92 Marathon rear brakes

[EZGO-MY-WALLET2]

I am/was in the process of putting new brakes on. I have worried most of the summer about my brakes and to be honest flat out put it off until early nights, cold and garage time evenings.

Well upon taking them off I found my main problem I found that on the right side, the bracket the adjuster wheel/bolt goes into had broken at the weld and when the brake was applied it pushed straight out into the drum. I had to think long and hard on converting to disc but decided I would just go back with O.E. stuff and see how they are suppose to work...disc next time I guess.

New adjusters, brackets, shoes, hubs in place. I don't have a service manual but have read enough to know(and took the old ones off) that the axle nuts need to be TIGHT and then just a little more....is there a torq value for this or just hammer them on with the impact ? I did a fast search and didn't see a thread.

minor problem/question #2

When I spin the new hub on the new shoes...about half a turn is very free and the other half has some drag....not BAD, but it is there. I scratched my head, swapped my new hubs with no change...I figure slim odds on bad cast/machined hub(s).

questions #3,4, and 5
So after I came in from the garage and thought about it, I figrure poss bent axle(s) or bad bearings. I did not take out or replace my bearings. Is there a way to check the axle ? Is the bearing just a sealed bearing behind that snap ring and is there anything above basic skills to remove/replace them ?

last questions...umm..#6 I think..

I have never changed or even checked for that matter the diff lube. I figured while I had it in the air I would change it. Stock 36v cart used pretty much in just warm/hot conditions should I use 75w90 or 30w oil?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any answers/advive.

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by EZGO-MY-WALLET2

I am/was in the process of putting new brakes on. I have worried most of the summer about my brakes and to be honest flat out put it off until early nights, cold and garage time evenings.

Well upon taking them off I found my main problem I found that on the right side, the bracket the adjuster wheel/bolt goes into had broken at the weld and when the brake was applied it pushed straight out into the drum. I had to think long and hard on converting to disc but decided I would just go back with O.E. stuff and see how they are suppose to work...disc next time I guess.

New adjusters, brackets, shoes, hubs in place. I don't have a service manual but have read enough to know(and took the old ones off) that the axle nuts need to be TIGHT and then just a little more....is there a torq value for this or just hammer them on with the impact ? I did a fast search and didn't see a thread.
100-140 ft pounds
minor problem/question #2

When I spin the new hub on the new shoes...about half a turn is very free and the other half has some drag....not BAD, but it is there. I scratched my head, swapped my new hubs with no change...I figure slim odds on bad cast/machined hub(s).
The Center splines are cut off of center on every hub... no matter the manufacture. From my experience you had the brakes adjusted correctly. Step on them hard a few times and recheck the adjustment, it should drag on one spot only.

questions #3,4, and 5
So after I came in from the garage and thought about it, I figrure poss bent axle(s) or bad bearings. I did not take out or replace my bearings. Is there a way to check the axle ? Is the bearing just a sealed bearing behind that snap ring and is there anything above basic skills to remove/replace them ?

last questions...umm..#6 I think..

I have never changed or even checked for that matter the diff lube. I figured while I had it in the air I would change it. Stock 36v cart used pretty much in just warm/hot conditions should I use 75w90 or 30w oil?

30w motor oil in the Ezgo.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for any answers/advive.

[EZGO-MY-WALLET2]

Thank you sir, you came to the rescue again. Thanks for all your time and free help you offer on this site.

[Andy4639]

This should help.
It explains the adjusting and how to's on a E-Z-GO cart.
http://www.plumquick.com/forum/ez-go/doing-brakes/

[EZGO-MY-WALLET2]

thanks Andy, I could not view but I did sign up for the site. I never got a conformation email...but I will look into it more later.

Ok, so I am back in the garage this morning to finish up on the brake/diff lube change. I read some threads the other night and decided before I torq my hubs back on that I would remove them and clean my splines good with a wire brush.

while doing this I noticed that there is no play OR movement in and out on the right axle. I move to the left side and find no movement BUT I can pull in and out approx 1/8inch on the axle shaft. That seems like an a lot to me. Is this normal ?

