Loose Throttle Cable Mk1 Focus

[GrumpyGuts]

Hi guys,

I have an issue with my 2002 1.4 RHD Focus.

Lately, the throttle/idle has been misbehaving to the point it has become dangerous. When you start the engine from cold, the car revs quite high, usually to about 2.5-3k, then drops down to normal.

Now, mainly in 1st and 2nd gear, I do not have to touch the accelerator and the car drives itself. Magic, eh? Is it f~@k....

I noticed the other day that the accelerator pedal is loose and wiggles about quite a lot. Upon later inspection I noticed this:

This is the accelerator cable.

It's so loose I can do this!

I called several mechanics but they cannot see my car this week so, because it's mechanical and I'm quite good with that, I wanted to fix it myself. However one garage, Concorde Auto Centre to be exact with their usual marketing techniques, automatically said my throttle body needed replacing and wanted £304 without seeing my car first!!

After choking on my own vomit for a brief period, I'm confident that this cable needs changing. I can't adjust the tension so this must be the solution. My main question is this...is this an easy fix and are there any other parts that may need replacing that's part of this system?

Cheers!