87 2pg - to crank or not to crank?

[clr.R4tch3t]

I am well into my tear down process and I can hopefully save my cylinder with a .50 over, but that is still to be confirmed. My crank bearings had some decent play up and down and I knew the seals were wasted, and have probably been bad for years before I purchased the cart. Do you think new seals will seal properly on my crank with grooves like this? For and axle seal, I would be skeptical.. for a 'vacuum and dirt' seal, maybe it will be fine? What are your thoughts? If I need to take better pictures I can. My lighting wasn't so hot. Thanks!

[van the man]

I guess you should ask yourself what's the cart for? Am I going to run this 30 year old cart 6 hrs a day every day? Or is this really just a toy for me and the kids? I just tore down the engine of my toy. Someone had put the piston in backwards. I replaced the seals while I had it apart but that was it. I guess I could have done the crank, bearings, piston, rod, etc but it is just a cheap toy and I would rather have a few hundred dollars in my pocket, pick up a pizza for the kid. By the way, it runs faster than I thought it would, climbs hills my neighbors 4 stroke can't, and I can pay all the bills this month so everybody's happy (except the neighbor and the parts pushers out there). I mean, what's the difference in a 30 year old cart that runs pretty good and one you can say has a new crank? $100? Nothing? That wear doesn't look too bad. Light use is probably okay.
Now, if you're gonna run it double shifts and weekends too, a 30 year old cart is probably not the right tool for your purpose.

[clr.R4tch3t]

The cart is a tool I bought because I am lazy. Haha. I have 9 neighbors, and together we have about 250 acres. Traveling between houses is too far to walk but also too close to justify piling in a car to hang out for a while. The kicker is that I live at 8150' above sea level and I have some pretty big hills. I don't need much speed but I will need some decent hill climbing torque.
New crank bearings are on their way. Those should help hold everything nice and straight. I think I am going to leave it alone for now. Like you said, Van, it is just a toy that encourages me to be lazy. And budget is definitely the name of the game for this toy.
If it runs poorly, I can always pull it back out and throw one in. I think total engine pull and disassembly with bare crank on the bench took me 45 minutes. I can't complain about that.
I have attached a picture of my front yard as well as Hot Carl for your viewing pleasure.

[van the man]

Nice view! Cart looks cool, too! Love flame jobs. I don't know if you've seen this here or not, but a shorter belt will make a big difference regarding the torque. You need the Dayco HP3004 ( Thanks brew city for the tip. ) . It's a lot tighter than the stock belt on my 86. I think the box said it is a snow machine belt.

[cart around]

Page J-12 has an altitude jetting chart for your carburetor.

[restore49]

Most bearing suppliers make a thin stainless sleeve that covers the worn spot. Easy to install and come in all sizes.

[clr.R4tch3t]

Thanks for the compliments Van. The whole cart has rainbow flake in the paint. It is truly obnoxious in the sunlight. Haha. I have seen that belt number pop up every now and then, but I wouldn't remember if I have more torque or bottom end. I will have to put that on my Amazon Wich list for later.. I just bought a new (factory spec) belt before deciding to tear the engine down. I was hoping that would be the easy fix. I was wrong.

Thanks for the heads up on the jetting CA, I have been slowly familiarizing myself with the content of that PDF. I will definitely use that jetting on the factory setup. My hope is it eventually go with the BV24 and run a modified dirt scooter exhaust on it to try and get the power of an 88.. we will see if I ever get that far in the build. Thanks guys!

[clr.R4tch3t]

I got my new bearings in for the crank. Picked up the 6206 bearings off of Amazon for a steal, about $8 each with free prime shipping. Can't complain about that. The only thing that sort of bothers me is possibly quality. They are made by Xike with an 'ABCE-3' rating. I am familiar with the ABEC bearing classification, but this other one is foreign to me. They seem tight and they spin super smooth.. and made in the US! I think.. haha we will see how they perform.

[clr.R4tch3t]

I got my new crank seals in. Lubed and installed. I feel much better about how this little beat will run now. If you would like to see what a 30 year old crank seal looks like, it is bad. The crank slop was so bad it wore into the tension spring. It was actually pretty impressive. There is a picture of a new seal for reference. The entire edge of the seal was gone.. I guess that explains why it ran so poorly.