Loose steering, leaking bellows ezgo marathon

[MarathonMonkey]

I was given a wreck of a 93 Marathon, and I am enjoying making it right. I am currently on the sloppy steering issue. Everything is tight and working correctly I think. It steers great when I grease it up at the fitting by steering shaft. As soon as I turn sharp, stretching the boot/bellows grease plops out of the splits in the boot and it's loose again. I'm a total novice to steering... Is that boot even supposed to be full of grease? Do I need to find the bushing/seal that's leaking grease into the boot? Or just replace the boot and fill with grease? Any help appreciated!!

[Goliath]

The grease coming out of the boot doesn't necessarily indicate the cause of the loose steering. There is a zerk fitting on the outside of the steering box, which can be seen when sitting in the driver's seat. If that is filled with too much grease, about the only place for it to go is into the boot.

It sounds like some of the tie rod ends and/or ball joints have excessive wear. When you pump them with grease, the grease fills the worn areas, temporarily making the steering feel better. When you turn the linkage, the grease is squeezed out, causing the free play to return.

You need to have someone turn the steering wheel very slightly back and forth, while you look under the front to locate the worn part(s). One place to look at on that setup, which you might overlook, is the idler arm. That is the vertical linkage attached to the ball joint at the end of the bellows. It has an upper and lower bushing. My upper bushing was slightly worn, but translated into about .5" of steering play, which disappeared once I replaced both upper and lower bushings.

It's messy, and time consuming, but not difficult. The hardest part is separating the tie rods/ball joints.

One other thing is that it's possible the play is in the gearbox itself. If the front wheels had a really hard impact (like a big pothole) the shafts that hold the two gears inside the gearbox can be broken loose. It's easy to tell if that's the case. With the wheels on the ground, slightly turn the steering wheel back/forth, while looking at the steering rack underneath. If the rack doesn't move, this issue may lie inside the gearbox.

[Goliath]

I just re-read your post, and missed the part about it being good right after filling the steering gearbox. If it's good after filling that only, and then bad after turning, the problem is most likely inside the gearbox.
Usually it's a combo of several things, but you might have the situation I mentioned in the previous post where the gear pivot shafts can become dislodged after a good impact to the front wheels.

[MarathonMonkey]

Good stuff! Thank you for taking the time to give me such great insight! I'll check all the issues you listed.

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[MarathonMonkey]

The issue definitely lies in the gearbox, the slop ends there. What is involved with correcting the dislodged rods you mentioned? Is there replacement parts to order or just repositioning? The only steering parts I've seen online to buy is the ball joint, rack, boot, reduction gear and gasket/bushing. I haven't opened up the gearbox yet. Thanks again!!

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[Goliath]

You need to first pull off the top of the steering box, which comes off with steering shaft, wheel, etc. It's really easy, and takes about 5 minutes.
There's 4 bolts (1/2") that come off the top, and that's it. Use a bungie (or friend) to hold the steering wheel after the last bolt is removed, then rock it slightly while pulling it off.

After it's off, remove the reduction gear, and you'll have both shafts exposed. Try to move them. One, or both, are probably loose. If not, then you have excessively worn gears or rack, but that's not as probable if the play is that excessive.

If either of the shafts are loose, you will need one of these:

https://diygolfcart.com/steering-hou...waAtVSEALw_wcB

You'll also need a new gasket.

[MarathonMonkey]

Hey Goliath, amazingly clear instructions! Thank you! I am excited to get to it! Now, what part do I need exactly? I've noticed whenever I follow any link to DIY golf cart it lands on the steering shaft first. If I type in "ezgo marathon steering anything" into Google the steering shaft comes up and I have to type the specific part into their search bar. Just double checking before I order a steering shaft! Thanks x infinity!!

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[Goliath]

There's a link in my post that goes to a website showing the gearbox for sale. Does that take you to something other than the gearbox. Here is a picture of what you most likely need.
You will probably have to buy the WHOLE gearbox, and swap your old parts over. There's MANY websites that sell these; I just posted a link to the first one I saw.

>>> BUT, you need to first inspect and verify to make sure it is the gearbox shafts that are loose, and nothing else. <<<

[MarathonMonkey]

The link takes me to the steering shaft. I've seen the "steering box housing" for sale, that has two shafts it seems. Is that what I need? And put the guts from mine in there?

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[MarathonMonkey]

Ok, i see the pic now. Great, if shafts are loose I need one of those. Thanks!! I'll keep you posted! Peace

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