The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Hand throttle replacement in AD truck

Ok, I give up.

How in the world does a guy get access to remove the nut on the backside of dash to replace the hand throttle cable?

Or maybe there is no such nut. The aftermarket replacement has a nut.

It is there, the easiest access is usually removing the radio grill, 4 small, 1/4” nuts on the top/bottom trim pieces. That should give you the access you seek, good luck, anything under the dash is hard money!

You just need to go to the circus and find yourself one of those small people that can fold themselves into a 12 x 12 x 12 inch box. Just ask them to lay on the floor of the truck and reach up behind the dash and loosen the nut. its as easy as that! GOOD Luck!

I actually thought maybe I could slip the new inner wire in the old sheath.

No dice.

In granny gear, creeping along picking up hay bails to throw on the stack in the bed, the hand throttle is useful.
If you want everything original then this is needed.
Most of the time I find the cable coiled up underneath the dash because the replacement carburetor doesn't have the needed hardware.

Have you tried to thread the cable through a deep well socket, slide the socket down onto the nut and turn the socket by hand?

What bouymaker said and I may or maynot have on some of those Texas roads that have very little traffic and are bowstring straight used the throttle to give my right foot a break.

RonR

I use the throttle cable to boost the RPM to keep a cold engine running once I push the choke knob back in. This prevents excess raw fuel from leak past the rings, washing away the oil from the cylinder walls and contaminating the oil with gas. That is what the main job of the throttle cable is.

If I remember correctly, I believe the original sheath has a few spots were it is “kinked/squished” from factory to keep the cable under some tension/resistance. Check along the length. I seem to recall finding them on my build and pulling the inner cable. Mind you, my truck was completely disssembled and the cables were on the bench.

He doesn't unless he has lady fingers. My daughter in law helped with several of those hard to reach fasteners.

Yep, and I figure it will be handy for various engine tuning exercises as well, getting up to operating temp, etc.

I like the socket idea. Even if I can’t turn the socket by hand, it might give enough set back from the dash to get a wrench on it.

It “feels” like it’s pretty tight quarters behind the dash with some of the adjacent stuff. That might be the only snag with that plan but I’m sure as heck gonna try it.

JW51 Use a crows foot 9/16 or cut-off a cheap end wrench follow up the cable,if its broken off use a socket however save the knob,drill it and crazy glue a fresh wire in it. Have saved several that way ,same way on choke. they are keyed so it will keep the letter straight ! You can also put a new houseing on them ,usually they have been cut short.

Here’s a pic that might help. It's a 9/16" nut

I inherited a set of “pass-through sockets”. Didn’t even know I needed them until I had them. Would be the next step if slipping a socket on works but it’s too hard to turn with your fingers.

Is a "pass-thru socket" similar to a line wrench (box wrench with a cutout that goes around the tubing to tighten a fitting)?
I've never seen anything like that, although I have seen oxygen sensor sockets that are cutaway.
Can you post a pic of your sockets? Curious minds want to know.

Is that like a deep socket with the hex head on the ratchet end? You could possibly slip cable through the square ratchet hole then turn with an open end wrench.

https://toolsetpro.com/best-pass-through-socket-set/

Here’s a set similar to what I have. Instead of a square drive it’s open and reminds me of a “gearwrench” style racheting box end.

I took a set of cheap sockets that have a hex on the drive end and cut the sides out with a cut off wheel. They can be slipped on to the cable, bolt or whatever and turn them with an open end wrench

jw51 Never saw any crimp in the houseing.

fourspeedwagon Tell more about those sockets please. Oop just saw you made those good idea !!

I believe the friction is more related to the inner diameter of the cable housing vs the outer diameter of the cable. No kinks in the housing.

Today I tried to slip a deep socket along the old cable as suggested by someone else in this thread. I can get it there, but it’s way too far in to even get a pair of Vice grips on the socket.

I’m gonna have to try your radio grill removal thing. I didn’t see the nuts you are talking about but will just have to look again.

I guess I was lucky. I used a piece of sandpaper to grip the socket and was able to loosen the nut.

The inner wire:
The cable tends to rust-up when not used for a long time. I've been lucky sometimes to get one working by wiping the housing with a rag to get off the grime and a little rust. Then put penetrating oil on a rag and run it along the length of the cable. Flexing the cable helps to get the penetrant inside. Repeat the process. The knob is crimped on the inner wire. If you can get all the old inner wire out, it's possible to take a new inner wire and knob (may have to buy a complete cable) and run it through the old housing. The end of the inner wire needs to be rounded to keep it from snagging. You can also spin the knob as you insert to assist the inner wire to move.

Radio grille removal:
It is much easier to access the throttle cable nut with this grille removed. For me with stubby fingers, it was harder to get the lock washers and nuts back on the grille. Place a sheet are something on the floor to catch the nuts/washers that fall. Have extra nuts and washers handy. Make sure nothing falls down on the ignition switch (may be safer to disconnect the battery first).

While you are down there with your body contorted and feet in the air, you may want to lubricate the cowl vent mechanism, replace all the dash lamps, replace the old defroster hose, replace the glovebox liner, and anything else that may need attention in the future.

I do have the old inner wire out, and I’d greatly prefer to just put the new knob and wire in the old housing. But it seems like the replacement part is a larger diameter wire and I can’t even get it started.

Success! I sharpened the end of the new wire and got it to go in the old cable sheath.

Congrats