Fuel pedal cable - reassembly and adjustment

[02AutoWag]

Real quick post while on lunch break...

-Tried to start the new truck last night.
-It fires off then dies. Seller stated it was low on fuel, so I figure I was fortunate to get it into my driveway before it quit (when I purchased it, it was too late in the evening, too cold, and I was too excited to remember to drive it to fueling station...probably too stupid too).
-I get 9 gallons in the tank and suddenly the fuel pedal pops and goes limp.
-I reach down there and confirm a slack cable. Go to my good truck and feel what it's supposed to be like.
-I also pop the hood and take a quick visual of the engine side connection. See pictures I took in the morning comparing the first pic (Bad 6.9) to the second pic (good 7.3).

Bad slack pedal/cable:

Good pedal/cable:

Does a limp pedal with slack cable mean the truck will not start?

Things I noticed:
1) On the drive home, the pedal was really low to the ground with very little movement. I did manage to get to 65-70 MPH with the 3.55 C6.
2) The piece with the spring that pushes against the plunger...is also attached to the threaded rod. That contraption looks different in the pictures, why? Bad 1st picture is a 1987 6.9, Good 2nd picture is a 1989 7.3.
3) Any hints/tips on what broke? Pedal side or engine side? Mind you, I am not in front of it and only got a quick look to take the pictures.
3) Any hints/tips on getting it put back together?

Figured I could get more insight on a Friday rather than during the weekend. I'll get my hands on it this weekend, but would welcome any thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SparkandFire]

Looks like the return spring is in a different spot on the two pictures... The spring in the top picture looks like it's extended alot more

Could the higher spring tension cause the cable to break?

 

[fury9]

from what i can tell that spring is in the wrong spot, its not supposed to be in that hole and it looks way stretched out, whatever that bolt is for, it looks to be maxed out, it almost seems that the throttle cable is way too long, IMHO something is not put together right , and I can't tell if there is a spring missing on the 6.9's orange throttle cable bushing to slide into,? and I can't tell if there is a cutout in the orange thing for the brass throttle bushing to slide into BUT, I am no expert and I don't know the difference from 6.9 to 7.3 throttle configurations, but I would like to see a better pic of the (plastic ?) bracket that holds it together

 

[02AutoWag]

from what i can tell that spring is in the wrong spot, its not supposed to be in that hole and it looks way stretched out, whatever that bolt is for, it looks to be maxed out, it almost seems that the throttle cable is way too long, IMHO something is not put together right , and I can't tell if there is a spring missing on the 6.9's orange throttle cable bushing to slide into,? and I can't tell if there is a cutout in the orange thing for the brass throttle bushing to slide into BUT, I am no expert and I don't know the difference from 6.9 to 7.3 throttle configurations, but I would like to see a better pic of the (plastic ?) bracket that holds it together

This is what I have on my camera...

Bad pedal/cable:

Good pedal/cable:

 

[icanfixall]

Somebody has been dinking with the 6.9 pump and cable. Just buy a new cable from Ford. That throttle stop screw seems to be set wrony. Its the wide open stop... Mel will be along for a better explaination... The return spring needs to be hooked up just like the 7.3 pump... All throttle cables for the 6.9 and 7.3 are the same.

 

[towcat]

russ-
do yourself a favor and just go to ford and get a new cable if you're keeping it.
or....
come by here for a used one

 

[02AutoWag]

russ-
do yourself a favor and just go to ford and get a new cable if you're keeping it.
or....
come by here for a used one

So is the cable broken? To me, the pivoting arm thingie is all wrong. They look nothing alike. Is it sold as part of the cable?

Should I still be able to start the truck with a limp cable?

I'll be in Oakland tomorrow, wanna meet me there for a late dim-sum?

 

[icanfixall]

I bet thats a pump for a C6 trans setup. Those pumps have a kickdown rod thats hooked up to the pump from the trans... They also have another spring too...

