1988 Club Car dead engine (exhaust valve broke?)

[RR4406PAK]

Have a 1988 Club Car that's been running great.
Lost all power while I was driving it and would not restart. Came to a stop.
Situation:
-Engine turns over very fast when pedal is depressed (like there is no compression at all).
-Engine is getting spark.
-Piston is still going up and down in there (verified by removing spark plug)
-As I am trying to turn the engine over I can see air constantly blowing out the exhaust.

My conclusion is that the exhaust valve is wide open.
Removed spark plug and poured gas directly into engine. Just got a loud BANG but nothing else. makes sense if the exhaust valve is hung open.

My question is how do I approach this?
Is there a timing chain that could've broke in there?
Is there a camshaft that could have broke?
Let me know what you think.
Thanks!

PS: If this is beyond fixable I'm going to throw a replacement engine from Vegas Carts in there.

[Springbok]

There's no timing chain. Yes there's a camshaft and it could have broke, but I would expect more noise and probably an all-out lockup as it's pretty close quarters in that little crankcase. You can remove the cylinder head top cover pretty easily in order to inspect the valves. Once the head is off, turn the motor by hand and see if the valves go up and down.

There's also a valve access panel on the front of the block. I believe its just a metal plate with a single bolt through it. You may just have a stuck valve.

[/QUOTE]

Here's what the top of the motor looks like with the finned top cover removed:

[Springbok]

Also, if you go with the Vegas Carts option, I may be interested in that stock muffler from your '88 if it's still in good shape.

[RR4406PAK]

Looks like i have to remove a giant flat plate on top of the engine to get to the cylinder head?
How do I remove the big plate?
Also, when I remove the head, will I have to replace the head gasket? Can I reuse the gasket?

[Springbok]

You have to remove that black plastic cover piece. Should only be a couple of bolts holding it on, as well as the two bolts that hold that metal linkage bracket up front. Most of the time you can just re-use the head gasket. It’s pretty heavy duty and every one I’ve ever removed came off intact and re-usable.

[RR4406PAK]

Great! Thanks!
Hopefully it is just a stuck valve.
What would cause valves to stick anyways? Broken valve spring?
I'll let you know what I find.
Thanks!

[Springbok]

Age and excessive heat are what I would guess to be the culprits. Tear into it yet?

[RR4406PAK]

Managed to tow it in the garage.
Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to sneak away to work on it.

[RR4406PAK]

Finally got the head off and, sure enough, the exhaust vale was stuck up high 1/8" inch in every stage of the 4 stroke cycle.
It was almost as if something got stuck under the tip of the valve.
Tapped it with a dead blow hammer and it went "click" and went back down to its proper position. Yay!
Maybe caused by buildup on the valve stem?

[RR4406PAK]

Pic of open exhaust valve at top dead center: