Found an 85 EZ-GO Marathon gasser

[jcgonzal]

Plato, I sent you a PM about a motor rebuild kit.

[Plato_99]

rjc799: Parts seem to be be scarce but they are out there. Part of what I like about restoring old vehicles is the parts hunt.

Dave: I spoke to them about rebuilding my motor, they wouldn't give me a price, all they would say is a rebuild starts around $400 and goes up depending on what they find when they tear it apart. I asked what a general price would be and they said maybe $600 but depends. Doesn't sound good to me! Lets see....for example....they tear it apart and tell me it has major problems and it will cost $1000 to fix...what do I do now? They are going to give me a box of parts back if I say it costs too much??? I'm ordering a total motor rebuild kit tomorrow and doing it myself. I found several kits for $274 and another for $287, a bunch more for around $340. I'll get the cheapest.

I called Jakes Lift Kits today and they told me one of their 6" drop axle kits will work on my cart with a couple small mods I need to do, I can easily handle the mods in my shop. I ordered it. Once I get it installed I'll get bigger tires, I'll follow your advice and get 4 ply tires.

So now I have a motor to rebuild and a lift kit to install soon as I get the parts, probably wont be till next weekend.

[rjc799]

Which kit did you get and can you give me details about the required mods?

[Plato_99]

rjc799, I ordered kit #6200. Your best bet is to contact Jakes Lift Kits directly and speak to one of their tech guys. They know their kits and what's required for various years. Who knows, I may buy it and it won't work on my cart, I'm taking a gamble.

[BrewCityMusic]

just my two cents, but You *may* want to consider the weight of the drop-axle kit before You start modding it and can't return it - back when I was doing the conversions on my '88, I was lucky enough to have a chance to have some "hands-on" time with a drop-axle kit (on a friends Marathon project) and was shocked at the additional weight it added to the equasion - like 45lbs for the full kit as versus about 8-10 for a standard block lift (and neither one will actually increase the usefulness of the suspension) ... I ended up doing a 5" block-style lift (net cost far under $100) and alog with serving the same purpose and being a mere fraction of the weight, I can safely say that they are basically unbreakable (and I know - if I can break ANYTHING on a cart due to abuse, etc it WILL happen) ...

The one benefit a lot of people tout about the drop kits is the increased ground clearance, but keep in mind that's only on the front - the pumpkin will still be at the same height it was stock (with ANY kit you use and of course, depending on tire size chosen) - just some food for thought. Also, definitely DO listen to Dave on the 4-ply thing, there is a night and day difference in handling, stability, and safety with a decent 4-ply tire (make sure You do the research too - there are "4-ply" tires out there that are actually 2-ply sidewalls, those should also be avoided as the instability comes mainly from sidewall flex and bow).

Good Luck with Your project !!!

[rjc799]

Thanks Plato, I will be following your build closely.

Dave/BrewCityMusic, good info. I had no idea about the ply, but guess I got lucky.

This one came with a block kit, but I can't attest to any reliability since it doesn't run..............yet.

[Plato_99]

BrewCity, thanks for the info. I was thinking about the Jake lift kit since yesterday. Early this morning I cancelled the order with them before I read your post. Your points are valid. My reasoning for cancelling is I don't think my cart is worth a $250 axle if I can do the same thing with a $50 part and I knew that just raising the front axle didn't really do anything because of the rear pumpkin height. I figured I could better utilize the $200 I was saving on bigger tires.

So after a lot of thought I cancelled the order before it shipped. I then ordered this lift kit:

https://www.atvengineeringparts.com/...-Cart-p/83.htm

It's the same item as the one on Ebay but it actually wound up being $10 cheaper buying direct from the mfgr. because of the difference in shipping cost.

My next purchase is going to be bigger tires. Not sure what size exactly but I do know that I want a 4 ply tire with 4 ply sidewalls and the most aggressive thread I can find. Anyone have any suggestions?

I purchased a complete motor rebuild kit today, should have it in a couple days and I'll do a total rebuild.

