348 - So you want to replace your 348 throttle cable? - How To - Sticky Throttle | FerrariChat

348 So you want to replace your 348 throttle cable? - How To - Sticky Throttle

Discussion in '348/355' started by Ravens_Shadow, Nov 10, 2023.

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  1. Ravens_Shadow

    Ravens_Shadow Karting

    Jul 18, 2022
    51
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Nick Seavert
    #1 Ravens_Shadow, Nov 10, 2023
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2023
    There isn't any documentation on how to replace your Ferrari 348's throttle cable so I'm going to show you how to do it! Unfortunately with how old these cars are, you are probably in for a world of pain as this was one of my worst car experiences i've ever had. However, without pain we don't grow so let's get to it!

    In my case this applies to a 1991 Ferrari 348 TS. If you have a newer model the cable may be slightly different. I replaced the cable because my throttle was sticking. I verified that it wasn't the throttle body springs or pedal causing the issue, it was the cable getting stuck. I verified this by pushing the pedal in with the covers off, then pulling the pedal back with my hand and seeing plenty of sag in the cable. Wiggling the cable then had it immediately retract back. The cause? A **** load of rust as you'll soon see.

    PART 1:

    Step 1: Remove the 4 screws from the black foot cover, they're really small so put them in a container. Once these screws are removed, you should be able to pull the cover over and from around the pedal. You'll want to vacuum out the recess where the pedal sits because its likely full of 30 years of garbage.

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    Step 2: Remove the 3 screws from the throttle side footwell panel. One screw is really far in the back, so you need to be a contortionist to get to it.

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    Step 3: Pull the cover off and unveil the rats nest if you're unfortunate enough to have an aftermarket radio.

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    Step 4: Next, we need to get disconnect the cable from the pedal. Pry the black clip off of the pedal with a screwdriver or something similar. You don't have to pry hard, just enough to open up the clip and the cable will fall right off.

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    And voila, it pops right off.

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    Part 5: You now need to get the ball joint socket off of the cable so you can pull the cable out. I had a lot of trouble with this since the nut had yellow loctite on it. I ended up cutting the cable so i could take the ball joint assembly out of the car and throw it in a bowl of PB blaster. I then got a pair of locking pliers to grip the hell out of the screw and then broke the nut and ball joint piece free. They both spun together so it worked out. You may be lucky enough to get this piece off without having to cut the cable or let the part sit in PB blaster. Do note that you need to save the nut and the socket because it doesn't come with a new cable. Not cutting the cable may be to your advantage to help you pull the sheath out as you'll see in the next parts.

    Part 6: From here, if you snipped the cable like I did, you can probably pull the entire thing out of the sheath that it's in. Then after the cable is off of the car, get two 8mm wrenches and you should be able to undo the two bolts on the long screw that goes into your throttle body. If you're having trouble, soak them in PB blaster and be sure to turn them away from each other at first. Save these two nuts as you need them for your new cable. One way to unhook this cable as well is to move the throttle body to the full throttle position and then pull the cable and it should slide right out of its holder.

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    Part 7: You need to take the entire engine bay lid off. You definitely need two people for this job, I enlisted the help of my lady. This is a great time to follow the steps in this thread and replace your heat shielding! -> https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/348-355-rear-deck-lid-heat-shield-replacement-howto.439682/

    My one caveat here is where it says "CAREFULLY LIFT THE LID" is a bit too late because you're already risking cracking your rear glass. Before you remove the last bolts from the lid, put some towels between the lid and your rear glass just in case your helper isn't holding it good enough. You'll thank me later.

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    Me before I realized I was about to have one of the worst car experiences of my life.

    Part 8
    : You need to take the flexible ring off of the eyelet that is held securely to the engine. This keeps the cable from coming out. I just got a pair of pliers and was able to yank it off. To reach it, I literally climbed on top of the engine because I'm short. Be careful because if you drop this, its probably gone forever.



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    Part 9: The world of pain.
    We know this thing is rusted into the routing pipe for the throttle cable. Trying to pull this thing out will take every single bit of strength you will have. I would highly recommend wearing some tough gloves. You will think that it's held up by sort of clamp like on the 355, it is not. It is rust. You need to pull and pull and pull. Squirt tube inside the car with PB blaster. I got a sandwich ziplock bag, cut a small hole in it and wrapped it around the tube with a rubber band to seal it. I sprayed inside the tube a bit and the bag caught the excess. Not much is going to go in I don't think, but try it anyway. You may want the PB blaster to sit over night and it may make the job easier. I needed this done quickly so I went the harder route. One of the smartest things I did in this situation was to punch the cable out from the floor. I got into the drivers floorboard, found an allen wrench multitool that had a large handle on it, stuck it into the sheath where the cable used to be and then whacked it a few times with a hammer and the cable loosened up. Because the allen wrench was about as large as the cable itself, it created a nice tool for me to wiggle the rusted sheath back and forth. Its still going to be stuck and you just need to push and pull back and forth as much as you can to grind the rust up. Don't worry, its going to get harder! If your efforts were worthy enough, the sheath should pop out and you'll see just how bad your throttle cable really as. I struggled for hours to get this thing out while balancing on the air box.

