1.5 years later my 1st problem with my 911 - Throttle linkage

[Jims5543]

I had to run an errand today at work. I took off in my 911 and about 2 blocks from theoffice my accelerator pedal went to the floor.

Thank god for my 3.6. I was able to idle back to the office parking lot in 2nd gear. I was even able to shift to 1st and climb the hill heading into the lot, about a 5 foot tall steep hill. The 3.6 just grunted up it.

So I get to poking around the car. (I REALLY need to degrease it) I see the linkage has disconnected by the tranny.

I circled the area in red in this picture.

It looks to me like I am missing a retaining clip. Or maybe the ball joint is just worn out.

Do I need to order the whole assembly or just the ball joint parts?

[Jims5543]

BTW - Picture borrowed from another post on here.


Also - I used a thick rubber band to hold it together to make the 4 mile drive home. Hopefully it will hold until I can get it in the air and rig it better until I can order the proper parts.

[Shawn 357]

There is no retaining clip so if it does not fit together snug then either the ball or the part that goes on the ball is worn out. My experience has been that the female part wears out before the ball.
Hope this helps,
Shawn

[DW SD]

I would just order the female ball socket, if the threads on the linkage are still good.
Take a close look at the bellcrank and ensure it also looks serviceable and the ball is intact.

Doug

[Rot 911]

What the others said. No retaining clip there. Sometimes they are worn out, sometimes they just pop off for no reason. I would just get replace the cup piece.

[Jims5543]

I cleaned it up and it sort of snapped back together, I worked the throttle a little and it "seemed" to hold together.

Obviously, this is a custom setup due to the 3.6 swap.

Whatever I order will have to be modified. I am thinking this might be an ace hardware fix. I am thinking of making a bracket, a swing arm of sorts and eliminate the ball joint.


Here is my actual linkage.




This is my custom fix.

[TargaFlorio]

I actually replaced the entire throttle linkage on my early 911 with a morse cable. Did this about 6 months ago and never had any issues with it. Before that I had some trouble with a sticky throttle. Here's a link with pictures.

Early 911: Replacing Throttle Linkage with Morse Cable?

Cheers,
n.
_
http://nicolashunziker.com

[mede8er]

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
[B]I cleaned it up and it sort of snapped back together, I worked the throttle a little and it "seemed" to hold together.

Keep the rubber band in your pocket in the meantime...

[sig_a]

There is no clip, but there is a retaining pin that fits thru the socket and holds the ball and socket together. The pin must be removed before you can separate the ball from the socket. The reason I know this is I just cleaned and adjusted this linkage to fix a high idle problem.

[DW SD]

looks to me like someone jury rigged the factory socket by putting a set screw in it and captured that thin linkage rod. I wonder how long your bandaid will hold?

Fix it right and do it once or carry the rubber band and hope it doesn't break when you apply heavy throttle out of a corner. As you know, lifting at the wrong time isn't good with these cars.

[DUK]

Jim, Why not put a heim joint and bolt there instead of the ball joint. Would be a very permanent fix and safer in my thinking. Just my .02

[rexav8r]

I just had this EXACT same thing happen... Well, not JUST happen..

At my last DE at Mid-Ohio, coming out of the keyhole, I pushed the throttle down and at about 1/3 throw -POP- you could feel it...

My temp fix was a piece of duct tape over the ball and then some safety wire wrapped around it. Got me through another full day of DE and the 3 hour drive home...

What happens is every time your engine has been dropped that has been popped off. -and just like in my case I suspect, it's been one time too many..

I just ordered another piece from here on Pelican for about $9.

The socket piece just threads on the throttle cable. There is a small nut that keeps it secure that's you'll have to back off first.

It does have a small ring clip inside the socket that will just wear out with time.

I think there should be a better fix for this connection using a clevis or pin w/ cotter pin or something...

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by Duke Zink
Jim, Why not put a heim joint and bolt there instead of the ball joint. Would be a very permanent fix and safer in my thinking. Just my .02

That is exactly what I have planned. I might make one if I cannot find one locally. I am going to drill a hole in the linkage and replace that ball joint with a heim joint.

The "thin" linkage you see is actually a cable. Its actually a nice setup and has worked for quite a while but, its time to fix it and make it so I do not have to worry about it.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by DW SD
looks to me like someone jury rigged the factory socket by putting a set screw in it and captured that thin linkage rod. I wonder how long your bandaid will hold?

Fix it right and do it once or carry the rubber band and hope it doesn't break when you apply heavy throttle out of a corner. As you know, lifting at the wrong time isn't good with these cars.

Like I said the plan is to eliminate the ball joint, there really is no reason for it.

You know, I was so scared of the rear stepping out on this in a lift situation since I got it.

Then I took it and autocrossed it and really tossed it around and to be honest it is not all that bad. I have an RX7 that scales in at a perfect 50/50 front rear balance and it is more of a handful when the rear is out than my 911 any day of the week.

When the 911 get out of wack, either from a mid turn lift or power oversteer, a little english with the right foot and some smooth inputs with the hands and its a fun ride.

Ever since that AX I am not so intimidated by this car anymore.