2004 CC DS IQ - Bit off more than I can chew

[Felipe1183]

Recently bought a 2004 CC DS IQ. It is making a high pitched whine when accelerating. I got under the cart to check the differential oil and found the case covered in oil. I am extremely new to golf carts, but it does not look normal. Any suggestions on how to resolve this? Can the high pitch sound be associated with that massive oil leak/build up? I am assuming I am going to have to take apart the rear end.

Thanks in advance!

[CP241]

That much oil outside the case isn’t a good sign for sure.

Clean it up really well and figure out where it’s leaking from.

I’d recommend removing the motor too and keep your fingers crossed hoping the inside of the motor isn’t full if oil and grime too. These motors make lots of mess inside on their own but you can blow it out well with just air. I can’t imagine the mess if you mix it with oil

[Volt_Ampere]

That much leakage - the diff may be out of fluid which could make bad noises for sure.

[Tom47]

It looks like the fluid came out of the vent plug. I wonder if someone filled it through the vent hole instead of the fill level plug hole.

Clean it up, pull the drain plug and see if anything comes out. If little or no oil comes out, there is a leak probably where the two halves meet, or the case is cracked.

If more than 20 ounces of fluid comes out, it was over filled and you may be ok.

Refill with SAE 30 motor oil for stock cart speeds. It holds around 27 ounces, but fill only until oil comes out of the fill plug.

Some say to use 80-90wt gear oil for modified speed carts. I don't think it matters.

[Felipe1183]

Thanks! I have my work cut out for me tomorrow. I’ll keep you all posted.

[Felipe1183]

I got most of the leak cleaned up and found this (see attached pic). Cracked case or superficial? I have not pulled the drain plug yet. I will likely do that tomorrow and fill it back up.

[CP241]

I wouldn’t worry about that. Looks like casting “cracks” to me. They all have them. It’s just marks from when the case was made they’re not really cracks.

[Fairtax4me]

Likely Just casting marks. I would suspect that the case was overfilled, or they used some kind of oil that didn’t have anti-foaming agents. All of that came out of the case vent and ran down the front.

The biggest thing will be to check for obvious metal in the fluid, and listen for any odd noises from the gears. These are generally pretty tough, so I would think it’s likely fine unless it was run completely out of oil.

[Felipe1183]

Thanks! About to get SAE30 to do the oil change. It’s my first time doing this. I believe I identified the correct plugs. They are pretty close together, correct?

[Felipe1183]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

Likely Just casting marks. I would suspect that the case was overfilled, or they used some kind of oil that didn’t have anti-foaming agents. All of that came out of the case vent and ran down the front.

The biggest thing will be to check for obvious metal in the fluid, and listen for any odd noises from the gears. These are generally pretty tough, so I would think it’s likely fine unless it was run completely out of oil.

I just filled it up. Little to no oil came out!

I noticed two things on the test ride.

1. The car still makes a high pitched whining sound when accelerating. Sounds like its winding up and then down when you let go of the accelerator.
2. When I went over a small speed hump, the car beeped and completely lost acceleration. I had to let go of the accelerator completely and press it down again to get it going.

Starting to think I paid way too much for this car.