I purchased this car from a 3rd party who claimed to be a mechanic. He had to part with the car because he needed a truck for his job and family. His loss, my gain. The only issue he made me aware of was a sticky gas pedal. I have yet to experience any important mechanical issues past this. So lets get down to business.
The gas pedal sticks between 1000RPM and 2500RPM. I have to kick through the stickyness. Once I do kick through the stickyness there are no issues. So when I got the car home, I started doing research on what it could be.
I cleaned and lubed the gas pedal/throttle connection from within the cab. This may have helped but was negligible if so.
I adjusted the throttle cable itself and again, if there was a benefit, it is not something that is immediately apparent to me.
I read that a potential issue could be that the PCV hose is catching on the throttle someplace but looking throughout the engine, I'm having difficulty locating the hose itself and don't believe this could be the issue if it's not something that I can easily observe. Maybe someone could point out to me where it would be if I'm missing it? If you have a readily available picture, that is.
I cleaned out the throttle bodies. This definitely seemed to help. Things feel a lot smoother, but the issues persists. So here is where my question gets a little bit more particular.
I began to activate/manually press the throttle cable and looking at the "throttle linkage" (right term?) that leads to the throttle body. This is where I noticed something that I believe may be an issue. The driver side linkage seems fine and responds immediately with pressure to the throttle cable. The passenger side, however, seems not to be working properly. The first rod on the passenger that leads from under the throttle cable plate will begin to turn slightly before seeming to catch onto the rest of the linkage, which then begins to respond properly. The rod itself seems as though it's slightly rusty near where it connects to the rest of the linkage, and looks a bit loose/displaced. I've taken some pictures of what I'm talking about and I'm curious if anyone has any idea what it's called and how to fix it.
Please let me know if I'm using incorrect terms or if there's some troubleshooting I may be overlooking. I appreciate any help you guys provide to me and I really look forward to getting this issue resolved! Thanks for your help, everyone!!!
The engine itself!
Overview of the "rod" I'm talking about
Closeup of the "rod." The rusty looking thin piece in the dead center is the piece in question. On the driver side, this is fit very snug with no thinner part and responds immediately to throttle pressure. On the passenger side, the matching rod, upon throttle cable pressure will turn very slightly before catching and activating the rest of the linkage.
This last image is a weird little thing that had a rubber cap on top that ripped off as soon as I moved it. What is this thing called? It seems like something I can purchase and replace easily and cheaply.
