86 DS rear end

[csullivan]

so I've go an 85 club car, and after taking care of the "make it run" repairs needed after it's previous life on a farm, time to move on from the bascis.

It doesn't stop worth a ****. Upon further inspection, it would appear the seals on the rear axle have failed, and it's leaking oil/grease into the brake drum.

I understand the "Some years rotate CW, some rotate CCW" portion of things, but what other issues would I face swapping to a later rear end? Mounting? Clutch alignment?

It seems at first glance that instead of rebuilding everything on the current rear, it might be less involved to swap (especially if a big block swap is in the cards for future use) and then rebuild when convenient, but I wanted to know if I'm headed for a large "gotcha" using a post 2014 axle or if I should just still to 96 and earlier.

[oldtimer2023]

Ok,I'll take a stab at this . I'm a fairly new member here. I have an 07 Club Car gas. I have been doing a lot of research on this cart. I think as long as you switch the engine cradle with the rear end it would work. I didn't know about the cw vs ccw thing until after I bought mine. Got a good deal on mine so I doubt it would have changed my mind. It does seem like you have more engine options with the pre 97 carts. I myself would be looking at changing axle seals versus changing out rear ends. Unless your current one needs work. Now back to changing engines, Vegas carts makes kits to change out engines. They make a kit for post 97 carts but it's for the 670 and your clutch goes on the flywheel side. This would be the route I would go. Hope this helps, if I'm wrong please correct me as l am new to this sport and just learning too.

[kgsc]

Check with David at Revolution and see if those seals are the same as the newer ones. If so I would just replace them and the pads.

[Springbok]

It's hard if not impossible to find internal parts to rebuild a 1986-1996 rear axle...let alone the even rarer-er 1984-1985 Fuji axle.

Seals you may be able to find but I'm 98.3% sure the parts are not available for a full rebuild.

But yeah, if you found a perfectly functional rear axle from a 1984-1996 cart it's a direct swap. Good luck!

If it makes you feel any better, my '87 won't stop worth a $hit either. No matter how much I adjust the rear shoes (they're manual and need to be cranked out as the pads wear).

[Springbok]

[King Cedar]

Another thing to consider on 85 rear ends is if it is a Fuji axle and has the nut on the passenger side on the top of the axle. If those start to leak the gear oil will migrate down the shaft and into the brakes. Makes you think it is a seal issue, but it's just leaking from the nut. Guess how I know that? ;)