Ezgo transaxle and engine alignment....

[Blind Old Coot]

Hi,
Picked up a 2007 Refresher that had a sloppy transaxle but the engine did run...I pulled the transaxle apart and found the input shaft bearings were toasted. Ordered all new bearings and seals from Ezgo.
Some bearings have a month lead time so I just bought some locally.
Since most of the machine was vacant, pulled the motor and related parts out and washed all the dried oil off...
Put the whole shabang together and noticed the skid plate holes don't line up correctly...loosened everything back up and still won't line up....
I had the engine, transaxle, axles, aluminum axle support out at the same time...is there a preferred order of reassembly?

So.. put it up on Jack stands yo see if transaxle works correctly and it does...but it whines. Quiet in neutral...

So any tips on getting everything lined up....don't mind taking everything back out if it will solve the alignment issues but not sure it will help.....
Thanks

[Timberwolflt]

double post

[Timberwolflt]

I just had that issue myself with an 02 refresher cart.... I bolted the front mount to the engine on the bench... set it in place on a floor jack and bolted up the rear mount methodically to make sure all the bolts lined up correctly....Tightened all the bolts good... Then blocked up the front mount even though it was hanging low so that I could remove the jack... removed the 4 skid plate bolts... installed the skid plate... then jacked up the front mount and bolted it up... in other words... bolt the brackets to the motor first and work your way out

I was just complaining about the design on the other thread because I don’t like the fact that the rear suspension puts a lot of load and stress on the crankcase...Replacing the rear leaf spring bushings actually takes some load off of the crankcase and makes lining up the motor a bit easier... I should have replaced them first

[Blind Old Coot]

That makes sense to me. When the horizontal bolts went in by hand I would of assumed the bottom bolts would be there also... hence my mistake.
New leaf spring bushings are on order.
The triangular shaped bracket from the transaxle to aluminum support on passenger side is causing me fists too.
I knew this was coming when I picked this machine up so I'm good with it. It's just some some care and attention to get it back to were it should be.
Really happy with it . It's winter in upper Illinois so I am going to enjoy this.
Thank you

[Timberwolflt]

Go ahead and bolt the gusset bracket back up first.... you may have to slip the u-bolts on the axle housing some... that in effect makes the transaxle and the rear motor mount bracket one piece with no adjustability. When you rotate the rear axle back with/for the new bushings, that’s going to bring your rear motor mount back up some. You can jack up the rear of the frame of the cart and see the axle/motor mount rotate closer toward proper position. The new bushings will lower the rear of the spring about an inch which lifts on the motor mount and it makes a difference

Those motor mount brackets aren’t really square on that bottom corner so it doesn’t really look like it would fit the motor very well but it does. Then bolt the motor to the rear bracket then bolt the front bracket to the motor and support it in the lowered position while you pull the skid plate bolts and install the skid plate before you put the bind on it by lifting the front... then jack the front into position and throw those two bolts in and you’re there... the crankcase will be in a bit of a bind but the new spring bushings will relieve that pressure some

[Blind Old Coot]

As I'm standing by the machine I can see how the leaf spring bushings play a role in the equation. I need to pull it apart because everything is binding and start with the frame gusset as you mentioned . I'll loosen or remove what it takes to start over and then work from inside out.. then install skid plate....

Me thinks the skid plate plays a roll in the support of the structure too.. since it bridges the subframe and the motor.

I printed your instructions so can follow on reassembly. My concern was putting any unnecessary stress on motor mounts or anything else that would break.
Now I'm more comfortable knowing what to expect the second time around.
Those are excellent instructions....thank you.


So far, the machine is great. I see an overhaul on motor sooner than later which I've never done before but would like to at least try.
Nothing electrical works yet but have a better comfort level with that. Plenty of open grounds to look at. Carb needs cleaning, frame is good and clean....this is going to be a great winter....

This machine takes up some serious space. With the long wheel base it covers plenty of ground.

[Timberwolflt]

I just rebuilt the motor on this refresher... EH35C... pre- MCI 352 . I really like this little motor... Turned out real nice and runs excellent. This is my first gas cart and it was all torn apart when I got it... These guys here helped me find the manuals and wiring diagrams I needed to learn enough about this cart to rebuild it from a pile of pieces

This motor had broke a rod... While that sounds bad, it at least gave me an indication that the cart had been working up until that point.

Fortunately, all that was damaged was the rod and the piston skirt. I bought a rebuild kit off a guy on eBay and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and tolerances.... and the speedy delivery.... A standard set Pistons, rings, pins, rods, valves, valve seals and all the gaskets.

Light honing for the cylinders, cleaned everything up real good, polished a little metal transfer off the crank journals, lapped in the new valves, cleaned up the carburetor and dropped it in the ultrasonic cleaner for about 30 minutes and reassembled it. Went together real nice and runs like a new motor... Seems pretty strong

Took my sweet *** time and did a good job and it still only took a day or 2 to have it back in and hooked up... Looking forward to seeing how it drives when I get my clutch parts tomorrow. I’m really diggin this cart with the extra length and heavy duty springs. Working on puttin a nice stake bed on it while I’m waitin on my clutch parts... Don’t really have any use for the refreshment boxes

[Blind Old Coot]

Looks like a stake bed that tilts too....I can knock things over with the metal box being so big, looks most impressive with a type of stake set up. Let the fabrication begin.

Took me two days to just get the transaxle out and apart.. with the manual....yes, this is an information based forum. I did find the motor manual also. I don't have the needed tools to rebuild just yet like honing or valve lap tools or any measurement tools so I'll clean fix other details.

I can smell burnt oil when running it but don't see anything. Motor is slow on start up from a start ( starter generator spins and spins with throttle 3/4 until motor lites up ) but then runs strong.

I washed the motor in the laundry tub and wondering if I'm smelling the chemical burning off.

One of the exhaust manifold bolts are stripped out from an 8mm x 1.25 thread to a very sloppy 3/8 ×16 thread size ....so went with studs instead of bolts for the manifold and muffler support bracket. Might red lock tite them in.

[Blind Old Coot]

Here's 2002, 1200 LX that was almost turn key with a tilt bed.
Driven clutch was worn and put a 36 degree helix and correct buttons on and super happy with take off.

[Timberwolflt]

Looks good... looks solid
I like the those tires