97 EZGO TXT - Brake pedal and rearend

[Hartfield]

Hello all - First time posting.
I have greatly appreciated the diagnostic help that I have found on this site.
My cart has been ridden hard by my teenagers and completely quit on Labor Day weekend.
After completing the diagnostics to the best of my ability, I have pulled the motor and taken it to a shop.

In the meantime, this past year going to last year, the brake pedal does not spring back. You have to pull it back with your foot. Is there a spring that came loose? One of the cables to the rear brakes is not secured to the frame anymore.

After pulling the motor, I noticed that the wheels do not free-wheel. Is this related to the brakes binding? Do I need to change the gear oil in the rear differential?

I am wondering if the added resistance caused the motor to burn up.

Thank you

[JohnnieB]

The brake cable no longer attached to the frame is a problem that needs to be fixed. (Bracket broken off frame?)
The brakes won't work right without it being attached.

When the brake pedal is up, the cart should roll freely on a hard, level surface. It weighs half a ton, so it takes some effort to get it moving, but once it is moving, little effort should be needed to keep it moving.

The differential oil should be changed every 5 years. EZGO uses SAE 30 motor oil, but I use gear oil.

The SAE viscosity scales for motor oil and gear oil are different, so SAE 85W gear oil has roughly the same viscosity as SAE 30 Motor oil.

Here is a viscosity chart and a service manual that should cover your cart. Brakes are in section-L.

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Yes, increased drag causes increased motor heat.

[scottyb]

The brake pedal return spring may be broken. It wraps around the pivot point of the brake pedal and it is a heavy stiff coiled spring. Getting a new one on can be a wrestling match.

[gornoman]

When I first got my '97 TXT the brake cables were VERY rusty inside their carriers. Made adjusting the brakes a nightmare as well as kept the pedal from returning to it's at-rest position.

[scottyb]

For those cases - they sell new brake cables

[chloe]

Originally Posted by scottyb

For those cases - they sell new brake cables

Best simple advice I've seen yet. They are cheap, easy to replace and vital to safe operation. No reason to try to save a few pennies with a can of oil.

[gornoman]

I had some success by lubing mine, but I ended up replacing them anyway and was very pleased with the results. Brakes became much easier to use. The way the cable slides inside the new ones is night and day better than anything I did to the old ones.

[jhnmflr]

The brake cable no longer attached to the frame is a problem that needs to be fixed. (Bracket broken off frame?)
The brakes won't work right without it being attached.

Sorry to Hijack but why does it matter if the cables are attached to the frame? On my lifted cart they can not reach and I have always wondered if I should make a new bracket or something.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by jhnmflr

The brake cable no longer attached to the frame is a problem that needs to be fixed. (Bracket broken off frame?)
The brakes won't work right without it being attached.

Sorry to Hijack but why does it matter if the cables are attached to the frame? On my lifted cart they can not reach and I have always wondered if I should make a new bracket or something.

The way a sliding cable system works is that one end of the outer sheath is firmly attached to something a fixed distance from the input mechanism (brake pedal) and other end of the outer sheath is firmly attached to something a fixed distance from the output mechanism (lever on back of the brake drum), so the amount of cable travel is the same at both ends, regardless of how much slack there is in the cable and sheath between the two fixed points.

If one end of the sheath is not attached to a fixed point, you essentially have a wire rope between the brake pedal and the lever on the brake drum, so the brakes may be being intermittently applied in varying degrees as the axle moves vertically on a bumpy trail, or rotates due to torque being applied during acceleration. Also, the brake cable/sheath assemblies are different lengths, so the brakes may not be being applied equally.

The fixed point for the front of both brake cable sheaths is a bracket welded to the frame slightly to the rear of the brake compensator assembly and the fixed points at the other end of the sheaths are brackets that are bolted onto the brake shoe carrier assembly or axle housing. Any other brackets or holding devices between the fixed points at each end of the sheaths, simply keep the cable/sheath assemblies out of harms way or are cosmetic in nature.

[jhnmflr]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

The way a sliding cable system works is that one end of the outer sheath is firmly attached to something a fixed distance from the input mechanism (brake pedal) and other end of the outer sheath is firmly attached to something a fixed distance from the output mechanism (lever on back of the brake drum), so the amount of cable travel is the same at both ends, regardless of how much slack there is in the cable and sheath between the two fixed points.

If one end of the sheath is not attached to a fixed point, you essentially have a wire rope between the brake pedal and the lever on the brake drum, so the brakes may be being intermittently applied in varying degrees as the axle moves vertically on a bumpy trail, or rotates due to torque being applied during acceleration. Also, the brake cable/sheath assemblies are different lengths, so the brakes may not be being applied equally.

The fixed point for the front of both brake cable sheaths is a bracket welded to the frame slightly to the rear of the brake compensator assembly and the fixed points at the other end of the sheaths are brackets that are bolted onto the brake shoe carrier assembly or axle housing. Any other brackets or holding devices between the fixed points at each end of the sheaths, simply keep the cable/sheath assemblies out of harms way or are cosmetic in nature.

Very well said Sir!