The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Sticky choke cable

I’ve noticed that lately the choke cable on my ‘50 216 is difficult to pull out during the starting process. It does not appear to be in a bind, nor does it have any kinks in it. What’s the best way to lubricate the cable? Is the wrapped sheath around the cable porous so that I can just spray some WD-40 on it to solve the problem?

Thanks!

Do you have a plastic coating on your cable? If not just give it a good spray with whatever lube you’ve got.🛠

It looks like a ribbed, steel covering. No plastic.

had the same problem with my spiral-cased choke cable a few months back (there is a thread here about it). i pulled out the cable from the sheath and gave everything a good spray with Kano Penephite Graphited Penetrating Oil and it all works as smooth as butter now.

Also put a few drops of oil on the shaft where it goes into the dash. It also helps to step on the gas pedal a little ways before pulling out the choke so the fast idle cam is not opening the throttle.

I was able to massage clear plastic tubing over my spiral encased cable after giving it a good cleaning as noted above. Worked for me.

A trick we used to use on motorcycle throttle and clutch cables was to prop the end of the cable up in a vertical position as high as possible, make a small funnel out of duct tape, and fill the funnel with lightweight oil. Gravity flow overnight would lube the entire length of the cable. Use oil, not WD-40 if you want the lube to stay there awhile.
Jerry

Thanks everyone. I’m on my way to give it a try!

Pull the cable out of the housing and use some fine sandpaper on the wire running lengthwise down the cable. Shoot some brake cleaner or carb cleaner down the housing and blow it out with air pressure. Re-lube with light lube other than WD-40 which gets sticky with age. Worked like a charm on my choke and hand throttle.

I did my heater control cable. I clamped a rubber tube over the cable sleeve. I then filled the rubber hose with oil and used the blow gun on my airline to force the oil down. Gravity would probably have worked. On the first try with the air gun the pipe came off and blew out the oil down my shirt. Wife Not pleased.

A few years ago I bought new Choke and Throttle cables for my 1947 3100 with Rochester one barrel. Everything new including knobs on dash. A friend did the installation and while there are no issues with them working it seems like they are too long under the hood as they are both routed around the carb before hook-up. Question: Shouldn't each cable be just long enough to reach from the firewall to the respective hook-up point on the carb? Can these cables be shorten and still work properly? Last, does anybody have or know of a picture that would show these cables from firewall to carb and how they are routed? Thanks.

Yes they can be shortened. Be very careful with the hacksaw as you cut the coiled sheath. Then trim the inside wire after you get it installed in the final location.🛠

But, be sure and pull the center wire (or cable as some call it) out of the housing first, grab it by the knob and remove the whole center wire. Cut the housing to length, feed the center wire back through, make sure the knob is pushed all the way in, and then cut the center wire to length.

I had to trim both my choke and throttle cable, about 15"-16" to get rid of the excess.

Maybe a silly question, but can the cable come all the way out without disturbing the installed sheathing. In that if all is installed and i wanted to oil the wire can i just detach from carb and pull from cab? All goes back without a worry?

If there's a kink in the end of the push-pull wire at the carburetor end caused by clamping the setscrew down on it, it's likely that the wire won't slide in and out smoothly. Either carefully straighten out the kink, or cut the wire back a bit to eliminate the kinked spot.
Jerry

I have found that for stranded cables, it helps to melt the end with a torch.
Bob

Got it. Thanks

Where can I locate a picture showing the Choke and Throttle cables from firewall to carb as they were when they left the factory? Thanks.

Update.........

With both the choke and throttle cables in place, I applied more than a few drops of “Three-in-One household oil” directly to the spiral outer surfaces of the cables. Just as I suspected, the thin oil penetrated through to the solid inner wire and the cables now slide smooth as silk! Quick fix to an annoying problem, and I didn’t have to remove or disassemble the cables to do it.