Projects
Hand Throttle
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Projects Hand Throttle |
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| Bicycle shifter. | Cable retainer. |
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One of the pleasures of owning a Jeep is tinkering with it. There are lots of small and easy projects that you can complete in your own driveway. This is one of my favorites. Yes, there are complete kits you can buy that bolt right on, but how much fun is that? I bought a few parts from the local bike shop. No buying over the internet. No shipping charges. And, I kept my money in the local economy. All in all, a good deal.
I explained the project briefly to the owner of the bike shop, telling him I needed a gear shifter and about 6 feet of cable. Five minutes later I had my parts and it only cost about $15. |
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| Cut a section of PVC to size. | Shifter and the new spacer. |
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I plan on putting the throttle on my gear shift lever, but the bicycle shifter was made for bicycle handle bars, and they have a bit larger diameter. I need a spacer. Looking around the garage I found some schedule 80 PVC left over from a sprinkler project. Perfect!
I cut a small section of pipe about an inch long. Then I split it into 2 pieces so I could sandwich it around the gear shift lever and clamp the biclycle shifter over it. A little black paint to finish it off and we're done. |
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| My new spacers fit perfect. | The bike shifter mounted. |
| With out spacers cut and ready, it's time to mount the bicycle shifter onto the gear shift lever. Make sure the bicycle shifter does not hit the dash and is comfortable for you. I mounted this without any cable at this time. The cable can be run through this later without removing the bicycle shifter. | |
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| Cable runs through boot. | And through the firewall. |
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I briefly considered running the cable straight down the shifter boot to the underside of the Jeep and then back up into the engine compartment. However, I only had 6 feet of shifter cable was was sure that would not be enough to reach the throttle body that way so I figured I should take the most direct route. Better to head right for the firewall.
I made small hole in the shifter boot and then snapped the boot out of the console so I could feed the cable forward toward the firewall. There is a rubber stopper in the firewall next to the heater output. A 3/16th drill bit made the perfect opening to allow the cable to route through to the engine compartment. |
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| Insulated the cable from the firewall. | The cable retainer. |
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The cable comes into the engine compartment a little close to the intake and exhaust manifolds, so I slipped a length of rubber hosing over it and used a zip tie to hold it away from the heat.
The cable retainer has a large opening on one side that the cable sleeve sits in and a smaller opening on the other side to allow just the cable to come through. I drilled a small hole in the throttle cable bracket (Off the Jeep, of course) and fit the retainer in place. You'll see how it lines up with the connector on the throttle body next. |
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| Throttle return spring and desired clip. | The cables clamped in place. |
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The final step is attaching the cable to the throttle body. Since I don't have cruise control, there is an open connection that can use. All I need is that plastic connecter that snaps in place. I bought a throttle return spring from the Jeep dealer and removed the clip from the spring.
I ran the cable through the clip and wound it back around itself a couple of times. I tried to use a small zip tie to hold the cable to itself, but it wouldn't tighten completely. I ended up wrapping a couple of brass staples around the two cables and pinching them tight with pliers. |
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