throttle cable trouble, sleeve broken, stuck in tube... Options

[lotus_65]

My throttle cable broke at the carb linkage so it needed to be replaced. No big deal, right?

Unfortunately the white plastic sleeve is broken at the firewall and WILL NOT BUDGE. Won't pull, won't push.

I can (barely) get a needle nose on it, but it seems bound up inside the tube somewhere. I haven't pulled the cable out of the sleeve yet, as I had hoped to attach a string to help the new cable into place.

I also dis-assembled the interior to get at the tunnel from the shifter, but there's no obvious advantage there. I ALMOST bought a sawzall to cut another access panel there, but came off that ledge... for now.

What a PITA. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

Anyone?
paul

[Cap'n Krusty]

First of all, using the old cable to pull a new one through is gonna be more trouble than just pushing the new one through the tube. It can only go in the right place, so the other cable is redundant. As you've noticed, the tube is just barely big enough to allow the end of the cable to pass through, and in many cases you have to sand/grind the swedge to make it fit. You're gonna have to pull the cable and the sleeve together, and pray that the end of the cable doesn't bunch up the sleeve and REALLY plug it up. I've used a VW bus solid wire heater cable and a drill to ream the tube, first just getting the wire through, then adding a little tiny bend at the end to cut through the plastic. It can take hours!

The Cap'n

[lotus_65]

I was hoping you'd chime in, Cap'n!
i actually think the old one is bound up really bad. until I can get the broken sleeve out i won't know the rest.
what about a heat gun in the tunnel to hopefully expand the tube a bit? i'd be worried about melting the sleeve... i assume it shouldn't be lubricated.

[lotus_65]

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[iamchappy]

Need help.....

[lotus_65]

Thanks for the new cable, chappy~

After sleeping on it, here are the things I plan on doing:

First, I'll try adding a washer to the pedal assembly end that is slightly smaller than the I.D. of the tube and try to pull the assembly towards the back. If I can get a little sheath to emerge I can get a vice grip on it and start twisting/working it out.
I might add some heat to the tunnel in hopes of expanding the steel tube and loosening it's grip on the sheath.

If that doesn't work, I'll roughen the cable or add some type of barbs to it and reinsert it from the firewall hoping to find grip when I pull it back out.

If all else fails I'll use the cable as a reamer on my drill and grind the sheath from the inside. I don't want to do this, it'll be a stinking mess and I'll have no assurances that I get the whole sheath out, but it's all I can think of.

Maybe I'll take some pics...

[lotus_65]

... so it looks like i'll have to drop the fcuking motor over this. i've pulled the cable until it started breaking strands, getting maybe 18 inches of the sheath out. I think the swedge is now lodged in the tube (yipee!).

i believe i'll have to push/bore from the firewall. i just need a snake about 3/32" in diameter with a boring tip.

anyone got one?

[lotus_65]

...so who knew i'd have to drop the motor?

what a complete clusterfcuk. pics in a little while.

oh by the way, my car is for sale.

[iamchappy]

No way you should have to drop the engine to fix the cable, I offered to help.

Dont sell your car over this....

[jhadler]

Little did I know that I'd find myself in a similar position this weekend. I'm now workin' on the throttle cable replacement bit too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

Seems the threaded end for the pedal cluster is kinda stuck in the middle of the guide tube in the tunnel. I thinking of just cutting the end off, and pulling it through, but if there's something that will prevent my new cable (thanks Gint!!) from going in, I'd be hosed. The idea of attaching the cable to a drill and letting the rod end on the cable do some reaming sounds interesting, but I'd be affraid of breaking it off in the tube, then I'd be double hosed.

Well... Back to it... I'll see what happens...

-Josh2

[Brando]

I had the same problem when my throttle cable broke. Only difference is as I tried to pull the rest of my cable through, it snapped. Just fucking great, I thought. 4 hours to undo the damage of a bent throttle cable tube, which was the original caust of the problem.

Take your time, be patient. If you get the big (threaded) end of the throttle cable stuck in the sleeve, try going back the opposite way. Get a pair of locking vice grips and try to hold the tip in place while you pull the sleeve out. I have seen on many occasions that the tube for the throttle cable is bent, too small or somehow rough or jagged inside. This makes removal all but easy. I had to coordinate a method of pulling towards the pedal cluster and out the back to stop the sheath from binding on the cable itself. Over the course of an hour (final hour) I had the last broken off segment of cable out of the car. After which I reamed the tube for the cable a little larger. Slid the new one in and vigorously lubed the entry wound.

