Anybody else ever do this?

The throttle cable stretches over time, and as a result when you punch it, your throttle body doesnt open up all the way like it used to when it was new.

So what I did on my Ranger, and it applies to many Fords, is crawl under the dash with a coule of tie wraps, the wider ones,... and pull the slack off the cable and snap a couple of tie wraps on it to keep it more taught on the pedal.

Now, there is no slop between the gas pedal and the throttle cable end stop, means the engine responds to your feet quicker.

A cheap trick.

What an inexpensive fix! Good idea!

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46 1/2 ton with 56 292:thumbsup:

Yes, cheap and effective.

If you try it though, dont put more than you need around the cable, between the cable nub and the plastic guide that it passes thru, otherwise you find out that you never get back to just an idle.

I have had mine on for a couple of years, and only just recently cut the old ones off and re-tied it again to make sure its ok.

The first time I did it, I could not believe the big change on the responce, so much my mileage went down the tubes cause I was enjoying it soo much. ;)

Good tips smirkley. What year was there Ranger in question. At what point do throttle cables start stretching?

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Most Fords use a throttle cable of braided steel wire. I suppose it applies to any vehicle that has a throttle cable.

I read about stretching somewhere, and when I crawled under my dash I had about an inch and a half of 'slop' I put two of the bigger tie wraps in, and now when I push the gas pedal, there isnt a 'dead area' where the throttle body hasnt yet been opened. In fact, the body opens up linearly to my gas pedal which is how I like it.

Think about this, if the cable stretches and you dont know it, if you were to put the pedal to the metal, the throttle body is actually not ever gonna it its 'all the way open' as the pedal will bottom out long before the body does.

How long before it stretches? I dont know, but I think ALL cables stretch eventually I would think.

I first saw this about 2 years ago on another forum. Being your average senior citizen, read overweight, and not nearly as flexible as I was 45-50 years ago, :eek:
I had trouble getting between the drivers seat and the dash. So I forgot about it. After reading this and because my interior is gutted I tried again. Happy I did.
Found about 1/4" to 3/8" of slop. Put 1 tie wrap on and decided to stop there. Still have maybe 1/16" of play but I'm sure a second tie wrap would have caused my engine
to "idle" at 1500 RPM or more. Can't wait to finish the interior and see what kind of a difference it made.
BTW my truck is 5 years old with 75K on the clock and I'm sure this "fix" was needed 2 years or 25K miles ago.