Throttle Cable Stretched?

[ExplorerTom]

I suspected my throttle cable has been stretched for awhile and finally got around to checking. Acceleration felt sluggish for a 5.4l and I figured with almost 190,000 miles that there was a good chance it was stretched.

I could feel some slack in the cable at the throttle body but to see what was actually happening I placed a jack stand on the gas pedal in the full throttle position (or if you have a helper, even better). I then removed the air intake tube. This is what I saw:

That plate is not open all the way like it should.

To take out the slack I added some zip ties to the gas pedal assembly where it attaches to the firewall underneath the dashboard. I added 2.


Here's the final result:


The truck now feels great to drive. It's much more responsive.

Hope this helps you restore some of that lost zip in your truck. It's quick, it's easy, it's practically free.

 

[AbbadonTD]

Ill ask again since we are on a thread about it - Is there a legit fix or do we just keep zip tying? Do you have to replace the cable to REALLY fix?

 

[ExplorerTom]

On the Explorerforum, this is the fix for the same problem. I didn't spend a lot of time under the dash looking at the pedal assy. There may be some adjustment built into that.

I was also looking at the part that attaches to the throttle body and wondered if that could be a solution.

Replacing the throttle cable itself sounds like way more work than it's worth when zip ties work as well.

 

[AbbadonTD]

I have the tool for making the ends on a cable for doing brakes on bicycles. I was thinking of disconnecting it at the throttle end, pulling a foot into in the cabin, and trimming it an inch or so and then re-**** the "tip"

 

[ExplorerTom]

That should work.

On the gas pedal side, you could do a few other fixes that don't involve zip ties. You just need something to take up the slack.