1988 EZGO Gas Marathon no movement

kenns40

I just picked up a 1988 EZGO Gas Marathon. I step on the peddle and the drive clutch spins but that is it. The drive clutch does not move in towards the belt to get the driver clutch to spin to go. Any Ideas? Thanks Kenn

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Dave Box

Welcome to the forum. I think that you will find that your engine is not even starting. The starter motor on the 2PG (actually you may have a 3PG) is quite robust and turns the engine at a few hundred rpm. This gives the sound of the engine running but it never gets there and the clutch does not close.
Lay the plug on the starter bracket and check for a spark, we can go from there.

Dave

kenns40

Hi Dave, Thanks for the welcome. On the motor is writen in white marker 8/2003 120lb. I think the motor was changed out. Not sure?? Im very new to this so the terms I used was from reading other posts and trying to find out some things about this cart. So what is it that you want me to do? Remove the spark plug and put it where?

kenns40

Okay I removed the spak plug laid it on the bracket, stepped on the pedal and spark is present!!

Dave Box

Good we have a spark and that saves us a lot of troubleshooting. Not that it particularly matters for fault finding but 1988 was a change over year for the engine so it could be the 2PG (high output) or the more powerful 3PG. To determine this, do the clutches point across the cart or front to rear? In addition is the muffler vertical or horizontal?

For a 2 stroke to run we need four things,

1. Spark (checked)
2. Compression (looks like 9 years ago someone checked that)
3. Fuel
4. Crankcase pressure.

Do you have a compression tester? If so then you know what we need to do now. 140 psi would be nice but anything over 100 psi is acceptable. If you don't then you really need to borrow or rent one, but for now we can move on.

Trace the fuel line into the carburetor and pull it off. Point it into a container and crank the engine. You need to see a series of pulsating jets and it should be a big amount of fuel. A dribble or a trickle will not do. So try that and let us know what transpires.

Dave

kenns40

Hi Dave, Im still trying to track down a compression tester...... nobody around me rents them out. I did take the fuel line off and I'm getting gas out of it but not alot i think. I pressed the pedal down about 5 times and got about 1/8th of a cup of gas. its not dribbling or trickling out but not full spurts of gas.

kenns40

Dave to answer the other questions the clutches are front and rear. The muffler is in the horizontal postion! I cant find a tester for rent so I might have to buy one. Ill get back to you soon on that. Thanks again Kenn

Dave Box

Kenn,
You have the 3PG engine which is nice as it gives you a white knuckle inducing 11 hp. (You will need to know this when ordering parts). Buying a compression tester is generally a good thing as it really does tell you the state of your engine and you should be able to find one for ~ $40.
Come back with your compression test results and we can move forward.

Dave

preciador6

Just because the spark plug has spark doesnt make it good trust me...I tried two and they both had good spark but they were no good get a new one there only $2.00 bucks

kenns40

Okay compression test done! 135 it read