Someone Who Knows About Cars - HELP!
 

OK, today I was driving to the library to meet my friend Jim. When I got there, the truck suddenly stopped responding to the excelerator. It wouldn't run in any gear even though I had my foot pressed all the way down to the floor. I also had the AC and CD player going - not that I can see how that would make a difference.

So Jim looked under the hood and he said there was a wire that wasn't pulling on the two parts which allow the gas to get to the excelerator (he told me their actual names, but I forget them). When he manually moved the parts, my engine started to rev again, but then quit when he took his hand off the parts.

Jim told me he really didn't know enough about cars to tell me what was wrong, so we went into the library to see if we could get enlightenment from a Chilton's Manual. Well, we found the right manual, but nothing in it seemed to address my truck's problem.

We went back out and Jim was going to drive me home, but I said, "Let me try it one more time. Maybe it healed itself." Jim had a good laugh over that, but I got in and tried anyway. And the excelerator worked just fine and I was able to start the truck! I did not have the AC or CD player on for whatever that's worth.

So, is this a symptom of some horrible failure soon to come in the truck's future or is it some simple thing that someone who knew a little about cars could fix for me. I have no money to take it in to the mechanic, so I am hoping that some clever person here can tell me what to do.

Here's a couple of pix of the engine. The red arrow points to the wire, and the yellow arrows point to the parts that Jim was able to manually press to get the truck to excelerate.

Sorry to be so stupid, but help! :blush:

well your thingamabob has CLEARLY come un frazzled form the Whatitz !!!

Were you able to drive it home? If so, how did it behave?

Edit: And I completely agree with zippyt.

Could also be the dingus got loose from the gazinta. Hard to say.


Maybe it's time to call cartalk.

Could be a stuck accelerator cable? Might just need to be tightened. Might need to be replaced. Could be whatever it is attached to needs to be lubricated or has some type of dirt/crap/crud .... WD-40 the entire engine, then duct tape something and see what happens.
I AM NOT A MECHANIC.

When accelerator is pressed, that cable should retract to the right. That is the first thing to inspect (with engine off). When a driver (assistant) releases the accelerator, then that cable must move leftmost. And always be under tension. Movement should always be smooth.

Curved part moved by the accelerator connects to shaft and a plate inside the air duct. As the accelerator is pressed, then the plate opens. More air let into that duct means a computer dumping more gas into the engine - also called acceleration. Computer will dump as much gas as necessary to maintain a vacuum behind that throttle plate.

You must be able to rotate the curved piece counterclockwise with your hand. It must also move smoothly. And the cable should retract accordingly - and smoothly.

Any stickiness is why Toyotas were accused of uncontrolled acceleration. Any stickiness means you must treat it as a loaded gun pointed at someone's head. The motion is so critical that multiple springs exist so that a released accelerator pedal will rotate the curved piece fully clockwise everytime.

Your symptoms do not make sense. If you pressed the accelerator pedal, then the cable must always move right. You should not be able to press the accelerator without moving that cable in the picture. There must be nothing to cause the curved piece to be disconnected from the accelerator pedal. Stated with conviction - if that makes the point.

I am thinking he reconnected a clip that holds the cable to that curved piece. That could only happen if springs that push the curved piece and throttle plate back to idle were somehow missing. And if the clip that holds that cable to the curved piece is worn - must be replaced by a new one from the dealer's parts department. But then that is only speculation, in part, because what Jim may have reconnected is not even shown in any pictures.

BTW, solve it now. Winter gets too cold to fix things right.

Anyone recommending WD-40 should be banned from technical discussions. WD-40 is not and never was a lubricant. With age, it makes accelerator cables sticky (ie Toyota stuck accelerators). WD-40 is a solvent like kerosene, Mr Clean, and Naval Jelly. Except it gets sticky with age. It must be removed after breaking free rust so as to not 'glue' things together. Never use WD-40 on the accelerator cable and related parts. Also stated with same conviction.

Nothing to adjust. If any part is loose, does not move smoothly, or intermittently disconnects, then a cheap solution is obtained in the dealer's parts department. Nothing in that 'throttle plate control system' should need adjustment. If any part disconnected, then it is still defective.

I had a vw rabbit that fid something like that
wss. The throttle cable would occasionally come out of its seat on the back of the gas pedal. Did your gas pedal feel normal? If so i agree with tw. Also with it being a dangerous situation.