Time and patience. If you must at all resort to destruction, cut a very very small hole around the tube and weld in a new, straight and unmolested tube.

[jhadler]

Okay, cable in...

I had problems with the threaded end getting jammed in the tube. I wound up just giving it a pretty good tug, and out it came. Then I realized... how the heck to I get the new one in??? Took a little while to figure it out (even tried reaming the tube with a piece of galvanized steel wire), then came upon my solution. Feed in the cable till it hit the snag, then fed in a 1/8" fiberglass rod to force the threaded end further in. Worked like a charm. I would think a 1/8" welding rod would work as well.

I know most people just don't have a 1/8" fiberglass rod sitting around...

-Josh2

[Brando]

To get mine back in, had to use a long 1/8" drift punch. Tap tap tap, in it went.

I think at a later date when the engine pull happens, I'm going to cut and weld in a new one, that's straight and longer than the stock one, maybe so i can prevent clutch cable and throttle cable wrap-arounds.

[lotus_65]

i haven't checked this thread in a while, still a little pissed. thanks for the comparisons.

in summary, i tried pulling from the rear until some strands of the cable started breaking.
i cut a large access hole in the tunnel between the existing one up front and the shifter mount area. from there i tried 1/8th inch steel rods from the home store but i had little area to create leverage unless i cut the tunnel comletely to the pedal assembly and i wasn't willing to do that.

with the access point so high in the firewall i couldn't create the leverage needed to push out the front so out came the motor.

i was able to re-thread the cable so the swedged end could pull towards the front.
i assembled a pulley to the pedal assembly access hole and mounted a come-along to the rafters in the garage. i really should have taken a pic as it would have illustrated the frustrations of this event well.

anyway i was then able to apply very strong pressure with that, while simultaniously hammering ever longer peices of (upgraded) 3/16th" steel rod as hard as i could.
i could only increase the length of the rod an inch-inch and a half or it would bend under the power of my fury.
20 minutes of that was all it could take and finally relented. but the fun wasn't over.

then i bought a threaded 1/8th inch rod and grooved it, torqued it, bent it until it started grinding through the mess inside the tube.
it's hard to describe the black, junk that came out. all i can say is i can see why it was so tough.

days and days of thinking, doing, failing, planning, buying, doing, failing, buying, trying, buying, thinking, trying, failing. you get the idea.

these pics are of my boring tool. anyone wanna buy it... onethousanddollarsamerican! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[lotus_65]

lastly, i determined the throttle cable hat was never installed completely over the tube. this allowed the grime and grease to accumulate in the depths of the tube and over time fused the nylon to the tube wall and created the issue.

check your tube end.

if the cable is original, and not mounted completely over the tube... there's a good chance you'll be having fun replacing it.

my car's a good car, and it's for sale.

i'll be putting an ad up when i collect appropriate images.

that is all.

[jhadler]

So... now why is my brand new throttle cable sticking???

It's not "catching", it's just sticky. Resists movement in both directions. Not severely, but enough so the pedal doesn't follow my foot when I lift.

Thoughts???

-Josh2

[lotus_65]

josh2, my guess is that the throttle cable is wrapped around the clutch cable, it wouldn't take much. i never would have known the risk of getting the cables tangled had i not cut my tunnel open.
here's a couple pics of the tunnel in case you haven't seen it:

[jhadler]

I thought that. But I figured that if I didn't feel any motion or vibration in the throttle cable when actuating the clutch, that the clutch cable wasn't involved. I could be wrong, and if I can figure out a way to take a look in there, I'll definitely be doing that. Of course, that's the most likely spot for trouble... So I'll probably pull it and reinsert it...

-Josh2

[lotus_65]

maybe try and position a mirror down there with a light. let me know what u find.

[2-OH!]

I used the isolation trick, isolate the problem first:

If you can get a helper, disconnect the throttle cable at both ends with it hanging straight out under the car, fully installed in the tube...Get it as straight as you can, front to back...

One person holds on to it at the pedal cluster, one person holds on to it underneath the muffler/car...Play push pull in unison and see if you have any binding...If it slides smooth, then attach it to the pedal...One person holds on to the cable end, the other actuates the pedal...Still smooth, then route and hook up a little along until you find where it's binding...Only one kink or hook up at a time so you can isolate the problem area...Then you know what to fix...

2-OH!