Re: How to lubricate heater control cables?

Posted by humanpotatohybrid On 2022/10/26 22:25:45

Do you have an idea on how to get the staples off the flap? I've tried:
- needle nose pliers
- vise grips
- dikes
- trim picks
- screwdriver
And they are too stiff to pry up. May have to use a Dremel and cutoff wheel... anyway...

Experimenting with lube:
So I tried using Dawn dish soap and I actually think it works just as well as grease. I would have bought graphite but it's kinda pricy for what you get, hence why I never use it. I applied the dish soap to the broken cable, then tested putting in the new cable dry (soap residue in the cable) vs. with grease (Super-Lube). Seemed the same either way.

For the new wire I used OOK 50# Smooth High Carbon Steel Wire 534279. Aside from not being stainless, it seems a great fit. The old wire is 0.055" dia. and the new wire is 0.052" dia. As long as you coat it with some grease (as anyone would do anyway) before it goes in, I doubt rust will be an issue for many many years.

Here is the "new" heater control cable along with the broken piece that was in it. I was able to fashion some cute triangles simply with needle nose pliers.