KnifeySpoony Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 Does anyone with a duratec car have a spare throttle cable lying around? I'm supposed to drive my car at Sonoma on Saturday, but just found out my cable is about half gone. Knowing that strands tend to break faster and faster, I don't think I trust it to drive up/track/drive home with it in its current state. Alternatively, does anyone know of an off-the-shelf part I could easily adapt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnifeySpoony Posted July 4 Author Share Posted July 4 Another option- since the fraying is right at the ball end, can I just cut it off an attach another one. I don't have the equipment for soldering one, but is there a kind that clamps on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastg Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 See if you can find an old time motorcycle shop in your area. Most will have a kit to make cables. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnifeySpoony Posted July 4 Author Share Posted July 4 I suppose i could just cut off the ball and attach something like this. The trick is finding one local to me open on July 4.... https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Motorcycle-Solderless-Throttle-Accessories/dp/B0BNKQYK4Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4PC8SKNEIAL5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7wkrVnGjsWQ4yUe7YpjEtzw2D67RIprp13szSdCiq_yhyf38iWcdj8JDWjkV_Z0JGB1-AA87bFsR7XbH3UD4Sg2AEqWx_Y1FQL2x-Eolz_idwk5ej4dnVW2OF9XK2yuPwQ6zhgXFdwdrWPYQN9HN4XqI68bFy3z2D2_df0YbLUYoPGb1Ey1ax3X59WrRloOGuyE-h4U3NRuyQ-FAqibsXg4mNpm672UvItTpNMF9lpM.ayJ-zPs18qc899z946HGJ1rarsTNcR_rDA5uBvN76SA&dib_tag=se&keywords=cable+barrel+nipple&qid=1720129581&sprefix=cable+barrel+nippl%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastg Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 My motorcycle background:) Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 As an emergency, and assuming the cable (wire rope) has enough excess length that the pedal can continue to be the travel stop (not the butterfly end, so WOT may suffer slightly), you can use an electrical 12 gauge butt splice. Cut the insulation off with a razor, loop the cable through (cable passes through the tube twice) or run it out the the hole in the wall of the splice, then hammer flat on a hard surface followed by a small chisel to crimp. If galvanized cable, it would be easy to solder as well. Home Depot has 1/16" wire rope ferrules for but I think the od may be too big to fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 I'm not sure what the stock cable is, but when mine snapped (SBD ITB's) we drove it home with a shoelace and then visited a local bike ship. Shimano to the rescue . There's a variety of adapters available, some solder on, some clamp on. The better bike cables are pretty high quality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vovchandr Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 My Zetec ITB is a bicycle Shimano fix too. Keep a spare on me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnifeySpoony Posted July 5 Author Share Posted July 5 Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that bicycle cables would be strong enough to take an enthusiastic right foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Westfield Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 I've used bicycle cables on vintage race cars for years you do want brake cables, not shift cables 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 11 hours ago, KnifeySpoony said: Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that bicycle cables would be strong enough to take an enthusiastic right foot. The load is just pedal and throttle return springs plus friction up until the pedal travel ends. Thinner cables stretch more with use. Cable also comes pre-loaded to eliminate the space between the strands that contributes to stretch. I found the bike brake cables to be thinner than oem throttle cables but they do work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnifeySpoony Posted July 5 Author Share Posted July 5 True, but with the OEM roller barrel setup the throttle is very heavy because of the springs and the mass/inertia of the barrels. This combined with rapid throttle inputs like blipping would have cable seeing pretty significant loads. But good to know a bike cable can handle it. Going to attempt a bodge on it tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashyers Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 Some of the mountain bike cables are more heavy duty. If you're replacing the sleeve too check the liner, there are some different ones with varying amounts of friction. Make sure you have slight play at WOT when up to temp and you foot pressing hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toldfield Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 For next time... https://www.flanderscompany.com/collections/cable-parts Being local to me they have been a big help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnifeySpoony Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 Thanks to @sltous for coming through in the clutch and getting me a new cable today. Cable is in and car is buttoned up ready to go tomorrow AM. FWIW the new cable didn't fit perfectly - the little plastic cork stopper at the pedal end had a larger OD than my original one, so I had to dremel it down to fit. I noticed that the cable itself is thicker on the new one, so hopefully it will last longer. I filed/deburred the throttle pedal tube edges to hopefully make this one last longer. Another difference is that there is a second adjuster on the pedal side, which is very nice so if the cable stretches (before it snaps lol) I can easily adjust on that side since access under the roller barrels is impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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