Hello All, I have a question regarding the screw that holds the throttle lever in place. Parts 33 and 35 on this diagram. I was driving my '87 328 the other day and when I put my foot down at a light, I felt something give way, the pedal lost all resistance, and the engine returned to idle with no effect from the now floppy gas pedal. I popped the engine cover and saw that the screw holding the throttle control lever to the throttle body had come so loose that it allowed the control lever to disengage from the roller pin on the adjuster lever. I screwed it back in and made my way home. Once home, I checked it again and I noticed that when the throttle opens and closes, that screw is moving with the control lever. Basically, it screws in a little when the throttle is opened, and unscrews when the throttle closes. The only way to stop this from happening is to unscrew it to the point where it's not at all compressing the spring on the control lever, and then it is just barely engaged on the roller pin. It seems that if there's any lateral compression on the spring, the pin will rotate with the control lever, and I think that's why it eventually unscrewed to the point of disengaging completely. I assume this is not how it was intended to work and I'm wondering how to get the control lever to move without the screw rotating in and out. How far should that screw be screwed in? Is it is simple matter of grease? If so, which bit gets the grease? Thanks all for your input. -Matt Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Brian. I did tighten it, and the more I tighten it, the more the screw rotates with the opening and closing of the throttle. When I tightened it all the way, the levers wouldn't move at all any more. I guess my question is, what is the default setting for that screw? Thanks.
Here's a video. Note how the screw moves back and forth with the lever. This is with the screw tightened to the point where it is putting lateral compression on the spring between the lever and the throttle body. If I tighten further it happens more. If I loosen the screw, it doesn't happen, but then the lever is engaged only with the end of the roller pin. Thx.
When tightened the screw you refer to should not lock the lever in place. Either there are incorrect or missing parts or the parts are incorrectly installed. Properly assembled there is clearance to allow the lever to move freely when the screw is tight. So check to be sure you have all the parts associated with that assembly and they are in the correct position. A bit of grease on the portion of the screw where the lever rides would be appropriate.
Thanks everyone. Seems like it's beyond the scope of my skill/understanding. I'll take it to someone. Appreciate the help. Cheers, Matt
I assume you bought it recently from a shop or private party. If you had a PPI done, take it to whoever did that, they should be very familiar with these cars and could quickly sort it out. I am NOT suggesting that the PPI should have found it, IMO, it's extremely unlikely that they would - just that they can fix it. If you want to mess with it yourself, the parts diagram you posted shows the relevant parts and the order in which they are installed...
Thank you for the advice. I've had the car for almost 2 years and done 2400 miles. And, actually, I figured it out! The answer was in this thread: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/308qv-smooth-acceleration.514839/page-2#post-144532042 The bushing inside the throttle lever that the pin goes through is supposed to allow the lever to rotate freely around the pin. Mine had completely dried up. I popped it out, lubricated it, and now it opens and closes great with the screw at full tightness. And no movement of the screw at all. Funny, I had read that thread before and not made the connection to my issue.