[BrewCityMusic]

Same kit that I used, same vendor, everything (I too saved a few $ buying direct - good to see someone else using their bean, hahahaha) ... As to tires, if you're reusing your 8" rims I went with 22X11-8's and they are a great size, even with 3 people and a full load in the back they come nowhere near rubbing (although keep in mind you WILL need wheel spacers if reusing the stock rims - I went 1.5" per side up front and 2" per side in the rear - again, a great setup and under $50 for the whole shebang shipped) .... Tires are a matter of opinion RE tread pattern, etc, a more agressive pattern will allow you to "feel" the tread on smooth surfaces like pavement, but give a ton of traction in the muck, wet, etc ... I went with Chen Shin Lumberjacks (Dennis Kirk was closing out the 4-ply for $31 each at the time) but You should be able to locate 22X11-8's fairly easily (You'll generally save a bit by buying them from an ATV distributor as vs a "Golf Cart" vendor, I've noticed)

I'd try Dennis Kirk, in fact it may be worth calling them to see what they have in the "Clearance" racks (that's how I stumbled onto my deal)

Dale

PS: I believe the Ebay username of the axle spacer guys is "ATV Engineering" - but it's not the same guys I got the lift kit from

[Plato_99]

BrewCity...you bet me to the punch again! LOL I was in the process of getting wheel spacers. I'm thinking of going 2" all around. Here's the kit I'm thinking about getting:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-EZ-GO-CLUB...0a6715&vxp=mtr

I looked at the ones you mentioned but they are a stud spacer not a flat disc type spacer. On my last 4-wheeler I used stud type wheel spacers and had a problem with them constantly bending, went with a disc type wheel spacer and no more problems. The problem I did have with wheel spacers was wheel bearings and tie rod ends wearing out quickly. Have to remember that this was a 4-wheeler that saw more road time than woods time. I don't think wheel bearing problems will be an issue for the amount of time I will be using the buggy.

As for tires & wheels I don't care if I use the original rims or not, sometimes it's cheaper to get tires already mounted on rims. I'm definately not going to even consider mags, only steel rims painted flat black on this thing.

Today I stopped at the EZ-GO dealer and picked up new rear shocks and motor mounts. I like throwing them a bone now and then because they have a lot of knowledge that I pick at.

My motor rebuild kit is on the way (I hope). Got a really great deal on it from a site member here that happened to have a brand new, still in the box, extra laying around. Nice when someone I don't even know helps out!! Thanks! You know who you are!!!! Much appreciated!!

Here's where everything stands right now:

1. New read shocks ready & waiting to be installed
2. New motor mounts ready & waiting to be installed
3. Motor rebuild this weekend if it arrives in time
4. 5" lift kit ordered & on the way
5. 2" wheel spacers will be ordered tomorrow
6. New front king pin bushings & bolts need to be located and purchased (dealer doesn't have them)

Next immediate big ticket item will be the tires. Have to do some serious computer searching. I want 22x11-8's in a 4-ply tire (including sidewall) with the most aggressive thread out there. My last 4-wheeler had crazy aggressive tires, bad part was they vibrated the brains in your skull... but they had excellent traction!! I'm not concerned with vibration with this buggy...I want traction! Anyone have suggestions on a name brand and model?

[Plato_99]

After spending about 2 hours searching the net for tires here's what I've found that seems to be what I'd like for a tire:

http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20..._bear_claw.htm

http://www.atvtirestore.com/kenda_be...atv_tires.html

It's a 6 ply tire and very aggressive. Price is app $75 a tire. Size I'm looking at is 22x12.00-8. Tire weighs about 25lbs each, that's a little heavy compared to stock buggy tires but should be OK for my needs since I don't care about speed, all I want it for is hauling equipment around the orchard and field. I will admit that the tire weight does concern me, that's going to be 100lbs of tire! Might cause some clutch belt wear or slippage. I'm not concerned about the tires wearing out since it will be used almost 100% of the time in the fields.

I didn't check yet about buying the tires already mounted on steel rims. Doesn't matter since I have the buggy's original rims that I can use, but it will cost me extra to get the tires mounted on them at a local shop. Might be cheaper & easier to buy them on rims.

Any comments about using these tires?