control cable lubrication

[c_j]

I was putting a new heater control in yesterday, and I wanted to lubricate the control cables before installing. This method worked unbelievably well:

• Use a sharp object to poke a hole in the side of a piece of windshield washer (vacuum) tubing,
• use pliers to force in the straw of the spray can, then
• push one end of the tubing over the cable (The piece I had fit over the round knobs quite easily and was snug on the cable housing too.)
• close the other end of the tubing with vise-grips or plug it with a screwdriver shaft or drill bit
• spray with your favorite lubricant.

cable_lubrication.JPG

After I made this apparatus, it took all of 60 seconds to do 4 cables. The translucent ones are the best as you can see it traveling down the inside of the cable housing.

[ARCHINSTL]

BRILLIANT!
Tom M.

[xirdneh]

i usually do something like this while the cables are in the car
disconnect end of cable
slide short piece of rubber hose over cable end
drop some oil in rubber hose
hook air compressor hose to rubber hose
and blast the oil right thru to the other end of the cable

[c_j]

i usually do something like this while the cables are in the car
disconnect end of cable
slide short piece of rubber hose over cable end
drop some oil in rubber hose
hook air compressor hose to rubber hose
and blast the oil right thru to the other end of the cable

yes, your way is even simpler and cheaper: oil, hose, compressor

rather than: poking tool, hose, spray lube, vise grips

I guess my way is more portable, but admittedly I did the job about 20 feet from an air compressor.

[Petros]

I would advise using the Teflon supplemented silcone lubricant rather than oil lub. the cables are wires in plastic sleeves. the silicone is a better lube for plastic and will not attract dust like an oil spray. Some oil lubes could break down the plastic. There are other dry lubes that could be used as well, a graphite type and lithium grease.

[c_j]

I would advise using the Teflon supplemented silcone lubricant rather than oil lub. the cables are wires in plastic sleeves. the silicone is a better lube for plastic and will not attract dust like an oil spray. Some oil lubes could break down the plastic. There are other dry lubes that could be used as well, a graphite type and lithium grease.

I didn't even think of that, although I'm told that the Fluid Film pictured above is based on sheep's wool wax, so I think it should be OK.

[xirdneh]

the main thing is not having to remove the control assy from dash
that is not fun

[c_j]

the main thing is not having to remove the control assy from dash
that is not fun

I hear ya on that. I was worried I'd have to take the whole dash out, but I tipped the back down and pushed the left side in and popped the right side out and it was straight-forward from there. It put a lot of stress on one of those little plastic cable holders on the right side, but nothing broke.

[The Professor]

I just lubed the temperature control cable last night using this fancy (and cheap!) little tool. Now to tackle the door control cables...

[ARCHINSTL]

@ The Professor...
HA! We used one of those in my bicycle store (1973-03).
Do/did you work in a shop?
Tom

[The Professor]

@ The Professor...
HA! We used one of those in my bicycle store (1973-03).
Do/did you work in a shop?
Tom

Nope, I hide behind a desk writing recalls, service bulletins and operator's/service manuals. I only know about this tool because it's the style we recommended for lubing heater control cables!

This was my first time using it and it worked pretty well. Some lube shot out the smaller, "closed" end, but since the sheath on the temp-control cable is clear, I could see that lube was still being shot down the tube and I can smell it in the cabin.

Great little tool!