Throttle binding

[stuartrubin]

I've had this nagging problem with the throttle (I think) since I got the car - 1975 124 Spider. When I give it gas, the throttle does not return back to its fully closed position. It's especially bad when I'm going with very little gas (35 MPH, 2nd/3rd gear?) and let up on the gas; I stay at 3000 RPM.

I can simulate the problem by manually moving the throttle. Please see the video at:
http://vid1167.photobucket.com/albums/q ... 8mli0d.mp4

I've tried cleaning the various spring and linkage mechanisms, oiling the cable, etc., but it's not helping.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[stuartrubin]

After further investigation, I'm thinking that the problem might actually have to do with the has pedal itself. If I pull back on the pedal, not surprisingly, the idle goes down. (That should be somewhat of an obvious statement.) Please see the photo below. THere are two stiff wires which seem to act as springs to push the pedal back. The photo is after I played with them some, but they had been much lower down towards the floor. Does this look right?

Does anyone have a photo of their mechanism for popping the gas pedal back into its idle position?

Thanks!

[So Cal Mark]

I've never seen those rods before, it looks like a "fix" a previous owner did

[stuartrubin]

Mark, this is clearly one of many "fixes" the PO did. You do what you do, I guess, and if I weren't having throttle/idle/pedal problems, I probably would not have noticed.

So, what could be causing my throttle to stick?

Thanks again for your help.

[stuartrubin]

I made one more observation. When the car is off, the throttle seems to pop right back into its fully closed position without any resistance. When the car is running, it slowly moves back into the closed position, and not quite 100% without a push. Is this normal? What causes this?

Thanks!