 

[02AutoWag]

I bet thats a pump for a C6 trans setup. Those pumps have a kickdown rod thats hooked up to the pump from the trans... They also have another spring too...

Cool. Can anyone out there with a C6 take a look and confirm or deny the pump setup, please?

Will the truck start with a slack cable? Remember, I ran it empty of fuel before the cable issue, so I don't want to keep cranking on the starter thinking that I'll get fuel if it's an automatic no-go given the pedal issue. Anyone?

 

[towcat]

So is the cable broken? To me, the pivoting arm thingie is all wrong. They look nothing alike. Is it sold as part of the cable?

Should I still be able to start the truck with a limp cable?

I'll be in Oakland tomorrow, wanna meet me there for a late dim-sum?

I'm under house arrest tomorrow
gotta tend the shop until 5pm.

 

[zpd307]

i would move the return spring, to where it is on the good pump. when i changed pumps, i forgot to remember where the spring had gone. point is, it would not return all the way, it was binding. i figured out where it went and all was good.

 

[93cc7.3]

i had this issue on a trip to michigan PO had the pump inspected and someone broke the orange sleeve alittle and the night before the trip i did a inspection over it since i just bought it and broke it more without knowing and it ran great until i took it off cruise and went on an offramp and had no throttle NO throttle maybe enought to equal high idle and while trying to stomp it to the ground to get off the road the cable streached because the orange cover binded with the cable sleeve and jammed and stompping on it streched it so to fix it on the side of the road i had to cut off as much of the orange slide off as i could and part of the cable sleeve then i moved the bracket to the back of the mount on the intake with a zip tie then i took the slight bit of slack on the pedal and put a zip tie on it between the pedal and the cable end ....

in your pic it looks like the cable has kinked and streched i fixed mine on the side of the road with zip ties but just get a new cable

 

[Jake S.]

The adjustment screw on the top is for the kick down for the c6. That just controls how much throttle is needed to downshift. I adjusted mine so that it would barely kick down to use more torque than rpm. The vacuum modulator on the other side of the ip controls the upshifts.

 

[TLBREWER]

i had this issue on a trip to michigan PO had the pump inspected and someone broke the orange sleeve alittle and the night before the trip i did a inspection over it since i just bought it and broke it more without knowing and it ran great until i took it off cruise and went on an offramp and had no throttle NO throttle maybe enought to equal high idle and while trying to stomp it to the ground to get off the road the cable streached because the orange cover binded with the cable sleeve and jammed and stompping on it streched it so to fix it on the side of the road i had to cut off as much of the orange slide off as i could and part of the cable sleeve then i moved the bracket to the back of the mount on the intake with a zip tie then i took the slight bit of slack on the pedal and put a zip tie on it between the pedal and the cable end ....

Holy crap! Is that all one sentence?

 

[TLBREWER]

I believe the solenoid on the front side of the arm is for the cold high speed idle isn't it? The arm should be resting against that plunger.

My wifes truck had the same problem about two weeks ago. The throttle cable looked exactly like the one in your "bad" picture and she had the exact same symptoms as you describe. Caused her all kinds of havoc on her 60 mile drive home from work. My first thought when talking to her on the phone was the same...broken throttle cable.

About 30 seconds worth of inspection revealed the actual culprit. If you look down on the drivers side of the pump, theres a vertical arm that pivots in and out of the pump. My guess is it's the "accelerator pump", but I actually have no idea. Anyway, the point where the arm pushes in and out on the IP is at the bottom just above the valley pan. And there it sat. Wedged between that arm and the IP was one of the plastic retainers for the hood heat shield/blanket/insulation. The center one, which is directly above the IP, fell out and perfectly wedged itself in. Could never see it in the dark. Anything above about half throttle caused the throttle to stick and make the cable feel and look broken. Freak accident, but may be something to look at. I couldn't believe it myself and I'm the one that found it.

Tom