upgrading to gas!!!!

E-z-Cuzin

im a new member and have an ezgo pds with freedom chip. its a ton of fun to drive now that it does 18 mph and have had that for about a month. well the gas bug has bitten and research began.

im going to get a 91 gas ezgo. the engine is out of it and needs a rebuild. from what ive read here it should be a 3pg engine right? i think its a marathon model too if im correct. i have watched the rebuild video on youtube a few times already, should go pretty smoothly. its pretty rough shape but ive still got the electric one to cruise around on.

how many of you leave your 2 strokes stock and just ride them? 99% of the time its neighborhood street driving. occasionaly we take it through a field or some grass. also it seems i can expect about 20 mph out of this set up as well, is that about right? forgive me in advance as im sure ill still have alot of questions after i get it home and under the knife. thanks!

BGW

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BrewCityMusic

Welcome back from the Sparky Wasteland, hahahaha ...

Your new 91 is a 3pg, correct - the rebuild is a piece of cake itself, although there are a few "sticky widgets" you'll likely encounter (pulling the flywheel, while it sounds simple, can make a priest swear and a nun table-dance in Vegas, believe me) .... Figure on a couple of afternoons if you get jammed up, or one long one if you're mechanically inclined and all goes as it should.

As to leaving the 2-stroke stock, that's actually not too bad of a plan - if you do a lot of hills, or plan on loading 3 or 4 people on the cart, then a $30 investment in a shorter drive belt will go a LONG way (it increases takeoff torque and hill-climbing power at a minimal sacrifice of top end) ... Most carts that have sat (which yours likely fits the bill on if the engine is cooked) benifit from a "muffler BBQ" (search the procedure here in the threads) - other than that though, they're actually incredibly reliable once they're dialed in.

With stock tires and whatnot you can expect about 16-18mph or with 22's you can almost guarantee 22+ (especially if you pull the governor cable - although if there are multiple drivers and/or large amounts of beer involved with your day to day driving habits, then you may want to consider leaving it in place and just tweaking it to engage a little closer to the 5000rpm redline, just to protect your new motor) - if you do the belt mod above you can adjust those top end numbers down about 2mph give or take.

After rereading your post (to ensure I'm covering at least the bulk of your inquiry) I do want to mention that for neighborhood driving, the gasser is going to be a bit louder than the electric, obviously - hopefully the baffles are all good on your muffler or you might be a bit taken aback at the change in volume level from the old cart to the new ... Generally, even a bad muffler isn't so loud but if you're going for "stealth" then you might want to steel yourself for the investment in a new muffler (purely your choice, though - and on the upside, a semi-bad muffler will actually improve performance unless it's bad because it's plugged as I mentioned above)

Good luck on the project - the manuals and diagrams are all in the tech area at the top of this thread for your cart, and we're here to help anytime you need it (always glad to pull another hapless soul from the "Sparky" abyss ....)

madoc1

like brew said, not too hard. i have the service manual for the 89-93 ezgo if you cannot find it in the gas tech section at the top of this forum.

E-z-Cuzin

this is going to be my first gas cart, i have only seen pictures and i have been told by the owner that there is a little rust on the frame but nothing that is going to weaken it. i made a real low offer on it and he accepted it. how much rust is too much? cart is a 1991 marathon. i offered $250 with the blown motor and "everything" needed to put it back together. anything in particular is should be looking for in the parts that he has? is my offer too high or seem about right??

BrewCityMusic

I'm actually picking up an 88 with bad bearings "supposedly" for around that same $250 this weekend - very similar cart, although the one I'm contemplating is VERY clean other than some bonehead doing a bad repaint (not "rattle can" bad, but just a visible-surface auto job) - almost zero rust anywhere, all original ....

That motor will cost you around $150 to do the top end, somewhere around $375 to do crank up - so as long as it's decent you'll come in under $600 on a decent running Marathon, which s about right

BrewCityMusic

Oh - important stuff to make sure you get, both clutches, full exhaust, starter, etc - it's going to be hard without a photo as reference to make sure all the electronics are there, but look for "empty" studs on the firewall (a telltale sign that something is missing - luckily most of it has different spacing on the mounts so if it's not there, make sure you're handed something that fits correctly and you'll be OK) ... Just use basic engine logic - how torn apart IS this, maybe sharing a pic would let us peek at it for you and point out any potential spots for trouble?

E-z-Cuzin

these are the only pics i have of it. it does not seem to be in too bad of shape for a 91.

BrewCityMusic

it really looks like a great place to start a project, you're right that he pics don't help a ton but at least it looks like all the major stuff is there - again, make sure you get both exhaust pieces (pipe and muffler) as well as the drive clutch (which is likely still on the motor unless he's torn into it) ...

I would say for the money you did fine :)

rokcrlr

UH.... are your sure thats a 91? I thought the clutch sat the other way on those, It looks like a 88 setup to me and if so thats a 2pg engine in there, not a 3pg 89 up the driven clutch sits parallel to the rear axle. 88's it sits on the end of the pinoin shaft

BrewCityMusic

ROK - You are RIGHT ON !!!! (I can't believe I didn't spot that, prob because I HAVE an 88 so it looks familiar to me)

88 was the first year with the plastic cowl, and 89 introduced the 3PG (which is sorta like a transverse-mount 2PG, if you will) so logic dictates that that cart has to be an 88 - if it is, make SURE you get as many of the parts as you can, because there are a TON that are specific only to the 88 carts and as such are VERY hard to find and VERY expensive if you do (muffler and headpipe come to mind - it took me over a year to find a replacement used headpipe so I didn't have to spend $240 on one from a dealer) - also, the 88 final drive belt is a one-year-only part, as is the carb (I'll add more to the list as I think about it for awhile)

NOW, as to the upside, 88 is a GREAT performance year, they went with a bigger carb than the 87-downs as well as a higher-flow muffler (trying to weasel a little extra power, I would assume) yet retained all the 2PG electronics - not to brag, but my 88 runs circles around any Marathon I've put it up against and it's pretty much stock other than the HEI mod on the ignition and a lift w bigger tires (23mph) - so you're still doing good.

UNLESS someone swapped the rear end as part of the unfinished project, hmmm ... make sure the engine you get has a vertical muffler and the motor mounts in the frame with the carb coming out the passenger side, DANG some more pics would be a good thing