DIY Throttle Cable Fix

[MR-3vz]

Well I had a fraying throttle cable that was getting hung up at times when backing off the throttle... After further inspection I noticed that the throttle cable was fraying and was getting caught up not letting the cable slide smoothly to close the throttle plate. Well after a call to "SATAN" I was quoted around 80 bux for about 1.5feet of throttle cable. A bit much if you ask me, and im sure I could do this for cheaper. And this is my first attempt at a write up so if you require more info please let me know so I can make this as complete as possible.

Parts:
3/16 "Hanging Wire" ---------------------@ .23/ft - HomeDepot
1/4 Steel Round Solid Rod ----------- 3' @3.12 - HomeDepot
#6-32 x 1/4 In. Socket Set (2) Screw---- @ .52 - HomeDepot
HackSaw ------------------------------- @3.97 - HomeDepot
Extra Blades ---------------------------- @2.49 - HomeDepot
#8-32 Drill Bit & Tap Set -----------------@4.45 - HomeDepot



So well start with removing the throttle cable. Im not sure if these cars come more than one way, but the way my car is setup it has 2 halfs of a throttle cable. One for the pettle and the other half from a box to the throttle cable. That box has 3 cables coming out of it. One should be for the throttle, one should be for the cruise control, and one for the actual throttle body. Remove your passenger side engine cover. Under it should be the black box with the cables and a screw should be on the top of it. Remove the screw to remove the cover to gain access to the cables. After it is removed it should look like this.



Then you will remove the cable that links the throttle body to the box. You can remove the cable at the throttle body first so you have some slack to play with when removing the cable from the box. If your car is like mines the cable end will be stuck. What youll want to do now is remove the clip from the top of the shaft <<!!Becareful not to loose the washers ON TOP and UNDER the plastic pulleys!!>> Then youll want to use something slightly bigger than the opening of the barrel of the cable to brace the plastic while you tap the barrel end of the cable out.



Depending on the condition of your cable (which ill assume is not all that great, else why would u be looking at the write up) you might want to measure the cable from end to end and cut your new cable to that length <<!!the cable will untwist if not cut right!!>>. Then you'd want to cut your cable and remove it from the housing. I elected to spray some lubricant into the housing then run my new cable through the housing.



Now we'll work on making the barrel ends. Take your rod and place one end in the pulley and line it up. Mark where you want to make your cut.



Then push the rod in further till you see the line you made ontop of the pulley. Make another mark, these will be your new barrel ends for the cable. While your there, you might want to mark the center points where the cable will sit.





You will now want to cut the two tips off of the rod at the marked points. (Thats why we bought the HackSaw). After they have been cut off <<!!CAUTION THEY WILL BE HOT!!>> Your going to want to Drill out the center of the rod and tap it with the drill and tap set. <<!!CAUTION THEY WILL BE HOT!!>>



After you've drilled and tapped both ends, you'll want to drill your center hole <<!!ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH!!>>, this is what your cable will go through. (Start slow and work your way up with speed once your pilot divit has been made.) Once you've done that. Place your cable through the center and tighten your set screws on both sides to hold the cable in. Do this for both ends of the cable. After that is complete reinstall cable.

[masagsxr]

mods please sticky this one.

[MR-3vz]

Thanks, Trying to work on getting this put in the KB... But I'm putting alot of my work on this board so we can get it in the stickys and KB... I have one up for a DIY WB that I built.

JAW DIY WBo2 (Just Another Wideband)

-J

[Madlife]

I am having an issue where the pedal takes quite a bit of force to move. I checked the cable on the throttle body end, and it moves pretty freely.

Could it be that where the cables meet at this "box" need some lubrication? It is possible that it is the pedal itsself, but I want to know what to check for this week when i dive into it.

[simplesauce]

I have this same issue

[Gairloch]

Originally Posted by Madlife

I am having an issue where the pedal takes quite a bit of force to move. I checked the cable on the throttle body end, and it moves pretty freely.

Could it be that where the cables meet at this "box" need some lubrication? It is possible that it is the pedal itsself, but I want to know what to check for this week when i dive into it.

Originally Posted by simplesauce

I have this same issue

Do you guys have cruise control? I wonder if there is a vulnerability in the non-cruise cables; i've got a buddy that's got the same problem.

[MR-3vz]

Yes I have Cruise Control.

-J

[Gairloch]

Not you, Foo

-J

[MR-3vz]

Hahaha... you didnt specifiy... PUNK

-J

[Gairloch]

Don't know what quotes mean, SLACKER?

[MR-3vz]

Bah, who bothers to read anymore... Its such a passé thing now'days...

-J

[TomsMR2]

if the cables bad, the housing was bad a LONG time ago. they need to be replaced together.

thats a very ghetto fix that should be avoided unless you absolutely cant manage to scrounge up the 80 bucks for the toyota cable.. at which point you should start saving for that cable.

the cable housings arent nearly as durable as the steel cables.. its like doing an oil change but reusing your filter.

[AndrewMr2]

I have torn throttle cable on a 3S-GTE. What about just cuting off the bad end, then welding good end onto the other half?

[Mister2.2]

This may be a ghetto fix in a pinch method if you absolutely need your car and don't have the cash for cables, other than that buy the cable! Like Tom said your housing was probably bad long before the cable. There are certain things you just don't risk, throttle being one of them.

This is also one of those things you must note to the next buyer of your car if you're going to do this as well, and you'll be out more than the $80.

[TomsMR2]

this is the kinda crap you do when you're stuck on the side of the road 1000 miles from home and just need to limp back.

dont be ghetto. a throttle cable will last you 15 years, just do it right.

[AndrewMr2]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

this is the kinda crap you do when you're stuck on the side of the road 1000 miles from home and just need to limp back.

dont be ghetto. a throttle cable will last you 15 years, just do it right.

I agree. However a cable that is $120 which I was quoted today by the dealer is bad. Im ask Aaron for one

[Madlife]

Originally Posted by Gairloch

Do you guys have cruise control? I wonder if there is a vulnerability in the non-cruise cables; i've got a buddy that's got the same problem.

Yes the car has cruise control, but no it does not work. My car was a N/A with a GenII swapped in it and CC hasnt worked since I got it.

[midngn]

Any one have a diagram of this? I looked in the Service Manual and on Partznet, could not find it. My cable is fraying between the bracket and the throttle linkage. The other end seems to disappear into an junction(?) Did not try to pull it apart, was trying to see what it looks like.

Is this just a small section of cable that can be easily replaced or does it go from the pedal back to the linkage? I have a 91 Turbo with cruise/int. wipers. Anyone know the part #?

[dkay]

My mr2 has a real sensitive accelerator pedal. could this because of the throttle cable? like I press maybe 1 mm on my foot down and it goes from idle to about 1.5k rev and slight little more and its 2 - 2.5k ...

Its the most unusual acceleration ive ever driven..

help anyone?

[Ku-sama]

that's called powar!!! you can adjust the cable where it's bolted to the throttle body.