2001 Club Car DS goes slow

brewginger2.5

I've been chasing this problem for a while. It goes about 13 mph uphill on a modest incline and about 16 mph on flat. Has an old plum quick motor, 1 year old US batteries, 400 amp controller with 2 gauge wire throughout, HD f/r, and 400 amp HD solenoid. I was planning on going down to plum quick in a few weeks to get a new motor, but thought about the wheel bearings. how easily should they spin if jacked up off ground? I spin and they'll go about 3 rotations and then slow to a stop. Should it roll more easily? Also, I just replaced the entire transaxle due to some rust, thinking that might be the problem. Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

BGW

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Drewfus

Could very well be the problem, but the first thing I would check is the brake shoes. I'm in the middle of a freshening up of my cart, and I was surprised at how much drag the rear brakes had.
When I rolled the cart to move it around the shop, I could hear the drums scraping. After removing them, replacing the shoes, and freeing up the sliders it's a whole new beast! You're going to have to remove them to check your bearings anyway, so it's a great place to start...

brewginger2.5

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. Any idea on adjustments, in case they are dragging?

Drewfus

If you go to this page: http://www.golfcartpartsdirect.com/Category/1549
Look at part #17. This is the slider I was referring to. Mine was pretty sticky. It should be able to slide somewhat freely back and forth. #11, the star(shaped) wheel, could also be needing lube as it can stick too. That slide(#17), can be checked by removing the drums and shoes.
You can run the star(shaped) wheel screw all the way back in by holding up the #5 adjuster arm and turning its screw. Keep in mind your shoe will have to be held away to turn the screw as the shoe end rides in that screw. Also one side is right hand thread, other is left hand thread.
Once you have BOTH screws on both sides turned all the way in and shoe ends in the screws, connect your cables back up and operate the brakes. the #5 adjuster should "ratchet" on the star wheel and move the bottoms of the shoes outward. If all looks good, run the screws back in and put the drums back on and repeat the brake pumping procedure until the ratcheting(clicking) stops. Now they are adjusted..
So if, when your wheels are removed, the drums are hard to turn, i.e. dragging alot, your best bet is to pull the drums and take a peek at what is in there. My advice is to take LOTS of pictures so everything can go back to it's original position. If you still have drag once both drums are off, then that could point to a bearing problem. One more thing: IMPORTANT! don't get lube/grease on the surface of your brake shoes!