Also, I spin my axles and it is smooth full turns on both sides(even with left axle pulled out or pushed in that 1/8"), so as my original post states, I get half a turn free and half a turn with minor drag only with the hubs on.

[kernal]

Originally Posted by EZGO-MY-WALLET2

Also, I spin my axles and it is smooth full turns on both sides(even with left axle pulled out or pushed in that 1/8"), so as my original post states, I get half a turn free and half a turn with minor drag only with the hubs on.

Mine were the same way after replacing hubs and shoes. According to the experts here this is normal. I had to re-adjust the shoes with the star wheels after about a month of use because they started to drag a little. It was very subtle however so watch them closely for a little while. Mine have been fine for several months after that one re-adjustment.

[EZGO-MY-WALLET2]

did you notice in and out play on your axles ?

[kernal]

Originally Posted by EZGO-MY-WALLET2

did you notice in and out play on your axles ?

I didn't check. I've owned this cart (00' TXT) since new and have no reason to suspect anything else is amiss.
FWIW, my '91 Marathon seems to be built better than the TXT. Never had any brake issues with it.

[Andy4639]

When installing the brakes you want the star adjusted just so the hub has a slight resistance when you slip it over the shoes. The 1/8" play is normal. So when you spin it they will just drag a slight bit. Don't know why you could see the link but here you go.

OK here is my way of doing a brake job on a Ezgo rear end.
First jack it up and place on stands safety is always first. Take the lugs loose and remove wheel & tire. Now for the fun part:

First take the cable loose from the brake lever on the back side of the backing plate.



Once this is loose work the brake lever back and forth a few times and get it loose and free. Just make sure it moves.

Now you get to take the hub off. Take the cotter key out and back the nut off. After that it can get tricky. If the hub isn't in bad shape it should slide right off. If the shoes have woren a groove into the hub it's hammer time.
Take and hit the hub around the outer edge and hope it comes off. You can also stick a screw driver up inside the hub at the bottom of the brakes and turn the star wheel in so the shoes will loosen up on the hub.

See the teeth on the wheel. You have to get a screw driver in the hole of the hub and turn it in. This can be done it just takes a little time.

Now the hub is off and you are looking at the shoes and springs.


I use a small set of needle nose vise grips and take the bottom spring off.


Now take the two side keepers off they are the metal clips that are on each shoe. Just needle nose pliers and twist them off. Push in on the metal tab and twist the pin. Sorry about the picture it has the bottom spring on it. Just wanted to show the clips.

Now just take the shoes off with the top spring in place and set them down like they come off for referance later.
Now remove the brake lever are assembly.

Clean it really good and relube all the moving parts.
Clean the rest of the brake up as well. I use brake cleaner and wipe it down good.

Now with everything clean relube the backing plate with some good lube. See the wear marks in the plate this is normal just make sure you put some lube in those area's to help it move smooth. I also lube where the lever arm slides in the bottom of the plate also.

Once all this is done just go back in the same order you took everything off and then when your ready to put the hub back on you will need to adjust the star wheel so the hub barely will slip over the shoes. This may take severl tries to get right. Once the hub is on and tighten back up with the nut and cotter key installed, make sure you get it tight. I put 100 LBS of torque on mine. Now you need to loosen the brake cable tee under the drivers side floor. The rod has two 1/2" nuts that you loosen until you can hooke the cable back up to the brake arm. Make sure your cables are working and not binding this will cause trouble with your brakes if they don't move freely in the skins. Once you can hook the arm up you can tighten the 1/2" nuts back up until the slack is gone. You want just enough slack so the spring isn't got tension on the system when not being used.
I hope this helps everyone and if one of the admin wants to move it to the resource area that's fine too.

[EZGO-MY-WALLET2]

well thanks for your input. I am going to go put the hubs back on and stuff and will come back to see if anyone has any bad news on that much play in and out on one axle. Worse case...gotta take it back a part. Thanks again.