Hey guys.

I've been having some trouble with my kickdown cable lately - it's not retracting after being pulled out of the sheath. This seems to only happen when it's cold out. Anything lower than about -5 (Celcius) or so. Also, when I first start away in the morning, the accelerator is 'stuck' and needs to be kicked fairly hard before it will move - like the kickdown cable is frozen and holding the throttle spindle mechanism in place.

I guess I will probably need to get a new cable (?) but since I won't be able to get into a warm (warmer than outside anyway) garage space for a while, I wonder if anyone has any ideas about how to make the damn thing usable in the meantime?

I'm assuming that since it's happening only when it's really cold out, it's probably due to some moisture somewhere that it shouldn't be... but could something be wrong inside the transmission where the other end of the cable hooks up? Is there some adjustment I can make that will allow it to slip back in the sheath after I press on the throttle?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

hey jadnhm

Just went through the same scenario. I was able to cup my hand around the cable and sprayed Blaster into the cable/cupped hand, pooling and finally it ran down and loosened my cable up. I too thought there was something wrong with my well maintained tranny. Works great now. I will wait a couple weeks and do the same thing with tranny fluid.

Deterioration of the liner of the sheath, probably combined with some moisture that's made its way in there as the plastic housing separated. Unhook it from the throttle spool, and drip ATF down the cable into the housing. Tri-Flow teflon lube works really well too, I'm just not sure how good it is for the transmission - it will eventually make its way down there if you use enough of it. I've been limping my 780 kickdown cable along for a while now with a periodic relubrication.
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Chris, Dartmouth NS Canada 70 M-B 280SE, 83 245DL, 84 244 turbo, 90 780 turbo, 92 VW Golf, 90 740 Rex/Regina

Good Tip, Chris.

What do you normally use to get the oil into that skinny line?

I was thinking a syringe would work wonderfully but I don't know where I'd get a hold of one of those....

It works best if you take the kickdown cable loose and unscrew the 13mm nut so you can remove the cable from the bracket. Then simply temporarily wire it to the firewall so gravity will help in flowing the lube into the sheath. I use PB Blaster first and then either 3 in 1 oil or trans fluid as Chris suggested. I doubt the miniscule amount that reaches the transmission will make a difference.

My experience is that this process take place over time to allow the Blaster and then the oil to work. Pulling the cable and releasing it during application seems to draw more into the sheath.

How clean is your throttle body? The sticky residue found in the throttle body can stick the throttle plate in place giving the same feel as you describe. Easy enough to check by raising the hood in the morning before pressing on the accelerator and simply pull on the kickdown cable by hand to see if it is the problem or the throttle plate is sticking.

Randy