Re: How to lubricate heater control cables?

Posted by HH56 On 2022/10/25 19:21:30

I have had good luck removing the cables and coiling them up as tightly as possible taking care not to bend or put a kink in them. Coiling will tend to spread the outer coils wrapping the inner wire apart a tiny bit letting the oil or penetrating fluid go thru the gaps and reach the inside. If the wire still moves but is just dry then I would suggest a light oiling could be enough but if rusty then a good soak in a shallow pan using your favorite penetrating fluid followed by a good lube with oil.

The flapper valves will remove. Just remove the push on keeper at the end of the actuating rod and pull rod thru. The rod is wavy so you will need to kind of zig and zag as you pull it out. The two metal halves are held together by staples. Pull those out and separate the metal to pull out the rubber. Steele has die cut replacements or you can use flat sheet rubber and cut your own. You might be able to reuse the staples but if not, small sheetmetal screws or screws and nuts or pop rivets work just as well.

The wire is just called Bowden cable inner wire. Do a search with that term and find there are several vendors who carry it but it does come in different diameters. Modern cables tend to use stranded inner wire but the old solid wire is still around. Getting a nice factory like coil on the ends will be a challenge without special equipment but a serviceable single loop or two can usually be made with hand tools.