MIDNIGHT RIDER
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I just installed a new accelerator-cable this past weekend and thought I would share some of the details.
My original 1985-issue cable had not broken yet, but was only holding by about three hairs, due to the edges of what was left of that hateful red plastic sleeve constantly abrading against it.
In that area, the broken strands had gotten all wadded-up and would hang the throttle whenever the bulged portion got into the end of the sheathing.
NEW cable I used was ATP brand, part # Y290
The Dorman number for the same application is #04196
Every source I looked at for an exact replacement cable, including the above two part-numbers, show a length of 42.5-inches.
The original factory cable is only 35-1/4-inches long, some 7-1/4-inches shorter.
The excess length does not seem to hinder operations, but makes for a somewhat sloppier installation.
On my particular truck, with the 6BT engine, I used the excess length to my advantage by zip-tying the center up high, making a steep down-hill droop toward both ends; thus, any moisture that may find it's way inside the housing should quickly find it's way back out, instead of freezing the cable on cold days.
Installation is simple, requiring only a 5/16 socket and short extension to remove/install the two screws that hold the cable at the fire-wall.
It just snaps into the upper end of the pedal-arm in the cab and snaps onto the little trailer-hitch ball on the throttle-lever.
I put a dab of Kendall Super-Blu in the ball-socket of the cable.
Prior to installation, holding the cable hanging straight up and down, I dribbled oil in the top of the sheathing until it was freely dripping out the bottom end.
Anyone that has followed my threads over the years knows that each winter I remove the cable and hang it up behind the wood-stove until warm through and through, then oil it thus.
The original factory ball-socket snaps tightly onto the throttle-lever ball, requiring firm application of a pry-bar to snap it off.
Not so for the new ATP cable; it's ball-socket is about two sizes bigger and simply falls over the ball.
It does have a spring-clip thingie that can be rotated such that it provides some measure of retention, but the possibility of the socket coming loose from the ball is there; just the slightest nudge will remove the cable from the ball with hardly any resistance felt.
I am curious as to how the ball-socket on the Dorman cable would compare.
If this proves to cause a problem, I will replace the ball with a bigger one.
Now, about that silly troublesome plastic sleeve and coil-spring :
Since that sleeve, even on a new cable, is the cause of countless throttle hang-up scenarios, it's complete removal is advised; it wasn't a good idea when Ford put it there and isn't any better on the aftermarket cables.
If one has a hand-throttle-cable, that sleeve MUST GO, as it prevents the hand-throttle properly functioning, if it allows function at all.
The flimsy brittle red one on the Ford factory cables is easily broken away with pliers and a dull pocket-knife; not so on the ATP cable, the black sleeve they provide is very thick and tough.
First, I twisted off the coil compression-spring; then, I used a tubing cutter, the kind with the pizza-wheel and screw, to neatly cut the plastic as close to the ball-socket as possible; then, I poked a long thin fire-place match-stick inside the plastic sleeve, to keep the wire cable out of danger, and split the sleeve lengthwise with a 3-inch rotary cut-off wheel.
This made for such a neat job that no one would ever suspect there was ever a sleeve there.
My real plans for accelerator-cable replacement are to custom retrofit a real throttle-cable, pedal and all, from a big truck; I even have most of the stuff on hand; but, what I did not have when the old cable decided to warn me of imminent failure were the two or three days necessary to devise and implement my idea; I'll save that for another time.
My original 1985-issue cable had not broken yet, but was only holding by about three hairs, due to the edges of what was left of that hateful red plastic sleeve constantly abrading against it.
In that area, the broken strands had gotten all wadded-up and would hang the throttle whenever the bulged portion got into the end of the sheathing.
NEW cable I used was ATP brand, part # Y290
The Dorman number for the same application is #04196
Every source I looked at for an exact replacement cable, including the above two part-numbers, show a length of 42.5-inches.
The original factory cable is only 35-1/4-inches long, some 7-1/4-inches shorter.
The excess length does not seem to hinder operations, but makes for a somewhat sloppier installation.
On my particular truck, with the 6BT engine, I used the excess length to my advantage by zip-tying the center up high, making a steep down-hill droop toward both ends; thus, any moisture that may find it's way inside the housing should quickly find it's way back out, instead of freezing the cable on cold days.
Installation is simple, requiring only a 5/16 socket and short extension to remove/install the two screws that hold the cable at the fire-wall.
It just snaps into the upper end of the pedal-arm in the cab and snaps onto the little trailer-hitch ball on the throttle-lever.
I put a dab of Kendall Super-Blu in the ball-socket of the cable.
Prior to installation, holding the cable hanging straight up and down, I dribbled oil in the top of the sheathing until it was freely dripping out the bottom end.
Anyone that has followed my threads over the years knows that each winter I remove the cable and hang it up behind the wood-stove until warm through and through, then oil it thus.
The original factory ball-socket snaps tightly onto the throttle-lever ball, requiring firm application of a pry-bar to snap it off.
Not so for the new ATP cable; it's ball-socket is about two sizes bigger and simply falls over the ball.
It does have a spring-clip thingie that can be rotated such that it provides some measure of retention, but the possibility of the socket coming loose from the ball is there; just the slightest nudge will remove the cable from the ball with hardly any resistance felt.
I am curious as to how the ball-socket on the Dorman cable would compare.
If this proves to cause a problem, I will replace the ball with a bigger one.
Now, about that silly troublesome plastic sleeve and coil-spring :
Since that sleeve, even on a new cable, is the cause of countless throttle hang-up scenarios, it's complete removal is advised; it wasn't a good idea when Ford put it there and isn't any better on the aftermarket cables.
If one has a hand-throttle-cable, that sleeve MUST GO, as it prevents the hand-throttle properly functioning, if it allows function at all.
The flimsy brittle red one on the Ford factory cables is easily broken away with pliers and a dull pocket-knife; not so on the ATP cable, the black sleeve they provide is very thick and tough.
First, I twisted off the coil compression-spring; then, I used a tubing cutter, the kind with the pizza-wheel and screw, to neatly cut the plastic as close to the ball-socket as possible; then, I poked a long thin fire-place match-stick inside the plastic sleeve, to keep the wire cable out of danger, and split the sleeve lengthwise with a 3-inch rotary cut-off wheel.
This made for such a neat job that no one would ever suspect there was ever a sleeve there.
My real plans for accelerator-cable replacement are to custom retrofit a real throttle-cable, pedal and all, from a big truck; I even have most of the stuff on hand; but, what I did not have when the old cable decided to warn me of imminent failure were the two or three days necessary to devise and implement my idea; I'll save that for another time.
