New G2 Owner with a couple of questions

[J-ROB]

Hi All, I just posted a thread in the introductions area introducing myself.

I just got a gas G2 yesterday and it runs perfect! I was a bit disappointed by the 12mph top speed, but I have already read up on adjusting the governor and did that this morning. I now can cruise at 16mph without the engine seeming like it is being pushed too hard. I did get a few more mph out of it, but backed it off as my wife will be driving the cart too and I don't want her to worry about over-revving the engine.

Now my plans for the day are to do a valve adjustment and change the engine oil, check the spark plug and replace if necessary (I doubt it does because it fires up right away and runs great).

I also plan to give it a thorough cleaning since I already removed the back half of the body to make the governor adjustment easier.

My questions are:
1. I noticed the oil filler tube is loose (enough so that with some twisting it easily pulls out of the block) and there is a bit of oil seeping out around the base of it.

2. There is some oil around the valve cover (can see it in attached photo) what is likely the source of the oil leak?

3. Anything else I should check or service immediately?

Thanks for reading, hopefully I haven't broken any rules yet as a newbie! I look forward to interacting with you all as from what I can tell there are a ton of knowledgeable / helpful folks on this forum.

[CP241]

Replace the o-ring on the oil filler tube and that should help. If that doesn't work, clean it really well with brake cleaner and you can jb weld it on, there's really no reason you should ever have to remove it unless you're rebuilding the motor (in which case it really still doesn't need to come off)

The oil on the top is coming from that hose next to the spark plug. That's the oil line that feeds the head. Replace it with a new piece of hose and a couple screw clamps and that will be fixed

Check the clutches to make sure they're working properly and in good shape. In particular, the primary clutch has a big gold cover on the outide of it. If there are ANY dents coming from the inside of that cover going out, you'll want to pull it out and rebuild it, most likely a broken fly weight. Eventually they'll crack the cover and get stuck.

I also like to pull out the gas tank (it's only held in with a couple bolts) and at the bottom is a big screw-cap where the line fits on. Remove that cap, and gut the fuel filter on the inside of the cap. Just rip it out completely. Then replace the fuel filter with a regular in-line fuel filter between the pump and the carb. Makes servicing the fuel filter a lot easier.

Make sure the belt is in good condition. If you look at it, it should "rest" at the top of the secondary clutch, flush (or slightly above) the outside of the sheaves. A worn belt makes a huge difference in performance.

Make sure the airbox is 10,000% completely sealed. Any little leaks will make it run like poopoo. make sure the gasket inside the lid is in place and zip ties work great to hold the lid on if the rubber band things are broken or missing.

And look underneath the battery tray. It's almost a given the battery tray itself is going to be rusted. I've had a couple of these where the round frame tube below the battery tray is also rusted pretty bad. It's really the only "common" rust point on the entire cart, but it's almost certainly going to have some amount of rust. The tray or the frame tube there are both very easy fixes, fortunately. King pins in the front steering are also common to wear out. You can buy a kit for $20 from golf cart king to rebuild those quickly and easily.

Aside from that, enjoy! I love the G2/G9's. I've recently acquired myself another G2 and forgot how much fun they are. they're little tanks more so than golf carts!

FYI if you plan to lift it, as tempting as the $60 4" economy lift kit may be, i would really recommend spending a little more money on one of the nicer lift kits. The 4" econo kit does give a little more ground clearance, and will fit 20" tires, but rides like a roller skate afterwards. The a-arm lifts ride a lot better, and can fit larger tires as well. all sports makes a nice one that isn't super expensive.

[CP241]

and when you change the oil, only use EXACTLY 1 quart of a good quality oil. Any more than a quart and it can cause it to smoke because it's overfilled. And a good quality oil is especially important in these motors because it's a splash system, unlike most of the other/newer carts with an oil pump and a pressurized system.

[J-ROB]

Thanks for the advice CP241!

I just finished changing the oil, I poured in exactly 1 qt of synthetic oil 10W 30.

