1998 F-250 Light Duty 5.4L 4R100 4x4

Well, this past weekend was opening day of deer season here in Michigan, and after getting home yesterday from deer camp, I wake up this morning to a stuck throttle pedal. The engine starts and idles just fine. I checked the throttle body on top of the engine and it operates just fine, so I'm thinking it is somewhere in the linkage between the pedal and whatever it connects to that operates the cable that operates the throttle body.

A little background: I drove for about 2.5 hours Friday afternoon on messy dirt roads and muddy two tracks to get back to deer camp. The truck was filthy when I arrived, and I had to remove the air filter and bring it in to get it dried out (K&N FIPKII kit - filter is exposed). Water/mud got all over the truck; outside and under the hood. Top of the engine is a mess and I also have a shorted out coil now too. I fired it up yesterday morning, drove 200 miles home without any problems, other than the stuttering caused by the shot coil. Went to leave this morning and found the throttle issue.

Does anyone have any experience with a throttle issue on these trucks, or is anyone familiar with this type of problem and where I should look to fix it. I do not have access to a garage to heat it up and thaw it out right now either, so whatever ideas we come up with, we have to remember that its going to be below freezing for the next week or two, and I can only work on it outside.

Thanks for any ideas guys,

Chris

 

Sounds like water got in the cable and froze.
Off roading takes those kinds of risks.
Should thaw out as the motor heats up but may freeze again.
Inject some thin lube into the cable might displace the water after it free's up..

 

Since I can't go more than a day w/o my truck, I went out yesterday morning and fired it up and let it idle for a bout 45 mins. Everything worked fine after that. I think you are right in that I got water in the cable. When I get back to my dad's garage, I'll get it completely thawed out and re-lube that cable.

 

Might want to just replace the cable....if it gets rusty in there your sticky throttle will come back.

 

Hmm, guess I never followed up on this post. This happened in December 2008

After a very scary and near miss accident on a bridge caused by the throttle sticking half open, I parked the vehicle in a parking lot on the side of the road. I then called the local dealership and ordered a new throttle cable rush order and installed it a couple days later. Problem solved.

Lesson learned: Do NOT try to half *** fix a sticky throttle cable issue. Cost of throttle cable (something around there) was much, much cheaper than a wrecked truck and who knows what else could have happened.