Well, THANK YOU, TW! I knew someone on the Cellar would have a practical solution. I'll try the things you suggested. My accelerator does not stick. It just did not rev the engine even when pushed to the floor.

There is something about WD-40 which is dear to the male heart (tw being the exception). I called another friend who supposedly knows EVERYTHING about cars. He came over stared at the engine for a while and said "It just needs a little WD-40. I've got some with me." Then he proceeded to drench the offending parts in the stuff.

I love duct taping things! I have this really cool turquoise duct tape. Maybe I'll wrap some around a radiator hose or something. ;)

That is the weirdest thing of all. It drove home from the library, running just like always. After being sprayed with WD-40, it drove just fine to Wal-Mart and back again. Maybe Jimmy should have more faith in his mechanical skills and he actually fixed it.

Maybe it was just a fit of elderly car grumpiness. Or maybe it was that gazinta acting up. I'm planning on taking it on a relatively long trip in about 10 days. I hope it doesn't choose to play the same trick 20 miles up some jeep trail in Canyonlands. :eyebrow:

OMFG, I WAS JOKING!

Well, my engine got WD-40ed before I got the warnings about it. And it was an aquaitance named Mac who did the dastardly deed, and the car is still running (for now). And I have better things to do than wrap parts of my engine in turquoise duct tape - cute as that might turn out. So fear not - any automotive disasters of mine will not be your fault. ;)

I think you should turquoise duct tape SOMETHING ....

I know.... make license plate frame with it!

Thanks sam, as a member of my posse' I knew you would understand it was a joke. I was referring to that IDIOtw.

Easy Now Folks He Said Posse' !!

;)

I was under the impression that WD-40 is a water dispersant. As in Water Dispersant, formula #40.

I've always found it to be pretty safe on damn near everything. What does it dissolve?

Sounds like you're working fine to me!

:jig:

another thing sam, and this is solid advice. IF your throttle sticks open while driving turn the ignition key back one notch to shut the engine off! then throw the transmission in neutral. i don't think it's possible to turn the key all the way off while in drive (assuming automatic). don't want to lock the steering wheel while in motion! that would suck a little. anyway, keep in mind when the engine shuts down you will loose power steering and power brakes. you'll still have them albeit they will just be more stiff and require a little more effort to actuate/use. had my throttle stick open on the Fixed Or Repaired Daily and had to do the above steps. turns out it was the throttle body cover or whatevthehell its called. i dunno. i got pissed off at it and ripped it off.

happy motoring!!

Cleans. Frees sticky mechanisms. Drives out moisture. Loosens rusted parts. And then gets sticky with age.

Spray it on a heavily rusted bolt and nut. Repeat the process every half hour. Eventually it will soak in and loosen that rusted nut.

A homeowner had sprayed WD-40 into every door latch. So much that a sticky film was binding every door latch. Each disassembled latch took hours in a paint stripper to remove that WD-40 film so that locks stopped binding.

Most 'guys' learn WD-40 myths. Only a minority learn reality. For example, if WD-40 really eliminated squeaks, then it never need be applied again.


That throttle cable must always be under spring tension so that the cable cannot disengage from that 'curved piece'. If a sticky part or missing spring results in loss of tension, then that throttle cable might disconnect. But again, pictures do not show how and where cable attaches.

Having sprayed WD-40 all over everything might have temporarily loosened the stickiness. Temporary cured a symptom.


What plthijinx has recommended should be practiced at least once by every driver. Learn how it is done where learning can be done safely. And before that 'knowledge' becomes necessary.

A moving car (with properly designed steering) does not need any power steering when the car is moving.

Also learn how often power brakes still work without an engine. And learn what eventually happens after hitting those brakes many times.

Power assist still works many times after an engine is off (if a check valve has not failed). But eventually its vacuum becomes 'used up'. Everyone should understand how to brake when power assist finally loses vacuum. A driver who has learned the 'feel' would not suffer a catastrophic surprise when brake assist fails unexpectedly.

All drivers should know how to power off an engine while the car is moving. Or how to shift to neutral. Few will need to learn that. But an informed driver knows how. Again, best place to learn is in a safe environment such as in a large, empty parking lot.

If that was a joke, then apply for a refund from your clown school. (Or was that finishing school?)

