So...whats the best way to lube a throttle cable...and with what??
I have had to put a return spring on mine to get it to close.. The throttle body spring is ok by itself..but the Cable is making it stick and close slowly...
Any quick ways to lube it without taking it off and out of the vehicle???

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'86 Fastback SE 5 spd -'94 HD Electra Glide Cassic -'99 Chevy K-1500 Z-71

If this cable is sticking it has crud in cable or cable wires are frayed,it is difficult to clean with out removal .. you can force spray with brake cleaner or carb cleaner ,difficult because there is little room between cable sheath and wire ,,first check carefully for broken split or frayed wire at both ends,or a kink in cable..if ok remove from engine side first spray with cleaner holding cable up in air use lots of spray then turn down to let cleaner and crap flow out,then place funnel you have made on end tape securely and secure cable in up in air ,spray with pb blaster or liquid wrench the tape on funnel and cable will loosen I sometimes use small hose clamp for this .if cable has rusted this will help loosen ,watch cable to see if there is leak.if problem persist you must disconect front and move cable back and forth to free,place paper under front cable to keep from oiling carpetmove cable slow quick rapid movement can destroy cable,,you may try PB Blaster with cable remove if still conect to front just move cable a small amount do not force .. side note the transmission cables can have a small section removed and lubricant inserted by building small fort around removed section and let lube flow into cable then replace cut out section and tape with black tape

I don't know of anyone that has successfully lubed a throttle cable and gotten the desired result. Unless you can find a way to force dry lube into it, it won't last. The cable is 7 or 8 feet long and has a couple of hard bends in it. The problem is probably that the cable has started to cut into the outer sheild on one of the bends. Or has started to fray inside. If this is the case then replacement is the only solution. You have to remove it to lube it anyway and you won't want to have to remove/reinstall a second time if the lube doesn't work.

A sticking throttle can be caused by varnish buildup on the pivot pin of the butterfly (the round curcular flap of the throttle body).Use a good quality cleaner like Berryman B-12 Chemtool (spray version).This will melt varnish (don't get on any paint).If you got time,take a little high temperatur grease and force it into the pivot joints...Back to your question,the only thing that I've used to lube the throttle cabe is a few drops of oil,but if it's kinked or frayed the oil probubly wont help.

PB BLaster did the trick.... was slow goin...but it worked.. thanx all for the replies......

hit it again with pb blaster after a few months and you will probably not have problem return this from my experience with motor cycle cables

quote Originally posted by uhlanstan: hit it again with pb blaster after a few months and you will probably not have problem return this from my experience with motor cycle cables

I have my ebrake cables out. They are from a NorthEast car. Lots of rust. They work, but I want to make sure they are well lubed for the future. What do you do with PB Blaster? Hang the cable from a clothes line, give a shot at the top and let gravity take over?

When I had the Rochester throttle body I used some PB Blaster around the return spring on the butterfly valve pin and that cleared up alot of the resistance. The problem I have now is the pivot arm that the throttle cable and throttle body pullrod attaches to. Getting lube to stay on there is a pain in the arse.

There are cable lubers made for motorcycles. Is there anything like that available for ebrake cables?

quote Originally posted by sjmaye: I have my ebrake cables out. They are from a NorthEast car. Lots of rust. They work, but I want to make sure they are well lubed for the future. What do you do with PB Blaster? Hang the cable from a clothes line, give a shot at the top and let gravity take over?

When I did my throttle cable.. I left it on the car.. I popped it off the throttle body.. and sprayed it into the cable..then worked it back and forth..then repeated numerous times until it was sliding freely.. took a while.. but it worked...

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'86 Fastback SE 5 spd -'94 HD Electra Glide Cassic -'99 Chevy K-1500 Z-71

Graphite ! Creeps the length of the cable.

I seem to remember reading a post on the forum where the guy lubed some sort of cable on a Fiero using a Shop-Vac. He put one end of the cable into the hose of his Shop-Vac, turned the Vac on and then let the vacuum suck the lubricant down the length of the cable as he lubed the cable from the other end.

I don't know if it really works, (I didn't try it out), but it makes sense and should work.

Just a thought, might prove helpful. Good Luck.

~~Bob

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"Its nice to be important.
Its more important to be nice."

ANY cable if frozen ,rusted, corroded ,if possible just hang from some place and let lube flow ,,for a real rusted cable plug the lowest end and fill with pb blaster or liquid wrench...let hang for a day or longer the fluid will penetrate a really rusted e brake cable should have lube slit half way (where you have access) normally if you just lube it well once a year you will be O K .. any heavy rust should be removed with brake cleaner ect. then lubed any slit you make just cover with black tape once rust is thick it will allways be there !! but it can be controlled just like the varmints that occupy my cave when i pull the rock over my hole to scheme
When you have front end hi in air ,,good time to lube main e brake cable you can make small funnel from thin cardboard to direct fluid
have passenger rear hi in air lube cable on that side ect, vacuum will work just tape and suck easiest just to put in air.or have girl friend practice technique

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 04-05-2008).]

I have no idea how good or bad my ebrake cables at the calipers are in. I know they work and I know the rest of the car has been a rust bucket. What do you think the best fluids to use? Should i use brake cleaner to break up any possible rust? Or just regular motorcycle cable lube?