85 ez go gas marathon- runs wont go

[mrairrikk]

i have a 1985 ezgo gas powered marathon. the motor was rebuilt by a local company, it ran for a while then sat, which is when i purchased it. i put a fresh battery in it, cleaned the air filter, and put some gas in it. it ran great for a few weeks. then i go to use it the other day after sitting for a few weeks, and it ran weak for a bit then it wouldnt go anymore.
it seems to fire up , but wont engage the clutch. ive been reading a few posts, and it sounds like it might just be a fuel delivery problem. im going to put it up on jack stands in a minute and see if she will engage with no pressures on it. while im there ill check the spark plug.
i have noticed that the clear fuel filter never really seems to get filled , almost like the fuel is just trickling into it. it looks like it has a micro filter also, that i probably need to change.
does this sound more like a fuel delivery problem or a clutch problem.
id love to have it up and running again by sat morning. any help would be great , ill check back in a few and can have pictures if it helps.

erik

[BrewCityMusic]

Depends on the RPM's - if it's revving up OK but not moving, you could lean towards a clutch issue. If it doesn't want to rev, bogs, etc then chances are it's a fuel / ignition issue.

Start with the usual suspects especially given that it sat - 2-stroke mixed fuel (assuming your cart runs premix) gums up everything rather quickly when sitting so unless you cleaned out the tank, fuel lines, new filter, carb, etc prior to running it, odds are that something has gotten it's way into the carb (such as sludge from the fuel line, etc).

Pull the carb, remove the jets and clean them thoroughly (do a search here for details on how to do this if you're not familiar with carbs, Dave Box has posted several really nice instructions step-by-step in a few threads) then go ahead and replace the fuel filter and if it sat for more than a couple of months, it wouldn't hurt to pull and clean out your gas tank.

If a new plug and cleaning out the carb, etc doesn't help you out, then you may want to look at the crank seals, plugged muffler, etc (next in the list of "usual suspects") - let us know your results on the preliminary cleaning and we'll help you out from there if it looks like you need it!

[mrairrikk]

well i took out the spark plug and gave it a little scrubing, it didnt look too terrible , ive seen worse.
i checked to make sure i was getting spark, both at the plug and at the wire.
that all checked out.
i then took out the air filter, it could probably use a new one but i blew it out and cleaned out as much of the canister as i could.

it still wouldnt completely fire up, it spins but dosent rev up.

it still wasnt looking like it was getting fuel , or if it was it was very little , you can barely see any in the filter.

so i then took of the air cleaner again, and shoot some starting fluid in and bang it starts up just fine now. ran and drive it around a bit , seems to be running fine.

when i get paid tomorrow im going to replace both filters. if i didnt need it on saturday id probably mess around with the carb and clean it up , but ill give it try saturday. then decide whats next. i will end up repalcing the air filter too, probably not till after this weekend though.

it is a mixed gas engine. and it did sit for quite a while. the fuel is probably pretty bad.

i do have one other issue, when i go from forward to reverse or reverse to forward , and it starts to move there is a loud popping noise. it only does it after the lever is moved. once its in either direction and i havent moved the lever but start and stop it doesnt do this.
is this a sign of a clutch going out soon , or does something need ot be adjusted?

thanks for the help.

erik

[Dave Box]

Erik,
With regard to the popping when changing from forward to reverse. You do appreciate that your cart selects reverse by starting the engine in reverse? This means that you must let the engine come to a complete stop before moving that lever or you will be br bring the full momentum of the engine to bear on the starter motor and it is not going to last too much longer.

[mrairrikk]

yep , well i didnt know that until reading several posts on here. but its not me trying to change from fwd to rev too soon, it can sit for days in reverse, then change to fwd and it will do it.

but like i said before it only does it when the lever has been changed , and not on every start and stop. it does have a hesitation also from a standing stop until it starts to move forward , but i think thats the fuel problem im trying to get rid of.

thanks for all the help , ill keep posting updates as soon as i have more information.

erik

[Dave Box]

Erik,
If you already knew this then forgive me for stating the obvious but......

When you crank the engine and before it catches and fires up everything including the drive clutch is turning, albeit slowly. Now if you are having difficulty starting it is possible that the cart may move forward slowly on the starter (especially if you belt is tight) and then when the engine catches and away you go. Does this sound like your symptom?

If you are still having fuel delivery problems then a likely suspect is the fuel filter and that is a cheap fix. If this doesn't work then you should pull the line from the carburetor and crank the engine. You should see a good healthy pulse of fuel. If not then your next step shold be to disassemble the fuel pump and clean it out. Also check for a hole or crack in the diaphragm. The tiniest crack will drastically effect the output so look carefully and run your fingertips over the diaphragm as sometimes you can feel the crack before you see it. Before you break it down draw a line down the side so that you get the top on in the correct orientation. If you put it on any of the five incorrect orientations the output pipe will foul on the starter bracket and make you cry tears of bitter rage and frustration. There is no need to ask me how I know this.

As Brew City says, let us know how you get on and we can take it from there.

Good Luck
Dave

[BrewCityMusic]

You need to ascertain exactly where the "pop" is coming from, if it's a mechanical "pop" the chances are that from sitting, your clutch has a little rust or ? going on and isn't releasing smoothly, possibly there is something loose inside that is running at a slight offset or "cant" that when you reverse directions has to force itself back into position in order to run the other direction, giving you a "popping" noise.

The other possibility is that the "pop" is a small backfire, etc from your exhaust which could indicate that when they rebuilt the motor, they didn't get the timing exactly correct, which could lead to a small backfire when switching from forward to reverse.

One question, when you say you have a slight hesitation, does it feel like the clutch is engaging abruptly (generally giving a small jerk before you start to move) - if that's the case, I would lean towards the clutch being a little sticky from sitting, which may or may not correct itself with a few hours use (as mine did after it sat for almost 2 years).

[mrairrikk]

its definitly not a back fire, its mechanical.

i put two new filters on her and i can see fuel in both so i think it definitly needed it. she seems to be running fine.

this winter i think ill end up doing a carb rebuild and a fuel pump look see.

i greased every zert i could find and wiped her down for good measure. i should be ready to go for this weekend.

thanks for all the help and ill keep the updates coming as they happen.

erik

[DOOmsman]

The pop may be the driven clutch has worn out
the slider buttons and is slapping the other
angle of the helix.

[GoTeeMan]

Regarding the "POP", before you do what you do to hear the pop lift the seat and see if the drive clutch(the one on the engine) is squeezing the belt if it is engaged then do whatever you do to hear the pop then lift the seat again and see of the clutch has let go. If so, and Dave Box will verify this, it's new clutch time.

Cheers