howdy all just thaught id post a thread to say that accelerator cables suck ive now busted my fourth cable in all. 2 in 6 months its buggin me and i needed to let ery1 know.

let me know if ne1 knows of a superduperxtrastrong-titanium cable, well maybe not that extreme but ya get the idea.

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How do you corner with no brakes? DRIVE A MINI!!!

Where is it breaking, same place each time?

I find if I do it up too tight at the carb that the strands tend to fray early.. just nip it up without deforming the cable and it lasts much longer.

The other thing I like to do with throttle cables is run a little bit of graphite powder through, which gets the inner moving really smoooooth.. which also probably prolongs the life a bit.

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

cheers for that info it is breaking right at the carby, i will have to try loosening it off a lil but i have been experiencing the cable slackening off aswell doesnt look like its coming loose must be streching ay?

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How do you corner with no brakes? DRIVE A MINI!!!

An accelerator cable won't stretch very much, there's not supposed to be all that much tension on it. For example, in my car I can just brush the pedal with my foot and get the revs to rise by 50 RPM or so.

How hard do you have to push the pedal to get any action? If it's more force than you can apply with your little finger, it's too much..

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

Yeah well you are effectively cutting the stainless steel wire. Try spreading the load that the nut is applying to the cable by making sure you've got washers either side, and also make sure the cable isn't forced to go through any tight turns to make its job any harder. A cinching nut on its own is like a pair of wire cutters.

Another point is to look at your return springs. If they are needlessly stiff, then you are only applying extra load to the cable which will pull it taught over a cutting edge.

I've used bicycle brake cables for years. You can get a teflon lined cable for under ten dollars. You can get the best there is in the correct gauge and with less questionable quality for less than the price of the standard cable. It has the correct lead barrel end for the accelerator pedal, and it can be cut to length. Just pirate the brass end fittings off the old cable to use on the ends of the outer once you've cut it to length. If you go this path, make sure its a brake cable you pick up. They are thicker gauge than the bike gear changing cables.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

you could try soldering the cable at the point where you want to tighten it this may giv a little more strengh

Good point, I've lost count of the number of cars I've seen which have had clutch return springs on the carb

(and for that matter, carb return springs on the clutch.. is it really that difficult??)

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

I had problems like that.....

At MATM this year look at the linkage i built to remove the last bend down to the carby. Never had a problem

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

all good advise & well worth listening to

& to add,,, for some reason , some people don`t realise that there "Should" be a throttle stopper bracket mounted to the peddle assy,,, this is meant to stop the peddle """over throwing""" & stretching the cable,,, if it`s not there &/or the cable has been set up so that it reaches full tilt before the peddle hits the stopper or the floor , then every time you flatten the throttle you are effectively "CRANKING" on the cable

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

It is better to set it up so that there is a little slack when the foot is flat.
98% open at the carby is much better than a broken cable. You will never notice the last 2%.

I'm with Mike I've used bicycle brake cables for years also

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It