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    And she's free!

    Part 10: Putting the new cable in (To Be Continued). I ended up ordering the wrong cable which may explain my extreme difficulty getting it back in, but I'll do a write up of the reinstall. Here's a teaser of the pain ahead and I'll be sure to write up some tips on not breaking a few things on your car along the way:

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    Its painful to type this with the amount of cuts, bruises, scrapes, and punctures I have on my hands and fingers. Could have been prevented with mechanics gloves! The pink latex ones won't help you.

    Thanks for reading and happy driving. Fun fact, Blood turns the silver crinkle paint a really nice red, seems to be the matching factory color.
     
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  2. Ravens_Shadow

    Ravens_Shadow Karting

    Jul 18, 2022
    51
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Nick Seavert
    Step 11: Inserting the new cable (Got gloves!)
    Before inserting the cable, yhere are two small vacuum hoses connected to the intake plenum. I'd recommend disconnecting the one on the right side so that you don't crack it like I did. To fix, I simply cut the line at the place of the crack and put it back on later.

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    Feed the cable with the small threaded rod into the guide tube. If you get stuck on something wiggle it back and forth and it should eventually make its way all the way in. Once it's in, there is the eyelet where the end you're now holding goes. Put the end in and you'll now need to put the small "C" clip back on the throttle cable. I HIGHLY suggest that you have a $2 magnetic stick to fish for it when you lose it while doing this step. I would also suggest having a very small magnetic pan beside or below your throttle cable to catch this thing if it goes flying. I lost it 3 or 4 times before I finally got it on and unfortunately had to go fishing for it. Now my trick for getting it on easy was I got a pair of pliers and stuck them inside the "C" shaped clip and opened the pliers with a bit of force to spread the metal apart. This made it much easier to put onto the throttle cable and snap into place. From there, I crimped it a bit to be back within spec.

    Step 12: Reconnect cable to gas pedal
    Put the nut on the threaded rod first then screw on the ball joint socket. once its on sufficiently far with one or two threads showing below the nut, tighten the nut towards the socket to lock it in place. Now put the socket on the ball joint of the pedal and slide the black clip into place. This was far easier than I anticipated and luckily it snapped right into place.

    Step 13: Fish the remaining wire under the intake plenum
    I had a 6-8 inch wire brush with a metal loop in it and threaded the remaining cable through it a couple of times to ensure that it would be pulled through with the brush. I stuck the brush under the plenum and then grabbed it when it came out. It's probably far easier to use a wire coat hanger to thread the cable under the plenum but I didn't have one on hand.

    Step 14: Reattach to throttle body
    Put the threaded rod through the throttle body eyelet and put your two nuts back on. Screw them down the threads until the cable is fairly tight. If you're unlucky like me and have a cable that's about 3/4 of an inch too long, you can make a spacer that may finish the job for you. I ended up using a socket for now, but will likely replace it with some sort of small brass pipe:

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    Step 15: Test it!
    Test your pedal many times to make sure the wire doesn't come off of the throttle body guide. If there is too much slack, it will eventually come off leaving you with no throttle response. Ensure that the cable is well tensioned.

    Step 16: Reassemble panels
    Put the foot well panel and pedal box back on.

    Step 17: Go drive!


    Final tips: You can find your chassis number on the left hand side of the car where it says "Assembly No." Make sure that the cable you buy will fit your car! There are many variations of throttle cable for our cars and I don't want you to burn through money like I did trying to find the right one. Once you get your cable, if your old one is in tact, try to compare the two right then and there to see if it'll work. If you spot any differences, its probably not right. Also check to make sure your nuts and ball socket easily screw onto each respective end of the cable. You don't want to go through the pain of putting the cable in, only to find the threads are incorrect.



    While I had the engine bay lid off, I replaced the old heat shielding and hydraulic struts too!

    I'm a happy man.

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    Good luck and hopefully I can keep giving back nuggets of knowledge to the brotherhood.
     
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  3. AceMaster

    AceMaster Three Time F1 World Champ

    Feb 6, 2009
    34,720
    Ontario, Canada
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Excellent write-up, thank you for posting. If it hasn't already been added to the "348 DIY" thread, I will post it there too.
     
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  4. PAP 348

    PAP 348 Ten Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 10, 2005
    100,170
    Mount Isa, Australia
    Full Name:
    Pap
    Fantastic man! Thanks for sharing. :)
     
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