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Old 09-18-2010, 08:10 PM   #1
Pocono Country Boy
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Default Free Cart!

The story behind my "Free Cart"

I live in a private lake community in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. 3/4 of the homes here are vacation homes. You can ride ATV's, Carts, whatever on the roads in here. Posted speed limit is 15 but they give you 20-25 without any hassle.

A friend of mine who comes up a dozen or so weekends a year had this E-Z-Go 2 stroker cart for the past 6 or 7 years that he used to haul him and his fishing gear down to the boat basin whenever he was here. It probably got used between 20 and 30 hours run time per year at most. He had gotten it from another "weekender" homeowner in our community who used it about the same..maybe a little more. That owner bought it new.

My friend started having problems with it--he kept having to choke it to get it to run..then it would run ok...5 minutes later he'd have to hit the choke again to keep it running...and so on. I didn't know he was having problems with it and he never asked me for advice or help.

One weekend early this year had a "mechanic" friend of his come up to help him look it over. They tried getting it to start and it was hard to start and wouldn't stay running at all. They played with it for a while and were ready to give it up when it started wanting to start without pressing the pedal and even when they turned off the key. While they were scratching their heads trying to figure out what was going on, one of the battery cables started smoking and so they cut the main battery cable and pretty much gave it up.

He talked to a local small motor repair guy up here who also sells and repairs golf carts about his cart and without looking at it the guy told him it was junk and that he wouldn't give him anything in trade for it because he couldn't resell it but that he would "haul it away and junk it for him for free" if he bought a cart from him. My friend told me that is what he was planning to do.

Well.. when he told me this I told him that if he was going to junk it that I'd take it and see if I could get it running for my son to cruise around the community in (and Mom and Dad too!). He told me "If you want it, you can have it!"..along with the complete set of manuals for the cart!

Alright! Free Cart!

That's when I started searching for information and found this forum called "Buggies Gone Wild" and found out that I didn't know how much I didn't know about carts!

Crash course: Read every thread in Gas E-Z-Go except for a few and a bunch of threads in other sub forums too and start trying to figure out what was wrong with this thing.

Turns out it's apparently an "88 1/2" from the first part of 89 when they were still putting the 1988 2PG motors in them.

Start with the obvious...Fix ends cut off old battery cables, recharge low battery, replace nasty old corroded metal fuel line, tired rubber sections of fuel line and clamps, new fuel filter, disassemble and de-gunk Carb, new gas, check oil reservoir.

Ok.. pop in a fully charged battery and connect up the cables and...it wants to start without key and without pressing gas pedal! WTF! oh yeah..he told me about that...Hmmm..bad microswitch?

Ok...disconnect small red wire running to solenoid...reconnect battery..everything now seems normal. (At least it doesn't want to try to start by itself!). I take a toggle switch and some wire and a couple connectors and make up a jumper that goes from positive terminal on battery to switch then to spot on the solenoid where that red lead was attached. Now, I flip the switch and she wants to run (with or without the key!)...give her some gas and I'll be darned it's up and running!

After an hour or so of running it like that I park it and have a look under the seat. I look at the key switch and what do I see? It's a two terminal connection! Hmm...disconnect the wires to that key switch and attach my jumper leads and turn the key...it runs! Key off...cart stops. Woo Hoo!

Clean up the wires by putting a piece of shrink wrap over the disconnected leads and shorten up my home made jumper a little to keep it out of the way and call it done for now. I'll mess with that balky/sticky micro switch another day.

Enough for one day!

Back at it again I get to looking at the #6 cables connecting the starter/generator to the f/r switch and decide that they have seen better days. Out comes my stash of electrical connectors and some #2 and #4 wire I had here and my soldering gear. I use two #2's for main battery cables and make the others out of #4, clean all contacts, install wires and spray with corrosion inhibitor and call it done.

Let's go riding! Seems to be working ok although it seems to run rough and lacks any decent power.

What Next?

Belts look like hell. I research what I need and spend a few hours over a couple days trying to decide what belt to go with for the drive belt. I find a Carlisle Ultimax that measures 44 7/8 and my stock belt is 45 and the width matches up so I order one from a local snowmobile supplier and when it arrives I chase down a Dayco "Top Cog" starter alternator belt from Advance Auto and R&R both belts.

HUGE difference! More power, no slippage, way quieter driveline, no vibration through the entire power band!

NEXT!

Ok.. Cruising around it sounds like I may have a back right wheel bearing going bad. Also the brakes take a lot of effort. Hmm..

Jackstands all around and wheels off. Grease up front bearings and re-torque. They look and feel fine as do the rest of the suspension/steering components on the front. To the back I go. The drums don't want to come off. I've seen this movie before so-- A little judicious tapping with a leaded rubber mallet and off the left one comes. Left side brakes look good--the pads on the shoes are good and the springs are clean--no rust whatsoever. I grease up bearings and reassemble. Right side ..a few smacks and the drum comes off--along with pieces of what once were the pads that are supposed to be attached to the shoes! Well..there ya go! Problem found!

To the internet!

I find the best price on 4 pads and a drum from a supplier on Ebay who has a great rating and order up 4 shoes and one drum and they arrive three days later--from Cali to PA! I'm happy to see that the new drum and the "good" old drum from the left side seem to have the same amount of steel so I was right about the left still one being fine. New shoes on both sides and one new drum along with bearing grease and off we go!

Now she stops like she oughta..and that pesky noise is gone too.

Next!

The body evidently was an off white originally but was painted flat black by my friend and his wife. They are hard core Harley enthusiasts so they had several Harley badges on it as well as a Harley decal on the windshield like you would put on the back window of a pickup truck. Ok they stay for now!

