Stiff Pedal!

[oddjob]

Hi Guys,

Not sure if this is the right section?

The accelerator pedal on my W202 C180 is extremely stiff, and hard to hold the throttle in one place.

Is there any way of lubricating or adjusting the pedal to stop this?

Thanks

Jon

 

[oddjob]

No-one?

 

[chris846]

I don't think you're on your own!
I have the same problem with our W124 - spoils the drive of a nice car. All I can think is that it's a combination of industrial sized engineering, plus a throttle cable that has got 2 bends in it that aren't supposed to be there (the cable would be straight on a LH drive car), plus there's the extra weight from the kickdown cable.
Having said that, I think the throttle feel on my W208 is pants - and that just operates a potentiometer (albeit on the 'wrong' side of the engine too.)
I've made my mind up that the heaviness of the throttle will have caused wear in the pedal itself, so I'm going to strip it all down and see if I can improve it at all.
It's what I'd expect to find on a bus.

 

[timskemp]

Check there's nothing caught in or under it, a stray petrol receipt is enough!

 

[horgantrevor]

easy to add a little two in one oil in engine bay were cable joins trottle body

if want to remove cable and spray it it a easy job but takes a little time best thing too do is get a haynes manual give you step by step on doing it

i did mine last year only made a little difference but it did remove a little squeek when pedal was pushed

 

[oddjob]

Thanks guys,

There are no foreign objects under or behind the pedal, so I will try lubricating it tomorrow

Will let you know how I get on!

Cheers

Jon

 

[jefrs]

The is a common problem on old motorcycles. Yes, you can lubricate the cable.

The old dodge was to poke a hole in a plastic bag and fit one end of the cable through it with an elastic band sealing it tight, then add some oil to the bag and hang it up overnight, an overnight bag <groan>

Problem is - this does not work. The cause is usually that the cable has rusted. Modern cables have Teflon inners which don't like oil.

Replace cable.

 

[312 Sprinter]

The cables do get stiff, I just changed the throttle cable on my brother in law's E220 W124. Every now and then it would hang if you used kick down. A new cable was only 33 quid from Mercedes.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
On my 230 i found the throttle linkage itself was stiff so together with cleaning oiling and greasing of the linkage and throttle cable made it 100% better.

 

[kth286]

Hi Guys,

Not sure if this is the right section?

The accelerator pedal on my W202 C180 is extremely stiff, and hard to hold the throttle in one place.

Is there any way of lubricating or adjusting the pedal to stop this?

Thanks

Jon

Is it an auto ?

If so, then the linkage ball joints in the engine bay are supposed to be lubricated every six months with auto transmission fluid.

 

[jefrs]

Is it an auto ?

If so, then the linkage ball joints in the engine bay are supposed to be lubricated every six months with auto transmission fluid.

Depends - old autos had cables pulling linkages.

Tip - if you need a drop of oil, use that stuff hanging on the end of the dip stick. The PAS/suspension oil tank also has a dip stick. MB use oil not ATF in that, not sure what is in the slush box, suspect an oil not ATF.

The later autos are fly-by-wire. This E320 has a short cable from pedal to potentiometer, no links, all done by electronic trickery.

Having oiled many motorcycle cables, if you get "100%" improvement, all well and good for a temporary fix, but that cable is shot, and it will be many, many times better to replace it. They are not expensive nor difficult to fit.