Considering quality of your humor, I guess that sentence is also your idea of humor. Each of your last ten posts are jokes? Silly me. Jokes are supposed to be funny. I mistakenly thought you were posting your routine cheapshots.

Excuse me while I go elsewhere to laugh.

oh yeah forgot to mention, at the flight school i used to work for the owners wife had the throttle stick open on his pick up truck. she panicked and didn't know what to do. she didn't turn it off. what happened?? engine blew and caught fire. so yeah, practice what myself and tw talked about above. you may never need it but if you do you'll be glad you knew what to do.

LOL! Jimmy can rev my engine any time he wants, but unfortunately he considers me a platonic friend and has a huge crush on a woman who is not interested in him. Ain't that the way of the world?

Thanks for the good advice! The truck is a standard stick shift, but you're right, I wouldn't want to turn the engine completely off. I assume I'd want to apply the brakes in addition to the other things?
At any rate, my problem was the opposite. I tromped the gas pedal all the way to the floor and the truck did nothing. It didn't stop running, but it didn't start running either, if you know what I mean.

@tw: Mac did spray the cable. I went out and checked and it feels suspiciously slick. Still, the truck continues to run just fine. We'll see what it does when it has to go to Durango and back tomorrow (100 mile round trip). Keeping fingers crossed!

You are so preaching to the choir, sister!

:D

Please do so. Since you've been so long there haven't been many, if any cheapshots.
But you jump right back in and take one at me.
Like a car would be fixed by spraying WD-40 and DUCT TAPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you actually and honestly think that was serious or were you as usual just being a dick. The rest of us all know the answer. Therefore the only question remaining is - Are you man enough to apologize? Unfortunately, those of us who have read enough of your posts here also know the answer to that one.

Oh dear, war of the Dicks. DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS!

What does tw need to apologize for? I prolly missed that 'cause I only speak Bitch. And Jive.

See there is something we can agree upon.

In tw's defense, I think he gave me some good advise. And Classic made me laugh at the thought of covering all the parts of my engine in turquoise duct tape.

This a car thread. :idea: If people want to get into character assassination, politics is down the hall. And I'm sure UG would love to give everyone pointers. :p:

Wut she said.


What would be a good lubricant to use? I know with locks you want graphite or a similar specialist powder. Some hinges prefer a light machine oil. I learned as a kid that putting in both types of lubricant is not a good idea. :smack:

But yeah, sticking accelerator cable? bit of a worry.

Graphite is not good for locks. It tends to wash lubricant out of the tumblers. Then months later, nothing keeps moisture out of those tumblers. Moisture freezes the lock.

I use a grease that is water resistant. Once applied, then locks should never need lubrication again. One of the best is wheel bearing grease. Most all good greases are based in lithium. Some are more water resistant than others.

Cables typically use a plastic sheath that is self lubricating. Some lubricating oils actually act like sand on those self lubricating plastics. Generally I might touch a dab of water resistant grease where the cable enters it sheath. Just to keep water out. But for the most part, a best solution is to do nothing. To not contaminate that self lubricating plastic.

Meanwhile the subversive extremist is still posting his usual cheapshots. Contributing nothing useful in this (or other) threads. Even discussing dicks here as if that had any purpose besides posting cheapshots. Why do UG and classicman both do this? Wacko extremists.

SamIam - you must always be able to rotate that curved piece counter clockwise with your fingers. Motion must always be smooth. The spring must always and smoothly return that curved piece clockwise. As long as all motion is smooth, then a binding throttle cable probably does not exist.

You can also rev an idling car engine by simply rotating that curved piece. Your only concern is keeping fingers and hair out of any exposed fan belts and away from the radiator fan. That radiator fan can suddenly turn on when you do not expect it. Nothing else in there should remove body parts.

All are strongly encouraged to do, at least once, what plthijinx has recommended. Every driver should understand how his car performed when engine power is lost. In particular, how steering works and how many times brakes can be applied before power assist is lost.

Reviewing those pictures, a yellow arrow on the right point to where the cable attaches to a clamp. Did Jim move something there? Nothing should have moved. Those nuts, once attached, should not move. That cable should never become loose from its clamp. Are those nuts loose (also called finger tight)? If yes, they must be wrench tightened. And then dap nail polish in a small spot where that nut touches threads. Nail polish acts both as a glue and identifies a 'lose' nut.

Jim and I checked this yesterday, and the cable retracted accordingly when I pressed the accelerator with the engine off. He also tried rotating the curved piece and that was fine, too.