I checked the paint and other than being now a faded and dirty flat black from weather and age it was tight and not flaking or peeling (it was kept under a cover fortunately) I give it a good washing and scrub down and the paint is clean and still firmly attached. Good!

To the Home Depot I go. I grab a few cans of flat black spray paint to recoat all the flat black surfaces and also one each professional quality "Industrial" rated rustoleum in safety red and safety yellow.

You can see the results in the pictures. I know it's not a pro job but it's not plain and it's fine for me for now and as a side benefit my wife and kids like it ;)

Ok.. what's next?

It's got stock sawtooth tires on it (18x8-8.50) Fronts aren't too bad..backs are getting quite thin so I grab a pair of Carlisle Turf Savers from my local Carlisle tire dealer and a pair of valve stems and about half an hour after I get them home they on the rear rims I had already sanded down and repainted a couple days prior and are mounted on the cart and ready to ride.

Next!

Remove oil tank and 21 year old oil injection pump setup and drain gas tank. Premix gas and oil and refill gas tank. (Thanks BGW dudes and dudettes for letting me know that the first sign of a failing oil injection system on these older carts is most times the sound of a dying engine!)

Next!

The Roof..even thought the cart was painted flat black, the roof was a faded and stained cream color! Yuck!

Scrub it down and it's a coat or three of flat black for you too!

Other odds and ends...

Chassis lube! Found and filled all grease fittings.

Governor mechanism removed, Tach installed

Air management...Modified the air filter intake so it is not as restrictive. (it should be at least as large as the intake side of the carb in my opinion and it wasn't even close!)

Clutch screws! All four screws that hold on the spring housing of the driven clutch were backed out some and had been for some time according to the rust on the threads on them.. cleaned and retorqued with new lock washers where needed.

Differential lube..it was down quite a bit so I topped it off through the fill plug with somewhere between 6 to 8 oz of SAE 85 gear oil. I know the book says 30 wt but I don't golf, I cruise ;)

Light wiring...the wiring for the lights was shorted out so I replaced it soldering and shrink wrapping my connections.

...and a bunch of little stuff I can't think of right now!

So that's the story of my "Free" Cart!

It ain't the biggest nor the baddest but in my community they are all stock except for one lifted cart that shows up two or three weekends per year and he must have a stock clutch setup because my cart is quicker than his and apparently quicker than the rest of them here too thanks to you--the BGW crew

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg night cart 01.jpg (143.8 KB, 146 views)
File Type: jpg night cart 02.jpg (83.7 KB, 126 views)
File Type: jpg night cart 07.jpg (116.4 KB, 115 views)
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Old 01-13-2011, 08:05 PM   #2
EZ-GoingJon
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Default Re: Free Cart!

I get this thread got alot of ppl excited when they seen "Free Cart"!! And then realized it was a story about a person RECEIVING a free cart, not giving one away!! O well!!! Nice Cart though!!

Jon
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Old 01-13-2011, 08:25 PM   #3
Pocono Country Boy
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Default Re: Free Cart!

Quote:
Originally Posted by EZ-GoingJon View Post
I get this thread got alot of ppl excited when they seen "Free Cart"!! And then realized it was a story about a person RECEIVING a free cart, not giving one away!! O well!!! Nice Cart though!!

Jon
Thanks Jon,

I still run it every day at least down to my mailboxes two miles down the road even in the snow! Since it still has the bag well in the back I put about 120 lbs of gravel divided between two sacks and dropped that into the bag well for extra traction and it does a pretty darn good job on snowy roads up to 6 inches deep. It's been a good cart to me so far.
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Old 01-13-2011, 08:32 PM   #4
steveb05
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Default Re: Free Cart!

Great story...Can't say I would have done anything any differently (matter of fact, I could see me doing EXACTLY what you did). Gotta agree with Jon though...thread title is a bit misleading LOL.

Whats next...a lift? Find out which gear set you have in the back. you might be able to lift/bigger tires with the same performance with a gear change.
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Old 01-13-2011, 08:44 PM   #5
Pocono Country Boy
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Default Re: Free Cart!

Yeah Steve..was just having fun with the post title when I posted it.--I probably will add a lift and larger wheels/tires this spring/summer and just swap the belt for a shorter one. Most guys seem to have good results with the shorter belt and large tires. For now though it's all good ;)
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Old 01-13-2011, 09:39 PM   #6
holeysocks
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Default Re: Free Cart!

enjoyed the story,Have fun with your new cart
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Old 01-14-2011, 02:39 PM   #7
DOOmsman
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Default Re: Free Cart!

That dealer had to be PO'ed when you took the cart,
he would have cut a fat hog on it.
Thanks for the story.
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Old 01-14-2011, 03:46 PM   #8
HuntinBuggie
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Default Re: Free Cart!

Good Story, keep us updated on any changes....
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Old 01-15-2011, 08:03 AM   #9
Pocono Country Boy
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Default Re: Free Cart!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DOOmsman View Post
That dealer had to be PO'ed when you took the cart,
he would have cut a fat hog on it.
Thanks for the story.
Yea man..I actually went to his shop looking for a belt and when I told him that my buddy had given me the cart he was going to junk and all it took was fuel lines, filters and a carb cleaning to get it up and running I saw him kinda cringe. I wonder if he knows that I know he was trying to rip off my friend.
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Old 01-15-2011, 08:10 AM   #10
Ghall
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Default Re: Free Cart!

Free cart! I will take it!! the guy that you get it from isnt to happy
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