Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Throttle Stuck At Wot!!!! Please Read

[Ramafid]

I had a very bad situation on my hands today. Went to pass a dump truck and pulled in front of him and let off the throttle and still kept going Now this was becoming a major problem real fast because I had another dump truck in front of that one that I was going to rear end in a hurry. I quickly jammed on the brakes but a 7000 lb truck with 700lbs of torque going to the rear wheels and the brakes were not doing diddly. I thought to put the truck in neutral but with the wot I knew the governer wouldn't hold right away and it would more than likely damage the engine due to over-revving. I then turned the ignition and cut the engine off. Problem solved. After resarting the throttle was just fine and no more problems. This is a very scary situation. You have to make split-second decisions to avoid an accident. EVERYONE PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME. I am more than a little worried that this will happen again and I may not be as lucky the second time around.

 

[Duluth Diesel]

eek!!! Thanks for the warning. Hmm. Do you think one of your mods failed or is it something to do with factory parts?

#ad

 

[Scheibins]

Any codes? Check engine light?

 

[scotmartin]

Check where the throttle cable goes into the black plastic cover near the injection pump. There is a square hole that the throttle cable is held into with a snap fit. My throttle cable worked loose and was sticking. I had to push the cable back into the box and epoxy it in place. Yours might have popped out and stuck, and then popped back in by itself.



Scot

 

[BPellman]

Stuck Throttle!

Been there none that (not an enjoyable experience)! Once I got stopped, cleaned out my pants, slowed the heart rate and reset my memory from the flash back of my entire life. I began to investigate. NOTHING under the hood seemed to be the culprit. I found the answer in the cab of the truck. The D*&n floor mat. Needless to say, floor mats no longer live in the truck.



Just my . 02 worth but worth consideration.





Glad everything turned out for the best in your situation.





Bill

 

[tractorface]

Uh Oh

Makes me think I need to "get around" to adding a cut out switch and Pronto... see I have my cool down timer wired with no kill switch

Thanks for the heads up

 

[evldsl]

That happeden to me in my Dodge Dakota I turned off the engine pulled over opened the hood and found the throttle cable stuck where it enters the plastic hole on top of the engine. I pushed and pulled it a few times and I havent had a problem with it since. Sold the truck to my brouther a couple of months ago.

 

[DRAG DIESEL]

Check the floor mat too, they have been known to work forward and get caught under the edge of the go pedal. Probly not it, but just a warning to others.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Sure the motor wasn't tryin to run away? Was anything else in front of you leaking fuel , fumes , oil mist etc? Even so that my friend is a true test to your driving skill when you have to pro and con what your actions are reaaaalllllll quicklike

 

[WestTN]

WOT...

You could have just kicked it out of gear, or pushed the clutch in if it is manual. The engine can withstand a little over 4,000 rpms, and it will not reach that by itself.



It was not runaway from combustibles in front. If so, switching it off would have made no difference.

 

[KMeek]

My wife had the same experience when the floormats in a new borrowed Audi stuck under the gas pedal. She hasn't been the same since. Any chance that is what happened?

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Ramifid do you remember if your pedal was physically stuck to the floor or did it come back up and the truck continued to accelerate? I supposed you had a bit much on your mind at the time and didn't notice this.



KMeek I heard it wasn't a good day when you're at the drive-through window in a Ford Pinto and an Audi 5000 pulls up behind you (OK, bad '80s joke )



When you have a runaway like ToolManTaylor says the governor is a non-factor in this situation. . . the engine is no longer under control of the ECM. With enough oil or fuel it will bury the tach. That's what happened with a guy with a 12-valve that lost a turbo that I read about here on TDR about 4 years ago. He bailed and ran away from the truck. Even with the tach pegged the engine lasted a good 3-4 minutes before it grenaded as I recall.



At some point I would like to install something like a stove damper on my intake hose before the turbo, incase I have a runaway, so I could pull a lever under the dash and choke off the air ( the ONLY way to stop it, turning off the key does nothing).

Vaughn

 

[RJOL]

Originally posted by bellyscraper

That happeden to me in my Dodge Dakota I turned off the engine pulled over opened the hood and found the throttle cable stuck where it enters the plastic hole on top of the engine. I pushed and pulled it a few times and I havent had a problem with it since. Sold the truck to my brouther a couple of months ago.

So... What your saying is that you really don't like your brother that much... .

 

[ROADWARRIOR]

I remember reading on here a few years back of someone having this happen on a snowmobile trip. I think it was the APPS or it might have been something else, don't remember.



Dan

 

[ROADWARRIOR]

> Today my truck went to WOT Beware



I'm computer illiterate, don't know how to link, so do a search on the above thread posted by Turbo Terry. Scary stuff.



Dan

 

[Ramafid]

I did some checking into the floor mat and it looks like it had slid about 1 inch further forward that I usually have it. I played with the pedal and could get it to stick if you pushed on the pedal at the bottom. By pushing the bottom of the pedal it caused the pedal to angle down just enough to get caught on the edge of the floor mat. I believe this caused the WOT problem. I guess I feel better now knowing it is not an ecm or electronic problem. I am going to secure the floor mat to make sure this doesn't happen again. I don't need this kind of excitement in my life.

 

[MLee]

Floor mats

I have noticed alot of new cars have have a pin in the floor that retains the mat and won't let it "inch" forward. maybe that is an issue that we need to address to keep from stress, and a laundry bill, and control the MAT.

just my penny's worth.



Marv.