Aggravating '02 Ranger accelerator cable conundrum

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Facts: ’02 Ranger XL 2WD, 3.0L, manual transmission. Fairly basic model. No cruise control, etc.

Accelerator cable is sticking. It’s starting to fray right where it comes out of throttle-end mount, where that little conical metal swiveling guide is. As revving up to shift gears, it sticks at between 2500-3000 RPM.

Have tried to trim frayed ends, but it keeps unraveling.

The problem? Freakin’ Ford apparently doesn’t make a proper replacement. The first one they ordered (according to the VIN#) was almost twice as long, and the pedal end mounting is different. QuickLane in Topeka agreed it was odd, and we went through 3 other cables. They were all either too long, or the one that was only about 4” longer had the improper pedal hardware. (Jerks at the “other” Ford place told me “bring it in and let our trained professionals do it, if you can’t figure it out”….!) It’s not like it’s rocket science. I just need the proper cable, and Ford doesn’t seem to have one for a 9-year-old truck. Of course, being a “dealer-only” item, there are no aftermarket ones, either.

Another little surprise (that didn’t make me happy) is that they said the engine is 2000-model year 3.0L, truck assembled in 2001, and sold as 2002 Ranger. Did I get stuck with a “piece” truck…kinda like Johnny Cash’s “One Piece at a Time”?

I’ve scoured all the salvage yards near town, to no avail. I’ve thought about finding ANY longer Ford cable with the same throttle end cylindrical fitting, and trying to use my original housing. I figured if I cut off the pedal ends of both, I could yank the old one out, feed the new(er) one through, and secure the pedal end, somehow. What are my chances of successfully feeding a cable all the way back through that? I really can’t rig the throttle end, but since the pedal end just butts up against the pedal, I’m thinking that might work?

The original cable is part# 2L54-9A758-AA (346). The Ford pedal# is YL54-9725-AA (then >PA6-GF30< under main number).

The original cable housing from firewall to engine mount bracket is appx. 17”. The new cables (except one of the much longer ones) had a different pedal end than the original. They had green spring-loaded contraptions. The original has a part that tab-locks into the front of the pedal, with a multi-diameter plastic spacer, appx. ¾” L. That fits into the little plastic snap-in mount on the pedal, and the cable-end cylinder just rides freely against the spacer.

I REALLY need to resolve this. In the not-to-distant future, I’m going to have a truck would be perfectly fine just sitting, unusable, because freakin’ Ford didn’t see fit to supply a proper common wearable replacement part!

If anyone has any suggestions, or better yet, a brand new proper cable number, I’d be extremely grateful.

Thank you,

Teleslinger

2

Since the dealer isn’t much help how about trying going through the buyers guide at a local parts store to see if you can find one that will work?

If you have a good parts store they will have a catalog that has pictures and dimensions of the cables. The overall length isn’t necessarily a big deal as it can be coiled up if it’s too long but you want to make sure that you can get the full motion out of it.

3

The stamp number you give is an 02 ( not 01 or 00 ) part number F2TZ-9A758-AA which supercedes to 4L5Z-9A758-AA.
What part number did they sell you ?

A supreceded part will be different on purpose, something about it will be slightly different or they would have just kept the old number.

I don’t have one in stock to look at.

4

NAPA is the only one that seemed to have a parts catalog with pictures, but they didn’t seem to want to take the time to let me look through the catalog, and pull a few cables that we could look at. The rest of the places could only look up cables on the computer. It’s frustrating that I kept seeing cables that MIGHT work, but they had no dimensions, other than overall length…and they had no way to cross reference them to a particular vehicle. In other words, we could randomly look through cables, or we could search one vehicle at a time, but when a cable is pulled up from the cable part number, it wouldn’t tell you which vehicle(s) it would fit…so I had no idea if it was Chevy, Ford, Chrysler…whatever…just by looking at cables.

The first “replacement” Ford got was part #4L5Z-9A758-AA. It’s the one they say is the proper replacement. It’s about twice as long, but it’s not long enough to ‘loop’ at all, it’ll just cause a big ‘U’ from the firewall to the bracket, and it’ll just flop around under there, wherever it wants. Even the (good) Ford guy says it isn’t right. Plus, the pedal end hardware is different. I don’t know if those spring-loaded green ends that snap in will work with my pedal. It sure doesn’t look like it.

Here are some pics, below.

Thank you,

Teleslinger

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5

I would think a mechanic using a bit of ingenuity could come up with a cable even if they had to make one from scratch. I’ve made and repaired a number of cables over the years for both cars and motorcycles.

Some hardware stores sell stainless inner strand cable by the foot or the inner cable from a lawnmower could be used. Throw in a little flux, some silver solder, and voila.

6

Problem solved. I’ll post this in case anyone ever runs into the same thing.

If you try to replace an original cable #2L54-9A758-AA, Ford’s official “replacement” part is #4L5Z-9A758-AA. That cable is almost twice as long as the original, and there is no elegant method to route it properly.

Ford cable #F87Z-9A758-BD is just a bit longer, and the cable ends are the proper length (from the cable mounts). With a bit of a twist while installing, it has just a bit longer “S” curve from firewall to engine mount, but not too drastic, and it’s away from everything.

My main concern was the different pedal ends. Pop the original plastic ring out of the pedal, and the new spring-loaded green part slips right in (from the front). It doesn’t “snap” into place as securely as the old one, but it is snug. As a precaution, I ran a small bead of silicone around the front of the pedal mating surface to act as a ‘helper’, to keep it from possibly popping out. (I doubt it would, but…why not. It’s easy and non-destructive.)

Anyway, took a few minutes to get used to the increased throttle response. No sticking…everything’s fine.

If you have to replace an original 2L54 cable, and they sell you a 4L5Z cable that’s too long, ask them to try the F87Z cable. Worked for me. Finally.

Teleslinger53

7

You might check for proper grounding of the body to the engine. Some throttle cable failures begin when the body ground deteriorates.

8

Just another thought. When I broke the shifter cable on a 1979 Hurst Olds and no one had one, I got one made at a local marine supply and repair shop. And the price was even reasonable.