Loose throttle cable after trying to remove thermostat

Hey guys!

I tried to remove my thermostat (unsuccessfully do to someone using RTV Blue on the housing) but i removed the throttle body to get to it and when i went to put it back, the cable was loose. I didn't do anything to it and i don't think i should have to adjust it because of that. Any reason for this or am i missing something here?

after i little more looking, i found that the spring with the green plastic ends is loose at the pedal. its like it is free to move around the cable. is this normal? if so, i saw some topics about people putting zip ties at the end to eliminate the slack. is this recommended?

What model year Explorer are you working on?

By "loose" you mean there is slack in the cable so the throttle would need to be pressed slightly to take up the slack?

-Rod