Clean with WD-40?

So I fixed my sticking throttle with the wd-40 but like you guys said it dried a bit and the problem is back. So this morning I lubed it with some "liquid wrench silcone lubricant." Now it's back to binding again so I broke down and bout some "dri-slide dry film lube" friend of mine reocmmended it and that was enough to get me to part with 14 bucks for a 4oz bottle of lube.
The question i have now is, will WD-40 clean the crap out of the cable? I'd rather not take the throttle cables off because it seems like a bit of work (I may be wrong) so i would probably just spray down the cable line again, unless there it's MUCH better to just take them off

The "bag" method I proposed works great but still requires you to remove cables at control. If you go that far it's even easier to remove at carbs. I'm not sure about WD40 being a good cleaning agent, if you really need to clean out I would think some kind of solvent would work but then I would have to wonder about it's effect on the plastic sheathing. Never heard of anyone using the dry lube, might be interesting getting it all the way through the cable. I recommened putting a dab of grease on all four barrels upon installation.

If interested in new throttle cables from Z1 Enterprises --

Z1E-A

Z1E-B

Apparently dri-slide come out of the bottle as a really thin fluid that then dries to leave a graphite lube on the cable. People seem to like it. plus it has a needle applicator tip so it should be easy to get into the cable.
The reason I am not going to do the bag method is that a local guy suggested that I use a dry moly lube because it doesnt attract nearly as much dust as one of the wet-type lubes. Dust is a real big issue here in Santa Fe apparently ( Desert = sand? Who knew?!?)
I think i am just going to see if I cant get a little bit of it down the cable after running a little bit-o-wd to see if it will clear off some of the silcone stuff I already put down there

Post edited by: Afrosemite, at: 2008/02/16 14:42

I've used WD-40 to clear out the gunk in cables. I work it through until I'm getting clear fluid out the other end. That is a process that can take some time.

Instead of lube I've gone ahead and applied some white grease to each end of the cable. So far, so good.

For quick results, this cable luber tool allows blasting through from one end of the cable to the other. Requires a pressurized can fitted with common small applicator tube. Use WD40 to clean followed by lube of choice.

Dri-Slide is the hot ticket for non-teflon lined cables.
The trick, as posted, is to get it in there. With the needle applicator you just have to squeeze it in and keep doing that until it comes out the other end. The best way to do this is with the cables removed completely from the bike and hung up vertically with some string or light wire. Yes, there'll be some wastage but once a cable has been Dri-Slided it's good for a long time. A once-a-year addition of a small amount will keep the cable in good shape for many moons.
Modern cables usually have a plastic (or real teflon) lining in them and don't really require ANY lube at all.
What they DO need, though, is washing out with solvent from time to time to get rid of the grit that finds it way down inside them. Standard solvent is sold at Home Depot as thinner for oil based paints. You can get it in standard or low-odour versions....and it's reasonably priced.
I keep a gallon of the low odour stuff around for general cleaning/removal of ANY petroleum-based greases and oils.

Here's a pic showing pressure cable luber tool in action.

Have successfully used this inexpensive and readily available "tool" for many years.

Good luck with whatever method is chosen.

I must have done something wrong, it worked well with lube getting all the way through to end but ended up with 3 times as much in my hand! :woohoo: But it does work.

I bought one of those cable luber tools too. But for the life of me could never get it to work right. I went to the baggie method myself.

Funny story, So I took both the cables off and found that the return cable ( the cable that pulls closed as opposed to open?) is fraying at the throttle end. This is probably what is causing it to bind
So I suppose I'll just put one the good cable back on and order a new cable for the other side.
From what i've heard, the 2nd cable is mostly a fail-safe so I should be good ti ride until the other cable gets here?
Correct?

Post edited by: Afrosemite, at: 2008/02/16 16:56