1991 300d, W124 260k

The accelerator pedal is sticking down (still accelerating after I let up on the pedal) for a few seconds after I floor it, then it comes back up. What could be causing this? Might it be old grease in the cable? (I think they have grease inside the cables, right?). Maybe I just need a new cable. It doesn't do it when accelerating normally; just if I need to get up a steep hill or something.

Or is it more likely to be the many ball and socket linkages in the engine compartment? I recently lubed those with some grease.

Thanks.

You need to disassemble, clean and lube the throttle linkage under the hood.

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Jim

IMO grease attracts and holds dirt, I prefer to lube the ball and sockets with ATF. I've not seen grease in cables, a bike cable lube may work well. Inspect the cable closely for fraying, if fraying is found the cable will need to be replaced.

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

Good point, now I remember, ATF for lube.

x2 regarding cable.

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Jim

That's the ball and socket things that I said I lubed, right?

How do you get the cable out?

It is common for the cable ends to crimped preventing removal of the cable from the casing. I've had success with cables in general by allowing a lubricant to gravity feed between the casing and the cable.

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

Still....how do you take the cable out to inspect it?

OK?

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

I would think it's the rubber pedal itself malfunctioning. It was on mine.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Disconnect the cruise control actuator. That actuator arm can get sluggish.

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)