well, 1999 4runner limited 3.4 auto

I finally got around to putting some weasel piss on the throttle
body cable locknuts, letting it soak a bit, then whipping out the
twin 14mm wrenches and twirling out the slack

throttle cable
tranny cable
cruise-control


I figured, meh, prob not notice anything different.

I was wrong-o. the transmission is now perfectly synchronized with throttle
and it is far snappier and smoother in all aspects of moving forward down the road.

[I did not change my idle via the cable slack. 1) that is wrong anyway and 2) doesn't need idle adjustment]

big difference. I only had like 1/4 inch slack but that may as well been ten feet.

slack gone, I got my baby back !!!!!

 

Nice, guess I'll go do mine now

 

BB did you by any chance take any readings of your throttle position sensor before and after? Just curious.

 

I've always wondered what the proper method is for adjusting those.

How did you know how much "slack" to take out? Just curious, since it seems like every time I have those cables loose, I can't really tell if they need tightened or moved either way.

 

just make them snug and back off 1/8th turn if you see that the tension moves anything.
not the official way, this is the hobo method. it works though. tps is the same.

 

I did this a few months ago on my 2000. HUGE difference!!!

 

At what WOT? The only thing I can think of is there is so much slack you guys aren't getting the throttle open all the way.

 

This most effects the cruise control. This is one of those free must-do adjustments

 

Quite the opposite. At take off there is no slack in the gas pedal before you start to move. It actually takes some getting used to! Gotta figure after all those years of the cable slowly stretching, there was some lag time between your foot depressing the gas pedal until you felt the response. No more.

And for the transmission, when you're going up a hill you can tell it kicks down to a lower gear before it becomes quite so "winded". Again, it's because the slack is gone.

 

My 4Runner has always had a very stiff gas pedal... It runs well and it goes when you press the pedal down, but the pedal effort is pretty high. Every time I drive my dad's '02 it's super jerky til I get used to barely touching the pedal. Would adjusting my throttle cable do anything for that, or is it more pedal related?

 

I did a while back during my major tune up day.

Clean TB
TB bypass
TB gasket mod
Cleaned MAF
etc.

Its hard to say what made the most improvement as I did everything at once, but the truck was much more peppy afterward.

On a side note, my Caprices cruise control would engage half of the time. I adjusted the slack on the CC cable and now it engages instantly

 

With the truck off, try and move the butterfly via where the cable attaches to the TB. If its easy, then the problem may be in the cable...

 

I did this a few months back and felt the same way!

 

i just did it tonight to mine. it bottomed out the throttle adjuster, under the hood. i then looked at the pedal and found that all the slack was caused by the little rubber cushion between the end of the cable and the pedal itself was all mashed and split, so i fashioned up a new one of those. havnt had a chance to drive it do to the incoming blizzard, guess ill report tomorrow.

 

hmm...i believe i'll check that little rubber stopper thingy that you're talkin about on my 2nd gen....if not..then ima adjust this dang cable..i'm kinda tired of the 1.5" of pedal travel before i get any response from my motor lol

 

im hopin for a 0-60 in a least 8.9 secondsd after this tune... at least lol

 

Seems that alot of the early 3rd gen's got stiff pedal feel after a while. I found that taking the throttle cable free and spraying some spray silicone (CRC brand) down inside the sheath helps it out. If you spray enough of it, and work the cable by hand for a while, you can even see the silicone come out the other end in the cab. That's the only thing I've found that loosens it up. Still never will feel quite as "free" as a 99 or newer throttle.

 

my '92 4runner has a stiff pedal..stiffest i've ever had to drive with...


and my dang cruise control don't work...gotta get that fixed cuz it'll be murder on a long trip without it

 

I got to check mine soon. I'm thinking my TB cable and locknuts could use some attention less the weasel liquid. CRC 656 or Kroil works for me.

On an old Acura Legend I had, the previous owner has screwed with the TB cable tension, When it got cold, the butterfly would stick in the morning and only a lead foot would offer a temporary fix to get the butterfly to open.

 

this. it is shifting earlier in ECT and non-ECT mode, and dropping out on time when coming to a stop. smoother, less clunkier on the interstate.

[I do not WOT anymore since the milkshake]