Gas pedal flat on the floor

[pa chuck]

My 81 wagon had been sitting in the garage for a few months and when I finally got out there to do a few things prior to an inspection, I was lubricating choke and throttle parts in an attempt to improve idle and at some point the choke suddenly flipped closed and now my gas petal is flat on the floor and I can't figure out what came undone.  Gonna try to get it up off the floor a bit to get a look underneath because it's kind of tight where everything is connected.  Any suggestions.  In case you haven't noticed I am not a mechanic but I am enthusiastic.  Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

[txjeeptx]

Unless you are certain something came off under the hood, have you checked up under the dash to see that the plastic cable end stop is still in the hole in the gas pedal arm? They do dry rot and can pop out of the arm the pedal levers against.

[pa chuck]

Thanks txjeeptx!  I figured it out.  The cable was ok at the pedal but you made me think about the cable more and I went out to garage (it's winter here!) and took a closer look.  The cable was sticking out inside the car 4-5 inches and so I pushed it back through the floor and then looked under the hood again and voila!  Now all the parts made sense.  There was a little ball like knob on the end of a part the throttle arm was attached to and a corresponding hole at the inside end of the cable.  Took some effort but I was able to put the two back together and I'm back in business.  Not sure how long this will last but hopefully long enough to drive the couple of miles to my trusted mechanics, they are actually Eagle fans and honest all at the same time, and hopefully a not too painful state inspection I'll be back on the road.

Thanks again!  Have a great new year.

[priya]

Same thing happened to my Eagle a couple of months ago.  I slowed down to turn a corner and when I went to accelerate out of it the gas pedal dropped all the way to the floor and the engine fell back to idle.  Turns out it was the same ball/hole clip on the throttle cable that caused your trouble, but on mine the clip on the hole on the cable had rusted away enough it wouldn't hold tight on the ball on the carb throttle.  I got home by using a quarter to turn up the idle speed to about 1500 rpm and "idled" my way back.  Hubby cut a new piece of metal to replace the rusted clip and forced it onto the ball, no problems since.

[pa chuck]

Thanks Priya!  I have a feeling my fix is temporary at best but nice to know what the problem was and how to fix it.  I do love this car! It is a real conversation starter!

[txjeeptx]

Good to see you got it reattached. The ball socket on the engine end of the throttle cable is designed to be removable with some effort and a little technique, so if it took some effort to reinstall it, and the clip that surrounds the "barrel" of the cable end socket isn't damaged or rusted like priya's was, then it should probably stay on the ball. Maybe someone had the cable end off of the ball at some point and hadn't gotten it all the way back on.