Is there a good product to lubricate a carburetor's butterfly shaft?

Online there is mention of CRC Spray, lubes that leave behind dry graphite or teflon, also white lithium which I have on my shelf.. ..anyone have experience or recommendations?

The main throttle shaft on my Plymouth's Carter is sticking a little and won't always return the last fraction of an inch to bring the engine down to a nice low idle..

I have to blip the gas pedal to coax it down.. or else the engine pushes against the brakes, etc, etc. .. sometimes it just refuses to cooperate at all, and I hate fighting the engine with the brakes..

I've added a return spring, that helped a little, but it needs that little extra...

Thanks,
- Art

Sticking usually indicates one of two things, varnish and dirt build up, or mechanical binding somewhere. Check your linkage thoroughly for tight spots, often times it just takes a slight bend to adjust for clearance to get rid of the sticky spot. Another area to check is the butterflies were they pass through the base gasket, see that carbon build up hasn't increased thier size and makes them hit the gasket or intake opening. It could also mean that your throttle shafts are worn to the point that they are no longer round and bind. If its gunked up with varnish etc. you might need a thorough cleaning or an overall rebuild. As a quick lube to break it free a quick spray of WD-40 works well and won't stain everything. .02

hi
also disconnect the throttle cable and see if it acts the same .

i have seen more than 1 throttle cable become dragy from oil / dirt build up .

spray the cable ends and work brake cleaner through it till it comes out clean

re install with no lube !

As said, first find out if it is dirt/varnish or a mech binding. Soak it or spray clean it for starters

Thanks guys.

Glad I asked, I'll follow your advice and re-check the carb shaft and throttle cable separately.

The carb was rebuilt this spring including all parts submerged in a bucket of NAPA carb cleaner. It seemed to me the butterfly shaft is now so dry, it's binding, that's why dry lube like graphite or teflon made sense. I will get some and apply a little to see if that does the trick.

The throttle cable I checked this spring. I disconnected both the carb end and pedal end to ensure I had easy action through the sleeve, and lubed with light weight sewing machine oil.... I'll check it again.

I checked the pedal lever and pivot for binding or interference from the interior carpet. It's not perfect, so I'll check there again..

I can also see what a stronger spring does..

Thanks,
- Art

Art save yourself a trip & forget about the lube. Keep after it & find out if it is varnish/debris OR throttle plates (something metal on metal) that is binding.

The secondaries on my 800 DP had a tendency to stick when fully open. It drove me nuts but I never put it on a car until I fixed it! Turned out to be binding in the wire link (between the primary and secondary throttle shafts...

I had the choke linkage on my stromberg carb for a poly 318 bind, it would only do it when it was warmed up cause the dash pot was pulling the choke to stay open, wouldnt bind when it was cold cause the choke was closed, was nice when you wanted to go around 35-40 but not at a stop light, usually if i taped the throttle it would free itself, drove me nuts till i figured it out.