Right Hand Drive Throttle Cable

[Chadick]

For those on the quest for or in need of a Right Hand Drive (RHD) throttle cable replacement for the 850, I have a solution that worked for me.

I am rebuilding an 1997 850R Wagon imported from Japan and needed to replace the throttle cable, but it’s not available!

So, I purchased a Left Hand Drive (LHD) throttle cable from FCP Euro for $72.00, part number 9157601. I did this with the intent of finding an automotive cable shop that would take apart a new LHD throttle cable and rebuild the LHD cable using a new (longer) cable / cable housing with a proper cable ends.

Eventually, I found a shop that said they could help but their only concern was, not being able to give the cable housing and the firewall housing a permanent bond. They would likely use heat shrink, which would mean the cable housing would pull away from the firewall housing. This is not a big deal, as the cable housing does not have much load on it and should stay put. With return shipping, my total for the cable rebuild was $100.00 and I had it back in about three weeks.

The shop is called Control Cables out of Santa Fe Springs, California and I spoke with Ed Miller, 562-949-0455.

The cable looks completely stock (accept the heat shrink) and I was thrilled!

In the images below, (#1) is the heat shrink, (#2) is the rubber boot that I assumed to be a dust boot for the firewall housing and (#3) is the firewall housing. The heat shrink is crinkle up from pushing the cable housing back into the heat shrink several time while installing it. I will likely remove the heat shrink and put a touch of glue between the cable housing and firewall housing, should it become problematic. The throttle cable mount side seems to stay put.

The next image shows the dust boot pushed onto the firewall housing. (#4) I decided to install hose clamp on the dust boot. (#5) where I put rubber cement on the boot and cable housing. I am supplying a photo of the glue I like for the car.

When I the installed the cable to the throttle body, I found the cable to be a little short, maybe 1/2 an inch. With the cable being short, the throttle was open a bit when hookup to the throttle body, which made the engine rev upon starting. I removed the link rod from the throttle body. I unscrewed the link rod body and found a spring and several washers. I removed the e-clip holding it all together and removed all the washers. This lengthened the link rod and closed the open throttle.

I have read the threaded link rod body is a length adjustment point in itself. I decided to remove the washers, rather than unscrewing the body, because of the lack of threads on the link rod body.

I was able to speak with Ed at Control Cable regarding the short cable and he made a note and reminded me, the sample cable was in rough shape. For reference, I sent Control Cable the new LHD cable and the old RHD cable. The firewall housing was permanently broken after removing from the firewall. This damage was expected and did not affect the cable as a reference part.

I hope this works for y’all!