I know now what the problem is, and at some point will need to replace the throttle control because of the play in the ball joint.
It's just a shame that the ball joint is rivited and not screwed in.

I was able to fix this very play in the throttle arm ball by striking it with a hammer on a hard surface. Unsure if the same fix would work or not on the spool, but if your faced with buying another (when it comes to that) you can always give it a shot.

[Bitsyncmaster]

You can buy ball joint linkage parts. I bet you can make it better than stock parts.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=580351

[Martyn]

Cheers guys :thumbup: