1983 Gas EZGO wont start

Jeffreysox

Hey all, new guy with a problem here.

I have a 1983 EZ-GO that I recently acquired.

It sat outside for a few years before I got it. Motor has good compression (didnt do a test, but compression stroke felt good), took the carb off and cleaned it up, all the jets, everything in the carb.

Has good spark, and gets fuel.

I cant get the thing to run. It will hit, then backfire and just continue to run on the starter.

With fuel, good spark and air, what am I missing?

If you need any more info, I might know. Im new to the cart world.

BGW

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Dave Box

Welcome to the forum Jeffrey. Congratulations on your 83, I have an 86 and my original plan was to restore it, sell it and get a four stroker. However now it is done I like it so much it is a keeper.
Taking you at your word you have a spark and fuel and compression (although it would be better if you had a tester and could give us the numbers) The 2PG engine also needs to be able to breathe as well as have crankcase pressure to move the fuel to the piston. A common problem is that guys believe that a little more oil in the gas can't hurt so they run their carts at 70:1 or 60:1 or... well you get my point. In reality it does hurt as the unburnt oil collects in the muffler, turns into a nasty mess and eventually blocks the muffler. So my first step would be to loosen the bolts between the muffler and the exhaust pipe so as to create a gap and allow the gasses to escape.Now try to start the cart, if it runs then we need to BBQ the muffler and we can deal with that later.
There is also a more serious and demanding issue and that is the two crankshaft seals. When these wear out (or perish) the engine can no longer build up enough pressure in the bottom half to push the fuel to the top half. As the fuel pump is pressure driven I would pull the line from the pump to the carburetor point it into a jar and crank the engine. You should see big healthy spurts of fuel jetting out of the pipe. If you see anything less then that really won't hack it. If you look at the back of the engine behind the drive clutch you will be able to just make out the rear seal. With the rear wheels off the ground, or the drive belt removed, get a friend to crank the engine whilst you squirt WD40 or something similar onto that seal. Does the engine start or try to? If so your rear seal is shot and will need replacement. The front seal is much harder to get to being behind the fan / flywheel assembly. Some folks say remove the front air cover and squirt behind the fan but it is hard to be accurate.
So try that and let us know what happens.
Good Luck
Dave

bauschracing

I would put my $$$ on the crank seals if you have fire and fuel. They are about $3.00 each. I put a new carb and pump on my cart first, then HEI conversion and coil. Compression was weak and I replaced the rings. Still would not crank and then replaced the seals.
My cart set on it's side for 3+ years.
I took the engine out 4 times and it is easy to do.
Good luck.
Mike

Jeffreysox

Thanks for the replies guys.

It sounds my best bet is those crank seals. So hopefully tomorrow Ill get to take a look at her tomorrow. Ill let you guys know if it worked out or not.

Great forum you guys have here, Im sure Ill be spending more time on here.

BrewCityMusic

OK, OK .... Before you pull your hair out, and your engine ... let's take a peek at a couple of the other ususal culprits.

Jack the cart up - it won't start now, but just in case it decides to screw with you, you want to be prepared. pull the plug and ground it well, then turn it over for more than a stroke or two (as you normally would to confirm spark). Does the spark stay strong, or does it fade after a few seconds? Stock ignitors like to lie to you and make you thing you have "spark", but that's sometimes just a flash in the pan, so to speak. Is the spark consistant and strong? If it isn't there for more than a few RPM's, look up "HEI" here on the forums, we'll meet you in your new thread.

Now, even though the best have tackled carb after carb, you're in a spot where you may have to tackle some real issues, so let's go back to the start and rethink everything prior to THAT. "Gets fuel" means you pulled the line off the pump output and made sure it was peeing plenty of gas, right? Look for a "stuutering puke" of fuel, should shoot a few inches at least. All 3 crucial jets were pulled, cleaned, etc, right? Oil injector was pulled or not? If so, the old injection port (on the intake manifold "elbow") has been plugged and sealed, right? Muffler .... Crack the bolts holding it to the manifold pipe (under the seat, as Dave explained above) and wedge something in there to give you a 1/4" crack between the pipe and the muffler, try and start it (NOTE: Louder than hell if it works) ... Still nothing? Grab a DMM.

Coil wires while cranking it over, 10.4-13vdc. Coil post to post without ignition wires attached, 2.1-3.8ohms. Sounds simple, but even screwed up old carts have a way of fooling you, whether they're screwed up or not. Now, pull the pulsar plug (2 wires coming out of engine, one red, one blue) and ohm it, should be at least 80 and more than likely about 150-ish. Swap your DMM to the lowest AC setting and crank it over, should be 0.95-1.75VAC on the meter.

(Sorry to lead you through a lot of the obvious, but you're into it for almost 10 minutes now, a lot faster than any kind of major parts swap)

The seal test that Dave outlined above works well, and if the seals are your trouble will diagnose that immediately - if that turns out to not be the case though, you need to get your hands on a compression tester first (they loan them out at Advance Auto, Napa, etc) to ensure a removal/etc isn't or is warranted, my '88 had almost every symptom of an impending rebuild except at the time, my "Other Half" was controlling the checkbook ... And (given that she's not here at the moment watching me type this) I'm glad.

Another crazy thought, but did you double check that the butterfly and choke are opening and closing correctly (not just manually to check them, but appropriately with the throttle and/or choke cable) - also, I'm going to assume you're doing any or all of this with the air cleaner detached ?!?

I'm sure there are a ton of things I missed off the top of my head - but I'm 5'5", that'll happen. Measure once, Cut twice, or something like that, I've heard - these 2PG's have 2 issues, they run like nothing else or they want to but can't.

Long Tom

My 1983 Marathon would start and then quit. Checked everything and then the ground wire ! Looked good but was not . So renewed it and all was well !

salinasgoodoleboy

Check all electrical connections, find a buddy with a compression tester or go buy a cheap one from harbor freight and actually test it. I can turn my engine over by hand fairly easily yet it still has great compression.

Did the previous owner say anything about rebuilding it or taking the top end off? pistons could be in backward...

Dave Box

Guys, this thread is 3 years old I think Jefferysox is long gone and sadly he never followed up to let us know how it went, which is my personal peeve.

Dave