1998 EZ GO TXT Fuel Problem....Maybe

[BrewCityMusic]

test the fuel pump before replacing it - just pull the line at the carb and turn it over in neutral, You should get a decent 2"+ pulse of fuel spitting out of the line, any less and either the pump is bad or has lost it's prime. Especially when changing fuel lines, carbs, etc (and of course when running out of gas) it's possible that You have air trapped in the pump or?? What I do is pull the fuel line, then open the gas cap, wrap a rag around the tank opening, and blow into the tank to force fuel through the lines and pump - unorthodox but it *will* generally reprime a dry pump

[Gearhead1956]

Originally Posted by guyboy1970

Ok, so here is the update on my cart. Over the weekend I replaced all fuel lines, replaced the fuel filter, and tore the carburetor completely down and soaked and cleaned in thoroughly.

I am having to feather the gas pedal and find a sweet spot for the engine to run and even then it will not go to WOT and will not fully engage the clutches (cart in neutral) and still spitting and sputtering.

Talked to a guy here in town and he said that he had to clean his chinese carb 4 or 5 times before it ever started running even close to normal.

The only thing I haven't changed out is the fuel pump and maybe I just need to go that route and see if it makes any difference. I sure hate that i ever ran this buggy out of gas because it has been a nightmare since then.

That sucks, Problem started after running out of gas would tell me TRASH somewhere!
Have you pulled the p/u tube out of the tank, I cut the bottom of mine off 1/2 inch from the bottom of the tank.
I would also run it and then pull the fuel bowl off and see how much fuel is in it. I know on mine the float is plastic and no real way to set it! And when I pulled the bowl it seemed to only be 1.3 to maybe 1/2 full, seemed to low to me.
Have you pulled the fuel line to carb off and started engine to check flow?

[Gearhead1956]

Originally Posted by BrewCityMusic

test the fuel pump before replacing it - just pull the line at the carb and turn it over in neutral, You should get a decent 2"+ pulse of fuel spitting out of the line, any less and either the pump is bad or has lost it's prime. Especially when changing fuel lines, carbs, etc (and of course when running out of gas) it's possible that You have air trapped in the pump or?? What I do is pull the fuel line, then open the gas cap, wrap a rag around the tank opening, and blow into the tank to force fuel through the lines and pump - unorthodox but it *will* generally reprime a dry pump

That's the old school way I used too get a tractor trailer running after they ran out of fuel. Works well even with 20' of fuel line! LOL

[guyboy1970]

Originally Posted by BrewCityMusic

test the fuel pump before replacing it - just pull the line at the carb and turn it over in neutral, You should get a decent 2"+ pulse of fuel spitting out of the line, any less and either the pump is bad or has lost it's prime. Especially when changing fuel lines, carbs, etc (and of course when running out of gas) it's possible that You have air trapped in the pump or?? What I do is pull the fuel line, then open the gas cap, wrap a rag around the tank opening, and blow into the tank to force fuel through the lines and pump - unorthodox but it *will* generally reprime a dry pump

Brew, I'm getting a pulse of fuel but no where near 2" pulse. I may try your priming advice and see what happens. I will update as soon as possible. Thanks for the advice

[guyboy1970]

Originally Posted by Gearhead1956

That sucks, Problem started after running out of gas would tell me TRASH somewhere!
Have you pulled the p/u tube out of the tank, I cut the bottom of mine off 1/2 inch from the bottom of the tank.
I would also run it and then pull the fuel bowl off and see how much fuel is in it. I know on mine the float is plastic and no real way to set it! And when I pulled the bowl it seemed to only be 1.3 to maybe 1/2 full, seemed to low to me.
Have you pulled the fuel line to carb off and started engine to check flow?

Gearhead, I did actually pull the pick up tube out and i clipped about an inch off of it just to see if it made any difference. I looked at the float when I pulled the carb down and it looked level during the reinstall.

I will see if I can get it to run long enough to check the bowl again. When I installed the new fuel lines I started it up in neutral and just pumped fuel into a catch can just in case there was trash in the fuel pump, I forgot to mention that last time too. Thanks for all the advice!!!

[Gearhead1956]

I myself am new to these cart engines, but all internal combustion engines need the same things to run!

Lets recap

Compression, good
valves adjustment, good
valve timing, timing belt, good
I did see some one on here that found his alignment hole in his cam pulley had long gated, and under power would throw the cam timing off??

Issue started after running out of fuel, so the above mentioned should, one would think, not be the issue!

fuel flow to carb, good
cleaned carb.

What else is left?
Spark timing?
Does the engine turn free by hand? Is it trying to lock up? Just thinking out loud?

What I would do at this point is start the engine with belt off and air cleaner off. Spray some starting fluid in carb and see if it rev's up! With the belt off you will be bypassing the gov/rev limiter
Now with that said, depending on how much you have used starting fluid and know what it will do. You can seize up an engine or over rev it by doing this.
You just want to mist the carb from about a foot away, for just a sec. Do not continue to spray or run on starting fluid!!
This summer some friends and I, while having a few, run almost a can of starting fluid thru a 5 HP briggs before it blew the spark plug right out of the head, cleaned the threads out of the head. We were looking for more of a catastrophe ending.

Anyway if the engine does rev up, I would say its still a carb issue.
If you were just a little closer I would pull my carb and stick it on yours just to see if it makes a difference!

[guyboy1970]

Originally Posted by Gearhead1956

I myself am new to these cart engines, but all internal combustion engines need the same things to run!

Lets recap

Compression, good
valves adjustment, good
valve timing, timing belt, good
I did see some one on here that found his alignment hole in his cam pulley had long gated, and under power would throw the cam timing off??

Issue started after running out of fuel, so the above mentioned should, one would think, not be the issue!

fuel flow to carb, good
cleaned carb.

What else is left?
Spark timing?
Does the engine turn free by hand? Is it trying to lock up? Just thinking out loud?

What I would do at this point is start the engine with belt off and air cleaner off. Spray some starting fluid in carb and see if it rev's up! With the belt off you will be bypassing the gov/rev limiter
Now with that said, depending on how much you have used starting fluid and know what it will do. You can seize up an engine or over rev it by doing this.
You just want to mist the carb from about a foot away, for just a sec. Do not continue to spray or run on starting fluid!!
This summer some friends and I, while having a few, run almost a can of starting fluid thru a 5 HP briggs before it blew the spark plug right out of the head, cleaned the threads out of the head. We were looking for more of a catastrophe ending.

Anyway if the engine does rev up, I would say its still a carb issue.
If you were just a little closer I would pull my carb and stick it on yours just to see if it makes a difference!

Gear head,

Engine was rebuilt less than 12 months ago
Valves have been set and rechecked twice
My coil was replaced within the last 2 months

Yep all started after running out of fuel...it has to be trash in the fuel pump possibly or fuel pump is weak/going bad. I am going to try what Brew talked about forcing gas all the way through the lines and see if that helps any (possible air pocket in pump). I may have to end up trying the starting fluid just to see if it revs up.

LOL you and your friends sound like a lively bunch after a few! LOL

If I get time today after work I will try Brew's priming trick and let you guys know what happens tomorrow hopefully

Again thanks for the suggestions.