throttle weirdness

[1990LTD]

I drove the 90 today for the first time in 3 weeks to a month...the throttle cable does not move smoothly. It goes down just a bit (maybe 1/8 throttle) with very little effort, then it becomes much harder to push down and consequently I'm jamming my foot to the floor when I'm just trying to pull away from a stop.


throttle blade is not gummed up, can't see any restrictions anywhere and it can be felt either through the pedal or when i open/close the throttle manually from under the hood.

[gadget73]

so the throttle under the hood doesn't open smoothly either? try unhooking the throttle cable from the throttle body and putting a dab of grease in there. do the same for the TV cable at the transmission where it snaps onto the ball stud. if that gets rusty, things won't work smoothly.

[1990LTD]

will do. thanks!

[1990LTD]

ah, I think it's the TV cable at the TB end of things. It is causing it to get hung up.


The adjustment block doesn't seem to be holding the actual cable in place, so when you press the pedal there is not much resistance until the block hits the metal end piece, which then actuates the cable. Damn. Basically drove like my TV pressure was maxed out, shifts way late etc so I'm not too worried that I fucked the transmission up.


Need a new TV cable before I do much else though.

[gadget73]

ummm yeah if the adjuster block is sliding on the cable, its shot. Is the lock pushed up? theres a tab that pokes out of the bottom of the block to lock it to the cable.

[1990LTD]

ummm yeah if the adjuster block is sliding on the cable, its shot. Is the lock pushed up? theres a tab that pokes out of the bottom of the block to lock it to the cable.

yep and yep. pushed the little tab out and locked it back in, it's still possible to move it. it doesn't move/slide around freely but when force is applied there is play. this makes 2 TV cables that I've gone through. I have my original one that DID work fine but the "clevis" that sticks through the throttle lever snapped off. too bad i couldn't cannibalize them.


do I need a Panther specific TV cable? If a Mustang or truck/van AOD cable would work, possibilities would open up.

[sly]

you could redneck it like I did...



That's a small hose clamp and some rubber fuel line, I had on hand, with a slit cut down it to get it over the rod without having to slide it over that metal cable cap.

[1990LTD]

and redneck it, I shall! until I find a replacement cable. I've got plenty of hose clamps and fuel hose

[1990LTD]

p.s - thanks very much gadget and slymer. I think I'm going to need about 4 hands to do this - I never usually have an assistant to push the pedal down for me.

[sly]

just make small adjustments and drive around the block.... repeat until it feels right.

[1990LTD]

Now I have something to do tomorrow thanks man.

[1990LTD]

I had a thought....while I'm messing about, rednecking my TV cable so the pressure is right, I don't want to fuck up my transmission by having the pressure too low. I know if it's off, it's better to be on the high side of normal as opposed to low, so I'm not too worried about that part of it.


I'm only going to take it out around the block but if it seems to be shifting too early - I know AODs can burn up within blocks with little/no TV pressure - Should I just lock it in first gear and get back to the driveway as slow as possible?

[gadget73]

go as slow as possible if the pressure is low. If you want a good safe starting point, have someone hold the pedal to the floor, and adjust the cable so the TV pressure is maxed out with the throttle wide open. Thats as high as it can possibly go. Adjust from that point if you need to.