"Early 90's EZGO - Needs a Rebuild"

[DOOmsman]

Cane or willow whips?

[ScooterMcTavish]

Success! The cart is running and driving!

Took it out for test drive #1 and it wasn't really going. However, I found that the problem was that the retaining ring for the air hose into the carb was stopping the throttle. So fix this, and I get a little more power - nothing impressive though.

So I let the cart sit for 15 mins or so, and hop on - wow, lots of power - zipping great! Then after about 30 sec it bogs down.

I'm thinking it's running a bit rich, but what are your guys thoughts here?

[ScooterMcTavish]

Test Drive #2 -

Started her from cold

Had to choke a couple of times then she fired smooth, and off we went

Cart tried to bog a few times in the first minute - again, apply choke, and no problem, revs came back up

Drive around the block twice, no issues, good power.

Try to go up a hill, cart bogs down - choke, and it got me up then off it zipped. Then I notice I am leaving a big blue cloud of smoke behind me - some is obviously from the rebuild as the engine is getting hot, but I lift up the seat and see blue smoke from both the front end of the muffler and the exhaust. Guess I could be cooking off old oil. Drive a bit more, coming down a hill the engine bogs down and almost stalls - apply a bit of choke and we barely keep going. Go one more block, and the engine does stall and will not turn over - I wait a minute or so and it restarts but kind of bogs on the way home.

Should I already be looking a diluting the premix? I have 2 gallons in the tank at 40:1 (as recommended by madoc for my first post-rebuild tank), and I'm wondering if I'm just running way too oil heavy right now.

After all this, I look at the fuel filter, and see a full one is now 1/3 full.

My guesses:
- I need to cut the oil in my fuel down
- The suction line for my fuel pump may need a change (I did do the crank seals)
- The muffler may need a BBQ

Thoughts? My gut tells me that 'm not getting enough fuel, and the fuel I'm getting is a bit too oil rich.

[Dave Box]

Madoc is correct at 40:1 for the first tank. I would suspect your muffler as you have the exact symptoms. You can test it by loosening the two bolts between the muffler and the pipe and creating a gap to allow the gasses to escape. It will be as noisy as hell but if it runs without bogging down you have found the issue.
Dave

[casper4203]

New fuel lines and clamps will help. If you do this it will be hard to prime the pump and carb bowl. I use a primer ball like on a boat tank to push the fuel through. Works great.
If bad gas was ever run through the carb - you may need to clean the jet. I use a welding tip orifice cleaner to ream it out.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Dave, Casper - Thanks for the suggestions.

Dave, now that you mention it, the engine ran clean at higher RPMs before I put the muffler back on. however, this was not under any sort of load, so fingers crossed here, and we'll try that. We're having a bonfire this weekend - a perfect time to cook the muffler. And really, the level of smoke I was leaving seems a bit disporportionate for what is burning now - old muffler crud does seem logical.

Casper, got your tip earlier in the thread. Much appreciated. The carb was also throughly cleaned after bad gas went through, so it should be OK. I like the pump ball idea, but really don't want to touch the fuel pump and hoses right now until I try Dave's suggestion. If it isn't the muffler, I'll post it up as the fuel system is next in line.

One side note, although the fuel filter had lost some level after last night's run, it refilled itself when I wasn't looking. Guess these is some sort of siphon action going on.

[ScooterMcTavish]

OK, is a fouled plug completely greyish black? If so, my plug is fouled.

Took off the muffler at lunch today, tried to start the cart - crank and crank, but no joy.

Pulled the choke a few times - smelled gas, saw gas coming out the exhaust port, but no fire. So, I've pulled the plug, and see nothing but a dark grey soot covering it - also noted that it was dry soot, not wet.

Is this fouled, and could the plug have been fouled by the oil from the rebuild? Unfortunately, fouled plug = new plug, correct?

[BrewCityMusic]

best to grab a few plugs, Amigo - when I redid my cart (including the carb) I went through a couple of plugs until I got the mixture all dialed in

[ScooterMcTavish]

Hey BCM, thanks for the cheery note. These things ain't cheap, eh?

With the dry fouling, my buddy suggested that I might be running a bit lean, especially as he pointed out that running hot enough in a couple of minutes to get the exhaust smoking is pretty hot.

This leads me back to the suspect vacuum line from the case to the fuel pump.

Also, what is the correct screw for the carb adjustment, and what is a good baseline position to start from?

[madoc1]

you should only have one adj screw and it is for the idle circuit. good starting place is 1 1/2 turns out after gently bottoming the screw. anxious to hear about the bbq.