maestro throttle cable

[eviltoad]

Hi all, I aquired a 1986 "C" reg 1.3 petrol maestro 500 van last week. Today I went to move from front of my house to the rear and encountred a problem. I pulled the choke out, turned the key, lightly put my foot on the accellerator and the pedal stuck to the floor and engine must have hit maximum revs!!!!!!...i turned key off to kill engine. I didnt have time to investigate because i had to get to work, (in my trusty transit). Any suggestions as to possible cause will be appreciated..could it just be sticking , will a squirt of wd40 solve it, or is throttle cable naff, etc etc..i also noticed when driving at weekend i could smell fumes wen i had window down, was ok wen windows shut. does not smell of exhuast fumes or un burnt fuel...could mixture be too rich or ??many thanks chris

[B18 GPC]

hey mate , welcome to the forums..

I recall my throttel cable sticking on my brother..

Theres a C shaped Piece , on the carboretta , that the throttel cable goes over.. mine came off here , tangeled it self somehow , and stuck open... {the carboretta exploded as my brother didnt find the key.. }

The fumes , is possibly the mixture yes , found on a small screw {cross head} on the carb again , .. you can adjust idle with one , and mixture with the other.. i think turning it clockwise opens the airflow , taking off more fuel , to prevent fumes. you could have a minor expaust blow though from the spring loaded joint , bring fumes up.

hoep this helps,

Graham

[eviltoad]

hiya, thanks for that...I had a little look and discovered that there is a spring on the accelerator pedal this appears to be connected to a ring that is around and looks as though it should slide up and down the pedal...is this right???regards chris

[Rich]

Another option that has happened to me twice on different cars.

The throttle pedal has a pin through it which bolts onto the side of the pedal box. The body of the pedal pivots on the pin when the pedal is pushed. This mechanism can seize up, and the spring on the carb is not strong enough to pull the seized pedal back up, thus it sticks. This happens especially if the vehicle has not been used for a while.

Have a feel of the pedal with the throttle cable disconnected, if it feels stiff, remove the nut, washer and spring washer from the side of the pedal, remove the pedal and disconnect the cable. A good dousing in WD40 etc should free it back up. Or take the joint apart, clean it with wire wool etc and grease it up before re-assembly.

HTH Rich

[Rich]

Also, your fumes smell.

When I had a 1.3 (many years ago!) I found the exhaust front pipe got knocked a fair bit where it comes off the manifold and under the engine at its low point. If this gets bad enough a hole can appear in this low spot. Also the joint to the manifold can come lose where the pipe has been hit.

As Graham says, there is also a spring on this front pipe where a ball joint is located. This spring keeps the pipe together whilst allowing a slight movement. If this spring is knackered or missing then it could be the cause. However also check for fumes escaping on the manifold to front pipe joint, or if the pipe looks really beaten under the engine, check for holes!

HTH Rich