I just put a new battery in it last night. There was some surface corrosion in the battery tray, but nothing bad. I hit it with some rustoleum to stop it from progressing further.

The king pins seem fine, the steering is very tight, no slop at all.

I don't believe I have any air leaks from the airbox as this thing runs like a sewing machine. No backfires or slow starts whatsoever. Hit the gas and it is running immediately.

I'll pull that hose and put some new on there and replace it with the screw clamps.

Do I need to worry about servicing the diff?

As it would turn out this cart was used by an elderly lady its whole life, it doesn't seem like it was ever hot-rodded or abused.

I'd really like to put a top on it so I can add a windshield. My friend has a warehouse and outside there is an electric ezgo graveyard outside. I bet I could make one of those tops work with some slight modifications.

[J-ROB]

As for the clutches and belt, the son-in-law of the previous owner was the maintainer and seemed to know the cart really well. He told me he had just re-built the clutches and replaced the belt. I was able to get it up to 20mph with the governor fully tightened and the slack taken out of the throttle cable. I did dial it back down to 16-17mph as my wife will be driving this too and I don't want to worry about her over-revving the engine. I wouldn't think it would have hit that high of a speed if there were any issues with the drivetrain?

[CP241]

I would service the rear end... just so you know when it was done, and THAT it was done. Little oil is cheap and at least you can keep track of it from there so there's no guessing if/when it was done.

I wouldn't worry too much about over-revving the engine. G2 has a rev limiter built into the ignitor. Obviously, lower rpm = longer engine lift so I don't like to push the limits on any of mine either, but the "danger fear" I wouldn't worry too much about

An EZGO top may not be the best fit. Most of them mount down on the sides of the front cowl to a brace. On my old G9 I used a top and supports from a club car that worked great. Very solid. Your other option may be if you can find an EZGO marathon roof and supports. The top in the front mounts to the "trim" piece that goes around the edge, at the top of the dash. The EZGO Marathon mounts in a similar fashion. The Club Car I used took a little modification, but fit nicely once it was on there. Looked like it was supposed to be there from the factory.

[J-ROB]

I agree on the servicing of the rear end, any particular weight of oil that is best?

As for the top, thank you for the advice on that! I will look up an EZGO marathon to see what it looks like so I can see if there is one outside of my buddies warehouse, I don't know if he has any club cars but I will take a look. I see what you mean about where and how the top mounts, I'm sure I will find something that will work!

Also thanks for the info on the rev limiter, good to know there is a safety in place to keep me from breaking it!

[CP241]

Here's how I did my G9. I bent the 2 tabs that usually mount mid-cowl from the DS so they are at more of a 90 degree angle and bolted them straight through the support.

For the rear, it was a big hoop like the front, without the tabs. Pretty sure it came from a Carryall; they mount the rear of the top with a hoop through the metal behind the seat backs as where a DS mounts it to the bag holder. Because it was a big hoop, I just cut the bottom of the "hoop" off so it was 2 straight side pieces, and bolted them to the seat side supports. Worked perfect That's the blue one.

The white one, while not the best picture, is an original top for my current G2. No it doesn't look like that anymore, that was before I pulled it out of its grave and brought it home And no, the grass really wasn't that tall there either. It had sunk a good 6" into the ground it sat there for so long. Amazingly, it's largely rust-free. The only bad rust on it is the frame around the inside of the seat (the seat itself, not the cart frame). Everything else is/was just surface stuff I don't have any current pictures handy, but it looks just a smidge better and runs like a top. Not bad for a 33 year old golf cart, yamaha did these things right!

[J-ROB]

The top looks good on the blue one, I wouldn't know it wasn't stock if you hadn't told me. The white one looks like mine with a top. I notice the rear fender is different from the blue one (G9). Will I have any issues trying to install a rear seat on my G2?

[CP241]

Rear fender should be the same.

The back seat I got off a G2 I picked up off a project... and I just picked up some madjax rear seat cushions for something (not sure what) off Ebay and made them fit. G2/G9 is the same aside from some minor differences. Pretty much anything you buy seats/lights/storage/etc will fit either one no problem.