My governor cable scare last Tuesday

During a safety check, the cable snapped without warning... What's your go-to method for inspecting cables?

4 comments

4 Comments

Man, that's terrifying. Honestly though, if you're just doing a visual look-over, you're gonna miss stuff. You gotta get your hands on it. I flex the cable hard near the governor arm and the carburethrottle, feeling for any gritty spots or stiffness. A visual check won't catch the internal strands starting to fray.

derek_green31mo ago

Totally agree that visual checks aren't enough for cables. What worked for me was pulling the sheath back to expose more inner cable, then bending that section gently by hand. You can feel any rough spots way better that way without stressing the housing.

ninar1224d ago

My old mechanic taught me to check cables by sliding the inner wire back and forth through the housing. You can feel every tiny catch that way without bending the cable at all. I get what johnb49 says about needing to feel for grit, but bending a possibly damaged cable near a hard point just adds risk. That sliding method feels safer and shows you exactly where the problem is inside the liner. What did your mechanic show you for checking cables?

anthony5121mo ago

Seriously, flexing the cable hard near the governor arm? That seems like a sure way to snap it if there's already hidden damage. I've seen cables look fine but fall apart with just a little pressure. Like, one time my buddy checked his visually, thought it was good, and then it failed at the worst moment. Feeling for gritty spots makes sense, but bending it hard sounds risky. You really have to be careful not to make things worse while checking.