Replacing a Throttle Cable

A fraying or stretched throttle cable can be bad news. You might not to be able to reach full throttle or worse the throttle might stick. Swapping out a throttle cable on a Spec Racer Ford takes a little finesse feeding it through the chassis and a handy helper to ensure you are reaching full throttle.

Tools and Equipment Needed:

• A 5/16th, two 3/8th and two 11/16th inch wrenches/spanners

• Nut driver

• Throttle Cable - Enterprise PN: 592301

• Small Pick

• Gloves

A fraying throttle cable can have sharp wire sticking out so wear gloves if you don't want to slice up your hands. You will need two 3/8ths and 11/16ths inch open ended spanners (wrenches) to undo the lock nuts and loosen the throttle cable from the nuts.

Loosen the front throttle cable by undoing the two adjuster nuts.

Then loosen the rear adjuster nuts.

Use a nut driver to loosen the hose clamp. Next remove the intake tube to gain access to the throttle plate.

A craftsman 11/16th inch spanner conveniently fits into the throttle body to remove the pre-load tension on the throttle cable. You should then be able to slide out the cable and push out the retaining pin. If it won't come out easily you can use a small screwdriver, pick or drift to lightly press it out.

The throttle cable should now be free at the rear and you can slide it out of the retaining bracket above the engine.

To remove the front of the throttle cable. Start by undoing the small jam nut against the small female rod end. It is easier to loosen while still attached in place to the throttle pedal.

Then undo the retaining nuts on the throttle pedal. I had two; one for the retaining spring and one for the throttle cable rod end. 

Remove all the retaining hardware from the throttle as you will need them for the new cable. You might need to feed some of the nuts down the throttle cable to get is off the front retaining bracket.

With the cable now disconnected at both ends you can feed it back through the chassis. Take note of the routing and pass through locations as you will reuse these for the new cable.

The cable will run along the right side pod and pass through an opening in the rear bulkhead to the engine compartment. The same opening is used for the engine harness.

The cable runs up near the right hand engine mount and alongside the air intake for the motor.

With the old cable now removed you can install the new cable. Start by placing the throttle plate end over the engine.

Slide the throttle cable through the engine bracket and finger tight the retaining nuts. Then slide the cable up over the throttle flap and push the pin in place.

Then begin feeding the throttle cable through the chassis starting by maneuvering the pedal end over the engine, down and through the right side pod and back to the throttle pedal.

When you reach the throttle pedal you can start reinstalling all the mounting hardware. Put the cable into the retaining bracket with the jam nuts but don't tighten down yet.

Install the female rod end and jam nut.

Install the rod end onto the accelerator pedal and tighten down the retaining nut.

Install the accelerator return spring and tighten the nut in place.

Next it is handy if you have a friend help you check to ensure you are reaching full throttle.

Start by loosely tightening the jam nuts at the front and rear of the throttle cable. Make sure the slack in the cable is taken up but not too tight that it starts to open the throttle. Then have a friend press the accelerator all the way down and look through the intake to make sure the throttle plate fully opens.

Adjust the cable as necessary until full throttle is reached when the pedal is fully depressed and closed when the throttle is released.

Once you are happy with the throttle tighten all the jam notes in place using the spanners. Then replace the intake tube and tighten the hose hose clamp with the nut driver.

Time to go beat those lap records.

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