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93 Corolla - gas pedal "sticky"

Except that it isn't literally "sticky". I cleaned and lubed the throttle cable, and it's perfectly OK as long as the engine is off.

With the engine running, when you're at a stop light the pedal gets "sticky" and requires a relatively hard push to get moving again.

Feels like you have to overcome some pressure [whether it's vacuum or positive pressure I don't know] that builds up while the engine is idling, and as soon as you have bled this off, the pedal behaves normally.

What could this be? Vacuum leak? Problem in the throttle body itself?

Reply to
larwe
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Most likely, it is a buildup inside the throttle body, causing the throttle plate to stick to the inside of the throttle body. Get a can of aerosol carburetor/EFI cleaner at an auto parts store. With the engine off, follow the plastic snorkel from the air cleaner to the throttle body and remove the snorkel from the throttle body. When you look into the throttle body, you will see a round plate that pivots in the middle of the plate. Spray the plate with the carb cleaner and wipe the plate and the runoff with a paper towel. Turn the bellcrank that is attached to the throttle cable to open the throttle plate and clean up the edges of the plate, pivot points, and the far side of the plate, wiping up as much of the runoff as you can. Put everything back together and start the car. It will smoke like crazy until everything is burned off.

Reply to
Ray O

Hi,

I've got plenty of carb cleaner (I own a '65 Scout :) so I'll try that tonight, thanks. But this symptom only happens when the engine is running... still think it's a gummy throttle plate?

Reply to
larwe

Yup. When the engine is warmed up, the gum gets gummier than when it is cold.

Reply to
Ray O

Yep, yep... Imagine your foot stuck in the mud! Not to mention throttle response.

Dan

Reply to
Danny G.

Perhaps I should have been more specific... With the engine hot but not running, the problem does not occur. With the engine running, either hot or cold, the problem occurs within 30 seconds of taking one's foot off the gas.

Hence my inference that this is some kind of vacuum-related issue. But I'll try the cleaning anyway, hopefully that is it!

Reply to
larwe

Clean the throttle body thoroughly as I described, including where the pivot pin penetrates the throttle body. I have never heard of any instances where this procedure did not work for a throttle pedal that sticks in the closed position. Let us know if the cleaning works or does not work.

Reply to
Ray O

OK, I stand corrected. Cleaning the throttle (which has probably not been opened in the last 13 years...) used almost an entire can of carb cleaner but totally fixed the problem. The vehicle also starts a little easier. Now I feel a lot better about my wife driving this beast in stop-n-go traffic (NYC). Thanks a lot!

Reply to
larwe

I do try to avoid giving bad advice ;-) You're welcome and thank you for posting your results!

Reply to
Ray O

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