more cheap thrills....

[james t]

tell you guys what... lets test this once and for all. i have a friend i work with that has a 96 2wd 5.0 identical to mine in every way other than color. i have raced him before, and with my few mods & the throttle cable trick, i beat him 1.5-2 car lengths every time. we are both off work today, so i am gonna call him up right now. he is more than willing, and we have access to a safe place to do this (wont go into detail). i will run him a few times with the zip tie, then a few times without. his is bone stock, and has nothing done to it. i will post as soon as i get back.

 

[liquidx9]

i will be interested in hearing about this.. sounds useful

 

[410Fortune]

Dudes! there is no need to test anything.

You press the pedal down or have somebody press the pedal down. If your throttle body plate is not completely flat (open 100%) you need to remove a little slack. Thats it, just that simple. No power gains, just get the tiny bit of power back that was lost when the cable stretched out.

Here's a diagram showing the proper spacer location, also there is another thread on this on the baord right now, it has good information on how to diagnose and fix the cable stretch problem.

Also the kick down cable should be adjusted properly, you should not just add the same spacer to the auto tranny kick down cable and assume that you removed the proper amount of slack. The Kick down cable is also adjustable at the firewall so usually no spacer is needed, just adjustment.


Dead Link Removed

 

[james t]

first off, i have a 5.0 it has no kickdown cable. second, i am not gonna test this to "see if my X is faster", cuz i know its faster. i am gonna run my friend's X with and without the throttle cable mod to see if there is (any) difference. we checked his shortly after i got mine, and his "butterfly" also opened only about 80%. he didnt want to fix it, because he is paranoid about doing anything other than regular maintanance to his ride. i know that all this does is allow the engine to run at true wide open throttle. i am becoming more and more convinced that ford made them this way and they did not simply "stretch over time". i have had this done for over a year now, and everytime i mention it on this board (before, anyway) i have been told i am full of crap, it doesnt do anything, or it only helps "throttle response". i will post my results completely un-biased. if i run the same with and without the mod, i promise you will hear about it. i am doing this for two reasons. 1. it will be fun and 2. to either prove that i AM full of crap, or i know what i am talking about. either way, he will be here in about 30 minutes, so i am going to test the myth for everyone. wish me luck

 

[410Fortune]

Good luck.

I did this mod about 4 years ago with my 2.9L, it helped, I can tell you that.

Then when I converted to a 4.0L I had about 1.5" too much cable (93 Explorer throttle cable in a 88 BII) so I did it again.

So you are telling me that Ford intended to have the throttle body not open fully? Why in the world would you want 95% air flow when you can get 100%?

the only true way to test this would be to hook a TB up to a flow bench and open it 80%, test the flow, then open it 100% and compare the results.

 

[james t]

so you are telling me ford did not intend on it opening fully?

thats just my opinion. ford does some very weird stuff sometimes, and not just on the explorer. this mod is well known for many ford vehicles, and it was my mustang buddy that brought it to my attention the day after i bought my X (over a year ago.) i just find it hard to believe that nearly every ford throttle cable stretches. a throttle cable is not under that much stress. i understand that cables fatigue/stretch over time, but a throttle cable is actually fairly large for the small amount of stress it is under. also, i have never heard of anyone doing this on any other brand vehicle. oh well, this is just my FoMoCo "conspiracy theory".

 

[Robert]

I checked mine out by having my Wife hold the gas pedal to the floor (I had to show her how though) while I tried pulling ont he throttle butterfly lever under the hood. It wouldn't open any more than the gas pedal could already open it.

I did have the misfortune though of having Ford replace my throttle body a couple of years ago. When they did the screw holding the cruise control cable snapped off the first time I used the cruise after getting my Explorer back from service. I took it back to Ford and had them replace the screw. Instead of drilling out the screw, they just used a self-tapping screw and mounted the cruise cable about 1" further forward than it was supposed to be. This prevented my throttle from opening all the way. It took about 7 visits and all sorts of BS excuses from the dealer as to why my Explorer didn't have the acceleration it use to have. It wouldn't downshift all the way when flooring it. Once I found and fixed the screw the dealer screwed up, it was back to driving normally. So, I do know that it doesn't take much of a change in how much the throttle opens to feel the difference.

 

[410Fortune]

Dont forget, not every single truck that comes off the line is exactly the same. The gas pedal on your 94 may be 1/4 further forward then the gas pedal on another 94, just due to a mount hole being drilled 1/16 off here and a firewall being 1/16" thicker on one truck, etc...

Using the same length throttle cable on every truck without any way of adjusting it could cause slack on one truck and not on another.

Do they stretch? probably over time, any cable will.
Are all teh cables the exact same length new? probably not, I mean it would be nearly impossible to manufacture 50,000 throttle cables and have every single one be the EXACT same length, to err is human.......

If you ask me they should have just put an adjuster on the firewall where the throttle cable goes through, just like a kick down, this would allow the slack to be removed every time, however like you said Ford probably didnt see a 1/8" difference in throttle plate position as a big deal. One 4.0L may make 161 HP whereas the next makes 159, who cares right? close enough for them to pass inspection and make it to the dealer........