Yeah, Jim also did that when the accelerator wasn't responding. It reved real nice. But when he took his hand off, it went back to barely responding. I am very curious as to why it did this. One of life's mysteries, I guess.

[quote=tw;756751]He checked to see if the screw was tight. I don't know about the nuts, but I'll check myself today. Can I use turquoise nail polish? Pretty Please?

You have been extremely helpful. Many thanks!

The cable to the dead man's handle on my lawnmower broke on Saturday. It had been sticking in the previous season so the lawnmower wouldn't shut off when you let go of the handle. No way to remove the cable and clean it. But I did try cleaning the inch or two exposed portion the best I could, and I shit you not, spraying WD-40 on the exposed cable. The WD-40 loosened it up so that it worked again. But then after a year or so, the cable snapped over this past weekend. Couldn't start the mower. So I got some "bailing wire" and manually clamped the throttle open so that the safety system was bypassed and the lawnmower, once started, could only be shut off by taking the wire off the spark plug. Works great now.

I debated keeping it that way forever, but I've already placed an order with Toro for a replacement cable. Don't want to get in trouble if someone cuts off a hand.

We use zip ties for that purpose. I was going to try to find my needle-nose vise grips though, to be pro about it.

Or one of the old, cut-off clamps from jumper cables. I used that to stop my muffler from dragging once. Remove all the insulation, and it's a pretty nice portable metal clamp.

In years past, I've used some good fencing wire both as a replacement accelerator cable AND to keep a muffler off the ground.

Okay, blokes, what's in your kludge kit?

Mine:
Duct tape
WD-40 or similar
Good stout wire
pliers or similar

rather than describe....i thought pics were more appropriate....my trusty little husky handbag/briefcase. i don't go anywhere without it. i can work on 12 to 480v during the day and unfuck video game token slots at night. what i don't have in my kit we either have it locked up in a cabinet at work or i borrow it from someone. which isn't often.

close up:

blokes only. mmmkay. you might be missing out though. Maybe.

I have a fire extinguisher and a shitload of rubber bands among other things. Have I piqued your curiosity? :lol:

(you didn't mean to type clunge, did you?)

Cool Kit There Fly boy
Gotz to have the Uglys reference !!!!

Mon I have No Doubt that you are ontop of things ,

My truck is My kit , ill have to take some Pics of the compartments

Now the wifes car doesnt have Squat for tools , but she has an inflater Jumpercables ( and Knows how to use them !!!) ,
if we are headed out for an extended time I grab my tool bag

I has jumper cables and charged starter too... i also have tape in many formats and bungees out the wazoo. Tools are limited, but I'm inventive ;)

I dunno, Plthijinx, I think that has gone beyond kludging. Those are proper tools.

Jeez, I love plthijinx's kit! Now, if only I could find a man with one of those around here, I think I'd be in love!

I have one of those thingies like a Swiss army life which unfolds to contain screw drivers, etc; one of those liquid tire inflater gizmos; lots of flashlights, a garmen GPS, the complete set of 15 minute quad atlases for Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, 20 gallons of water, enough canned goods to last 3 weeks, 3-in-1 pepper spray + military tear gas + UV marking dye, and a tow rope. This is all for the truck. I add to the stash as I get the money.

My preference is "Sally Hanson Hard as Nails."

My favorite emergency kit is a Swiss Army Knife. I always feel so naked in airports. Not due to scanners. Without my emergency kit, I just feel lost.

Pliers heavy-duty enough to pull a nail out of a tire, and needle-nosey enough to get into installed motherboards. Wire cutting/stripping. Strong stainless steel blade you can flip open and lock with one hand. Bit driver with exchangable bits. Sturdy enough to be run over by a truck and survive.

But most importantly of all... bottle opener.

http://cellar.org/2011/skeletool.jpg

I have a swiss army knife too. And tweezers and scissors.

From 127 Hours. A MUST SEE!!!!!

yeah, that was a good movie.

i have GOT to get one of those bottle openers UT just showed off. the tools that come with it are a bonus!

I've never owned a crescent wrench that was worth shit. Any kind of shit.

I was wondering what a cut-off clamp was, and why I don't remember such a thing.

But I've got it figured out now.

I have 3 tool boxes in the trunk of my car with enough tools to re-build it. I will not bore you with pics.