Frustration has set in. Swap gone bad??

[Tripline123]

So about 3 weeks ago I started to swap a Predator 459cc into my Yamaha G2 cart. I spent the money for the vegas cart kit. After starting and following their directions I found out the slim airbox wouldn't fit because my cart is lifted. And very little room to install an intake on it. So had to buy a few options on the internet and wait for them to show up. All to find that none of them really worked. So came across the OEM exhaust pipe the would fit, just had to use a Dremel/bench grinder on the flange in order to bolt on the the carb. Got that on today, hit the pedal and noticed oil coming out of the exhaust and smoking. Hoping it is just from when I had the cart jacked up. Pushed out of garage to take for a test ride and nothing. There is a loose wire in the **** mess of wires from the previous owner. Some reason the starter relay isn't hooked up at all and they bypassed it. I'm so frustrated with this whole thing that I just wish I spent the money and bought a good running cart.

At this point do I just remove all wiring, get rid of the **** pedal start and just wire it to always run when key is turned. Kinda defeats the purpose I even went with the 459 over the 620.

Or do I remove all wiring, buy a complete new harness and rewire. IDK if this is above my ability. Is it truly plug and play?

OR do I just burn the whole **** thing.

[raydhd]

I think an important note here is plug and play assumes the cart was running before the swap. Particularly the S/G wiring. On the air cleaner VC warns about possible interference on the G2 with the shock mount. I see your cart is lifted so they warn against that. On the oil thing with a lifted cart you should not fill to the dip stick top unless you leveled the engine with the angle correction brackets or you will be massively overfilled. One member I think G1-9 moved the upper shock mount rearward. I can add a couple more areas that require thought.1) Unless you richen the carb up you will have to make some provisions for the choke. 2) Checking and changing oil.I extended the upper S/G mount and added a longer belt along with a Fumato oil drain. 3) Checking valve clearances,changing plugs and adjusting the carb are all done from under the G14 with the clone. Not sure how all that goes with the G2. I can't answer if the 670 swap would be any easier BUT I kind of doubt it. P.S. I would not call VC kits plug and play but well engineered installs they will require attention to certain areas.

[slonomo]

The early Yamahas do have the issue with the center frame/shock support section. Not sure on the Vegas kits, but when I build one I try and push the engine all the way to the front or all the way to the rear to try and get away from that frame section. A different belt would be needed at that point.

If your starter/gen system was working before the swap and not working now, then I'd suspect a wire is disconnected or in the wrong place. If it was not working prior, then you have more work to do. Unfortunately diagnosing someone else's electrical work is tedious and frustrating. A good service manual would help you figure out what wires go where, but if it's been modified....all bets are off. Feel your frustration.

I guess to me, it's pretty easy to set that engine up as a key start setup. Use your starter/gen as a generator at that point, just use the engine's starter motor to start the engine. That might be the straightest line to get it going.

I've never seen a custom engine install on any vehicle be a true "plug and play". There is always some kind of adjustement/fabrication etc.

[raydhd]

On both the key started 625 and 670 engines Vegascarts offers and recommends a VC produced wiring harness as so many swappers had wiring issues.

[Tripline123]

Ok, I calmed down a bit and went back at it this morning. Found the loose connection and fixed it. And finally went for the first test ride which lasted about 50 feet, lol. Until the rear tires locked up and smelt burning belt along with some metal shavings. It appears to be from the "new secondary" previous owner put on last summer. I noticed that even at idle the belt in the secondary was sitting low in the rear of the secondary and noticed that the ramps on the secondary had some damage. The belt seems to ride up the primary good. Took off secondary and noted that the bushing appears to be damaged a bit but other than that looks ok to me.

What is different about the secondary VegasCarts sells compared to the ones on Amazon? As they all look exactly the same but I'm sure there are differences??

[slonomo]

Personally I'll never buy performance parts, brakes, or driveline parts on Amazon due to the fact that most of the "fakes" coming from China are saturating Amazon. That's not to say that a China made part can't be good, there are plenty. The problem I've had is that it's a crap shoot. I always buy the important parts from a reputable dealer that has experience with those parts.

What's the difference from a Vegas Carts part and Amazon? You likely wouldn't see it with the naked eye or without taking it apart. The grade of metal used is the biggest issue I've seen. Cheap potmetal being passed as aluminum. Even aluminum has different grades and for clutches it needs to be high quality. I don't know what they use, but most of the time it's cast, and that leaves a lot of room for poor quality.

Do yourself a favor and spend your money once, buy from a reputable dealer. For Yamaha parts I like Plowman's, but I've done business with CPP and Vegas Carts....all good people.

[Tripline123]

Originally Posted by slonomo

Personally I'll never buy performance parts, brakes, or driveline parts on Amazon due to the fact that most of the "fakes" coming from China are saturating Amazon. That's not to say that a China made part can't be good, there are plenty. The problem I've had is that it's a crap shoot. I always buy the important parts from a reputable dealer that has experience with those parts.

What's the difference from a Vegas Carts part and Amazon? You likely wouldn't see it with the naked eye or without taking it apart. The grade of metal used is the biggest issue I've seen. Cheap potmetal being passed as aluminum. Even aluminum has different grades and for clutches it needs to be high quality. I don't know what they use, but most of the time it's cast, and that leaves a lot of room for poor quality.

Do yourself a favor and spend your money once, buy from a reputable dealer. For Yamaha parts I like Plowman's, but I've done business with CPP and Vegas Carts....all good people.

Totally agree with you. I will buy it from VC. But while I'm waiting I'm going to reinstall this secondary and see if maybe it was installed incorrectly. Any recommendation on what holes the spring should be in?

[Tripline123]

So purchased a new secondary clutch from Vegascarts. And while waiting started on repainting the body. Any suggestions on best place to buy paint from?

[raydhd]

I use B 1 for the fastest shift over BUT I run on a flat island. What terrain are you going to run ?

[Tripline123]

Originally Posted by raydhd

I use B 1 for the fastest shift over BUT I run on a flat island. What terrain are you going to run ?

Mainly flat ground. So the inner will be set in 1 and the outer in the B hole correct?