[Mihogan]

An Explorer, but same idea for us older Sube drivers.

 

[rasterman]

Easy enough to test- get a helper (jackstand or otherwise) to hold the pedal down and check your throttle body. Cables can stretch, I had the same issue with more than one VW.

 

[Mihogan]

Any idea how to get inside the throttle body to look?

 

[rasterman]

I can't remember how it was arranged on my '98. My current '06 is electronic so this does not apply.

At a minimum, it would require removing the rubber hose that runs from the air cleaner to the throttle body. You may need to use an inspection mirror to see down there.

 

[Novablue]

It won't work. I'm sorry but if it is so easy to add HP don't you think the people that get paid to design these things would have thought of that?

Still I see no harm in trying. Who knows, it might just work. Ford/Subie are not designed the same however so you should check to see it the throttle body doesn't open all the way first.

 

[DavidPeab]

Isn't there some kind of computery thing-a-ma-bob that works with other doo-hickies like ignition, vacuum sensors, fuel sensors and what not, that already does the horse power ka-jigger? Will mechanically modifying an OEM throttle setup damage any other components down the line, in addition to possibly just being plumb dangerous. I noticed the dude in the video didn't start/run the Ford at any time before or after the mod. If you want to get to the throttle cables (two of them) in my Gen 2 Outback - look under the hood, not under the dash.

Tell ya what, one of you guinea pigs try it and let us know how it goes. Wait a week or two so we can sus out the long term effects. Just sayin'

 

[rasterman]

It's not like the ford guy got a bunch of power he'd never had before- the cable had stretched. He wasn't able to get the engine to full throttle anymore due to the stretch. This hack just lets him use some power that the engine was capable of all along, and used to deliver at full pedal when new. I really doubt the 50hp claim, but I'm sure he got something back.

The same principle would apply to any car with a mechanical cable between the pedal and TB.

Technically, the guy is just re-calibrating the throttle cable. Kind of a lousy way of doing it, with zipties. Some cars have adjustable fittings to make this easier, and his didn't so he hacked it with plastic.

If you try this, don't overdo it. You need to make sure that when you take your foot off the pedal, the throttle body closes all the way- otherwise the engine will never drop all the way to idle, and that could be bad for a lot of reasons.

 

[Mihogan]

I've already adjusted slack out of my throttle cable under the hood with the little nuts... but I suppose the cable still couldve stretched resulting in the throttle not being open all the right right?

What I'm going to do is look at the throttle body with the gas pedal all the way down (obviously) and then with it completely untouched. Should the throttle body be completely closed if there is nothing pushing the gas pedal down? Or slightly open? Not completely sure

 

[rasterman]

Not sure if the plate completely closes. You could remove the throttle cable and allow the plate to close by way of its return spring, then you'll see the naturally closed position.

Another problem I've seen (in other cars) is folks making it a little too tight, so mashing the pedal to the floor puts too much stress on the cable and the bushings on the butterfly shaft. A little goes a long way with these adjustments.

 

[Euchre]

I find it a little dubious that we don't see the throttle in action. I can just picture the cable being pulled to that preload only to find the throttle plate 1/4 of the way open at a dead pedal. That could be a wee bit of a shocker with a quick fire up and drop into gear. If the cable really is stretched, you'd get NO throttle movement through the first part of the pedal travel, and that would seem to be obvious when driving. There are actually cable stop pieces made to be clamped onto a cable, normally for custom fabricated cables. Also, not so sure even in an essentially mechanical throttle there isn't some form of assisted opening when the engine is running and under load on that thing. What I see is at best a redneck dabbling in a potentially disastrous 'fix' - like something Brucey might do...

Wait, did I just say that?

Anyway, I'd tend to call shenanigans on this. But then, that's just what I think.

 

[kmssgoten]

He does say its a joke about the 50hp, but he is showing how to fix a worn out pedal I mean so long as its what it should be doing as in that throttle should be that wide cant hurt testing it would be easy if you had a Problem like this

 

[Euchre]

The only way I see this 'fix' working is if the cable is not so much stretched as the cable is no longer secured somewhere it should be, and the cable assembly was thus able to flex and move instead of delivering proper cable movement at the throttle. In such a case, this kind of 'fix' is just going to lead to more problems later on.