 

[james t]

THE RESULTS ARE IN... just got back, and here is what i have found. first, let me re-state that i ran an X excactly like mine (5.0, 3:73's, 96 model, with no mods, same height tires.) mine has a cut airbox with K&N, Flowmaster home-made catback, and thats it. no, i didnt run my nitrous.
ran three times WITH throttle mod, both of us launching at idle, on what is marked off as 1/4 mile. all three times, we ran dead even until i shifted into 2nd. then, i started to pull him, shifted into 3rd, pulled him even harder, with the end result being me ahead almost exactly 2 car lengths. results were same all 3 runs.

ran three times WITHOUT throttle mod, same launch technique, and to my suprise he pulled me 1/2 a car length until mine hit 2nd. then i started gaining on him, with the end result being me ahead 1/2 car length. results were the same all 3 runs.

after discussion, we concluded why he came off the line a little quicker than me was due to exhaust. high flow exhaust added top end hp, and lowered low end torque. not that it mattered, because hp eventually won the race. it did suprise me, though.

i also took my Mituto digital calipers, and measured the distance from the edge of the butterfly to the edge of the throttle bore on both mine (no zip tie) and his. the measurements were the same. so, if they stretched, then they stretched the exact same amount. im sure this is purely coincidence, though.

there you have it. results may vary with 4.0's, mileage, and whatnot. this is just my conclusion, results may vary.

 

[GR899V8]

There's a way for you dad's that loan the X to your kid, add MORE slack!! j/k

 

[X24]

Originally posted by 410Fortune
Also the kick down cable should be adjusted properly, you should not just add the same spacer to the auto tranny kick down cable and assume that you removed the proper amount of slack. The Kick down cable is also adjustable at the firewall so usually no spacer is needed, just adjustment.

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What does this cable do and where is it? Please explain what adjusting it will do. I will check my thottle body plate when someone gets home to hold the pedal down but as of right now when I floor it it doesnt down shift. If it does, it doesnt go to a low enough gear. It might unlock the torque converter or throw it down one gear but thats it. When I got my chip I thought it would help this problem but it didnt. Maybe its just because there is slack.

 

[410Fortune]

The kick down cable is on your gas pedal (if you have a V-6 Explorer, V-8 are on the throttle body) right next to the throttle cable.

If you look at where the two cables go through the firewall (engine side) you will see the adjuster on the kick down cable. It is basically a 1/2 moon shaped button you press down, they can be sticky so you push down hard. Once the button is down you can pull the cable sleeve in or out. Adjusting the kick down cable is not that simple however, you need to get down and look at the tranny linkage. With the gas pedal not being touched (idle) you want to make sure there is no slack in the cable between the bracket and the linkage itself on the tranny, the kick down linkage (coming out of the side of the A4LD should also be all the way back, your truck may not downshift into 1st when at a stop if this is not all the way back, if you adjust at the firewall too much it may not be able to spring all the way back to it;s rest position), if there is slack here you can remove it by carefully bending the kick down bracket. If there is slack up at the gas pedal then you use the firewall adjuster.

You can do a adjust it one notch, drive it, adjust it, drive it, method if you want.

This cable will control the downshifts when you floor it. If you dont feel it's dropping enough gears (like it used to) try adjusting this baby AFTER YOU CHECK YOUR ATF fluid level. Low ATF can cause the same type of problem....

Only the A4LD can be adjusted by hand as far as I know. Some kick down cables require precise measured kick down adjustments, I would take it to a good tranny guy to have these adjusted/checked.

 

[psychotic]

i have a 1996 v6 xlt, and i have no kick down cable

 

[X24]

I just did this and now it down shifts to a lower gear when i floor it.

 

[yob_yeknom]

'95 and up have no kick-down cables. The trannies are all controlled electronically.

 

[410Fortune]

in 1995 isn't the tranny something other then a A4LD? L THis info only works on the A4LD as far as I know.

 

[Hartman]

Nope, I have the A4LD, and I have done this mod.

 

[liquidx9]

well, i just finished this 'mod', and im impressed, first off, my throttle cable doesnt have that spring, i just put 3 zip ties over the cable, and tightened them, so now my gas pedal sits a little higher, is a lot more responsive, its great... theres none of the old initial hesitation, it revs up to 5K quicker than before, and there is noticably more seat in the pants acceleration, why didnt ford do this in the first place... do they hate hp or something?? (it also downshifts a lot smoother now too... a definate plus for passing)

 

[X24]

I was under the impression that this will only make a difference at WOT because before 'shortening' the cable the TB plate was not opening fully. Anywhere before WOT, the pedal is just a little closer to you and you are used to pushing it a certain amount and now when you push it that far you are actually giving it more gas so it seems 'faster' and downshifts more easily. As for response, that may change depending on how your gas pedal sat before the shortening of the cable. If it was tight against the cable it will still be the same as it is now. If you could push it a little bit without it pulling on the cable before, then yes, it will be more responsive now. At least thats the way I see it working. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[psychotic]

you're both right. Its like, if you want to pull on something really fast and jerk it out of the way... you don't want the rope to be slack, cause that delays your pull.... just apply that to the throttle cable if you can figure it out... thats why you get better response. you do get faster response, but it isn't cause of added horse power... you took out that delay caused by the slack in the "rope"