Low Torque 1996 Club Car FE 290

[stevenvjohnson]

I recently added 22" tires and a lift to my 1996 CC. Before I added the new tires, the only modification I made was to add zip ties to hold the throttle spring when the spring broke at the governor. It seemed to function well with this mod before I put on the new tires. Now it has very little torque climbing hills. It still gets up to a pretty good top speed on the flats, though. Also, sometimes the fuel filters are half full of gas, sometimes there's no gas in them, but it always starts and runs. The cart sat for about 2 years before I bought it and I've done nothing to the carb. I was thinking that the first place to start would be cleaning the carb and checking the jets. Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Steve

[scottyb]

Welcome to bgw
Likely your carb and fuel pump are working as designed..... the 22 inch tires could just be a little too much gearing change for the old motor to overcome on a hill.... Can you take a compression check of the engine so we can get an idea of what condition it is in? (an accurate compression check requires a fresh charged battery & throttle at wide open)

[stevenvjohnson]

I haven't done the compression test yet because I don't have a compression tester. I might go pick one up, though. Do you check compression by removing the spark plug, hooking up the compression tester and cranking it over a few times?

[stevenvjohnson]

Just checked the compression - 160psi. That reading is probably a little low as the engine wasn't warmed up very much....

[BLACK DEATH]

160 is perfect

[stevenvjohnson]

Do you think it might be the driven clutch spring? If so, how do I check it? I feel that it should climb better since my brother has a newer but otherwise identical cart that outclimbs mine by a long shot...

[scottyb]

Yes it could be the clutch is not 'downshifting' as it should... what if you try to climb from a dead stop? Is that better or the same? Also compression test results can drop on a warmed up engine compared to cold... but yeh, 160 is v. gd

[stevenvjohnson]

It seems to do worse climbing from a dead stop vs. when it has momentum. Also, the top speed is pretty decent on the flats, but it takes forever to get there...

[BLACK DEATH]

How do the clutchs look when stopped? Front one open and belt is at the bottom of the puller, rear one is closed and belt at the very top of the pulley?

[stevenvjohnson]

Yup. Also, I can compress the driven spring somewhat with my hand - is it shot? I thought I might start by replacing it, but the replacements are all "power" springs - is this what I need?