Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello peeps,
Recently I have been having problems pushing the choke knob back in on my SII after pulling it out to start up. The return mechanism is not sticky at the carb end and I am wondering if the wire cable itself is sticking/jamming in the outer cable. Whilst I have considered pulling the inner cable through to oil it, the end has seen better days and is a bit mangled (bent and somewhat frayed) so not sure that would be a good idea as, once I start to pull it through, it might not want to go back down.
Anyone else had this problem - any thoughts?

It's a difficult one, sometimes oiling can just attract more dust and make it worse after a brief period.
obviously haven't seen it, but sometimes a cable end such as you describe can be 'cleaned up' in terms of reshaping and twisting back together, enough that it can be soldered on the end to hold the strands in place, whilst not making it too bulky to pull back through the sheath.

Otherwise, how about remove the whole assembly from the car and squirt penetrating oil down it to clean out any crud, without letting the end disappear inside

Yes, or I might just disconnect at the carb end, have a go at tidying up the wire end a bit and hold the cable up to squirt something down without removing it.....and if that fails, I just remembered I have a spare cable in a box at the back of the garage

I am wondering if the wire cable itself is sticking/jamming in the outer cable

Is there really any doubt of this?

It will need servicing or replacing. How the repair is achieved would depend on several factors - from simple lubrication to shortening the inner and outer to replacement of either or both.

I’ve encountered this problem many times. One just takes the action necessary - whatever might be relevant and appropriate. Sometimes the repair costs effort and other times it involves spending money on a new item. They are available.

Thank you - I had not thought of shortening the cable to get rid of the mangled end. I will see tomorrow if here is enough length on it to do this.And, as I said, if all else fails, I have a spare in the back of the garage somewhere.......

Is it one of the old cables where you can pull it out and then twist the knob to stop it slipping back again?

It is older - 1955. It has a number of indents that allow it to click into a number of locked positions in order to adjust the mixture.

Sorted! I shortened the cable, lubricated and all is well. Should have been dead easy but te nut behind the dash was sooo stiff and I had to spanner it off all the way which, the nut being where it is behind the dash, was awkward and tedious. But all's well that ends well