Braided cover for throttle cable

[TurboEsprit1987 0]

Is your throttle cable, where it crosses over the intake manifold, covered in an aeroquip style braided sheath? Functionally, does it have a reason (heat) or is it just for show (Colin would roll in his grave)?

Thanks,

Nick

[Guest Troy Halliday]

When I renewed my cable the only one I could get localy was a blue sheathed cable. So to make it match the rest of the silicon vacuem hoses and braided hose clips I put a heat shrink wire cover over it so that it matched. If you wanted to smarten the cable up you could do the same. Heat shrink tubing comes in both black and red (it does come in different colours heat shrink tubing link) you simply slip it over the cable and using a hot air gun shrink the tubing to fit.

That would save you removing the whole cable and replacing it.

[WayneB 2]

Mines just an ordinary black cable and works fine

I read somewhere the cover was used because water had dripped on a throttle cable and froze, causing a throttle to stick open causing a wreck

Only other thing would be extreeme exhaust manifold heat melting the plastic inner on a uninsulated cable, causing a stuck throttle.

[TurboEsprit1987 0]

I saw some attractive braiding kits at a local auto parts store. They greatly resemble the original theme. If Lotus saw it a potential throttle sticking problem, that's good enough for me.

-Nick

[markt 70]

Pondered this one over the weekend...

Think the cable on my car is sticking a bit and causing interesting variations on the idling speed. Haven't had a good look, but think the steel cable might be fraying inside the cover. Had a really exciting moment in one of my X1/9's once. Throttle wide open, approach red traffic light, engine screamed, turned off ignition, braked, stopped, changed underwear.

What I want to do is pull out the existing metal cable, keep the existing cover and thread in a new cable. Is this possible and what sort of length cable should I be looking for?

Come on Wayne, you probably know the length to the nearest inch...

[WayneB 2]

Sorry mate, Ive never changed the throttle cable(unlike the choke)

[andrewp1989 1]

Use a tanden bicycle brake cable as the inner cable. It is 2-3 inches longer than required. Silver solder the one pear-shaped end on AFTER the cable has been threaded through the casing (engine side to the interior). I did this under the dash at the pedal end because I thought it was easier to do.

I may have been wrong about the easy part.

The second time I did this I used two grub screws on a hollow (and threaded) barrel end at the engine and left the original pear-shaped end on the brake cable. Threaded it in from the interior to the engine.

AP

[markt 70]

Thanks Andew.

Didn't think a bicycle cable would reach... If it does, great! Will go for option B. Done same thing on a few cars over the years so know how to set that up easily enough.

Cheers - Mark