G5A Rod Bearing Replacement

[lyoneyes]

I bought what I believe is a 93 Yamaha G5A Sun Classic. Rod was a knockin. Tore into it. Yep, that's it....ran it without oil. Most suppliers and forums skip right past the G5A without mention. Near as I can tell, it has the J38 engine in it. Right? - Wrong?. I got dial calipers, telescoping gauges and plasti-gauge to determine damage and rebuild if worthy, but have no reference material to compare my readings with specs. If this engine is too far gone, I'll stuff a 13 HP Predator engine in it and call it a day! Note: Rebuilt quite of few small engines, just not too seasoned on Golf Carts at this point.....Any an all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[CP241]

www.plowmanscarts.com Any questions re yamaha engines, he would be able to help. The cylinders are quite finicky about eating rings after rebuilds. Buying a motor from him would be the easiest swap, and most reliable (get another 30 years of use out of the cart). Not to mention quiet, and it'll outperform that 13hp predator.

Otherwise, you're better off swapping the predator into the cart than trying to rebuild that motor that was run with no oil. Just hate to see that happen on a sun classic, those are far and few between, and have somewhat of a cult following. They're worth way more $ in stock form than with a cheap HF motor swapped into it.

[cgtech]

This info should help you with bearing selection. There are 3 sizes.

[raydhd]

The resale part is probably true BUT you will Never get a G2-14 to run anyway near even a mildly built clone. I wonder if the G2-14 series could even get to 13 hp. VERY reliable BUT no power producer. Ask me,Sho ,or Shepard who have actually done both. For a real budget clone add HD valve springs,moly push rods,stamped 1.3 ratio rocker arms,and either jet or add an adjustable jet carb. With a tach get rid of the governor and stay below 5000 rpms. Sho ran a lightly modded lifan 420 for a long time. Somewhere there are videos of his cart with that set up. all that being said if the original crank is not hurt and you don't care about big power then that is the way to go.BUT also if you want more power don't waste your time or money on the G2-14 engine.

[smallblock450sl]

Originally Posted by cgtech

This info should help you with bearing selection. There are 3 sizes.

Last time I checked only one set of rod bearings are still available.

[smallblock450sl]

What is your use of the G5 going to be?

[lyoneyes]

Piston skirts are not scored and dial indicator shows they aren't worn or collapsed. Crank pin is scored a little bit but is not out of round more than .0015". So far as the cylinder goes, there is no ring ridge, but cross hatch pattern is entirely gone. My telescoping gauges will be back here Monday. Hopefully, the cylinder isn't egg shaped or coned out. As you stated tho……..I would much rather keep the stock motor and would consider an engine swap. The Predator conversion is the first alternative I came upon.

[lyoneyes]

Just gonna be a grocery and mail getter. BeBop around town is all.

[lyoneyes]

Thanks, this will keep me entertained for a couple hours while I ponder "What todo?" oh "What to do?"

[raydhd]

You might want to have a talk with smallblock about your odds of success with the crank in that shape.