Deleting the cruise control system on our DSM’s is very common within the community. Most people do it to clean up the engine bay, but that is not the only benefit of deleting cruise control. The cruise control is made up of two individual throttle cables with a series of pulleys. Every extra individual part of the cruise control devices causes a slight delay in throttle response. Removing all of this and installing a non-cruise control cable gives a direct link from the gas pedal to the throttle body.
Words By: AJ Hunsinger | Images By: AJ Hunsinger
Deleting the Cruise Control System
Difficulty Level: 2 of 5
Parts Required: Non-Cruise Control throttle cable.
Tools Required: 3/8″ ratchet, deep-well 10mm socket, deep-well 12mm socket, 3/8″ extension(s), stubby flathead screwdriver, needle-nose pliers.
You will need to remove all of the cruise control components. Let’s start with the cruise control actuator which is bolted to the strut tower near the fuse box. It is held into place with 10mm bolts (I don’t remember exactly how many, at least 3 or 4). In the picture below, the cruise control actuator is shown in the blue box. Unbolt it and unplug it.
A cable connects the cruise control actuator to the cruise control box. The cruise control box is bolted to the firewall. Once the actuator is unbolted, you can then unbolt the cruise control box.
NOTE: You can remove just the actuator and remove the cable from the cruise control box to separate the cable. This allows you to remove the actuator and does not require a non-cruise control cable. You must keep the cruise control box though.
There are (3) 10mm bolts holding the cruise control box to the firewall. See the below picture for mounting locations.
Next, remove the throttle cable from the throttle cable. Then, unbolt the throttle cable bracket from the intake manifold (10mm bolts).
Now you need to unbolt the rest of the throttle cable that holds the cable into place via (2) of the 12mm fuel rail bolts.
The remaining steps is where things start getting a little cramped as there is not much room to work with. Where the throttle cable protrudes through the firewall, remove the (2) 10mm bolts holding the cable to the firewall.
Now, there is only one part of the throttle cable to remove. That, is at the gas pedal itself. Climb under the dash and look towards the top of the gas pedal. You will see a little yellow clip that connects the throttle cable to the gas pedal.
Here are a couple close up pictures of the yellow clip.
There is a slit in the very top part of the gas pedal allowing the cable to slip into it. Then, the yellow clip locks it into place so it cannot come out. The easiest way to remove the cable from the pedal is by pulling the yellow clip with needle nose pliers. Once it is out, you can simply lift the cable out of the pedal and remove the cable from the engine bay side of the firewall.
The picture above is the cruise control cable. The picture below is the non-cruise cable.
Below is the before and after of deleting the cruise control system. The cruise control actuator was already removed from the car prior to buying it, so I am not able to show you a before picture of everything. But, you get the idea.
About The Author
