Lubing your choke & throttle cables

[BigBill]

Does anyone lube there cables on there tractors?

I have a special clamp thingy that connects to a spray can that forces cable lube into the cable housing while the cable is still in it. We used it on motor cycles to keep the cables lubed and free. With these cables being so expensive it could be a way of extending there life?

Even spraying some PB Blaster into the cable housing would work too.

I'm just wondering if anyone does this and how often do you do it?

[batty54]

Bill, I do mine every spring during servicing. I use wd-40 to start then just some oil and a air hose to blow it through. I never had to replace a rusted cable in 35 years. My gravely is a 1964 original cables, I have a new John Deere that I sprayed the cabled before I even used it.

I saved a few too for people who are too busy to do this, spray the housing with PB and the work it a little usually it will break free in a day or so, a few minutes spraying and working it usuall clears out the rust.

[Landreo]

My 154 throttle was not responding well to movement. The throttle cable was loose but I still gave it a shot of graphite lock lube. The problem was the lever that the cable attaches to. This lever pivots on a post attached on the side of the govener housing. There is no way to remove it without taking off the govener. I cleaned the exposed end of the post with emery cloth, pushed the pivot lever onto the newly cleaned part and the emery clothed the rest of the post. A little oil and it is now as good as new. Don't forget to lube this pivot along with the cable.

[BigBill]

My 154 throttle was not responding well to movement. The throttle cable was loose but I still gave it a shot of graphite lock lube. The problem was the lever that the cable attaches to. This lever pivots on a post attached on the side of the govener housing. There is no way to remove it without taking off the govener. I cleaned the exposed end of the post with emery cloth, pushed the pivot lever onto the newly cleaned part and the emery clothed the rest of the post. A little oil and it is now as good as new. Don't forget to lube this pivot along with the cable.

This lever just broke on my #2 int154 project tractor. I just got another one from wengers. I'm going to moly it up. I had it freeing up when it just froze up and broke. I soaked it with PB Blaster while moving it. I'm glad i'm taking it all apart down to the last nut and bolt. This way i'll have a complete restoration and a new machine when i'm done with it. With no headaches or problems popping up down the road. Like i said before i got bitten once with a gravely tractor so from then on i disassemble everything to check it out before the new paint goes on. While it looks good on the outside with new paint and decals it has to look even better on the inside so it runs awesome too. Its a labor of love........

[Jersey_cub]

Just read this post and had to smile, because I have been dealing with the same problem on my 154 every season and I would spray WD40 on the cable every year thinkin that that would help and finally after emptyin a few cans I realized it was at the govener yes that drove me crazy. I only wish someone had posted this a few years ago, but I'm sure a lot of folks will benefit from your post