1988 EZGO Possible Fuel Pump Issue

[StatesboroJoe]

My neighbor purchased a 1988 EZGO Marathon a couple of days ago. It ran fine the first day then her daughter's boyfriend ran it out of fuel and it had to be towed home. The next day she mixed 50:1 fuel for it and it immediately began running sluggishly, eventually stopping altogether. Having repaired many riding lawn mowers I took a look at it. I changed the fuel filter, which was nasty, and thoroughly cleaned the carburetor. It was gunked up from the previous owner using ethanol based gas. I also cleaned out the fuel pump, which had some gunk buildup as well but seemed relatively clean otherwise.
Now it seems the pump will no longer pull fuel. I disconnected the line to the carburetor and started the cart but got nothing from the pump. I primed the pump by injecting gas into the line. It started, ran for a few seconds, then died. I put gas directly into the carburetor and it ran perfectly until the carburetor was empty.
Am I correct in assuming a new fuel pump or a rebuild kit is needed or could there be another issue causing the fuel pump not to work? Also, the manual I downloaded said the fuel mix should be 128:1. She wants to keep using 50:1 for some reason. Will this cause problems too? Thanks!

[cart around]

Did you get an airtight seal when you installed the fuel pump? There is a small rubber O-ring at the base of the pump. It sets against the black plastic insulator, and then the gasket goes against the block.

It runs when force feeding it, so I don't suspect the crankshaft seals.

Check that you put the filter in the right direction.

The correct ratio is 128:1. Running 50:1 will cause excessive smoke, and eventually clog the muffler. It's a waste. She wants to keep using 50:1 because the boyfriend is filling her head full of crap. It's not a dirt bike. If she doesn't want to listen, I would hand her the manual, and say you are on your own.

This is a link to the inside of the fuel pump. Double check to make sure you put it together the right way. Notice that there are arrows for the direction of flow. http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/gas-e...fuel-pump.html


The pdf is the 88 manual.

[Dabble Inn]

X2 above

You'll need to suck all the fuel out of the tank and start over, use it in your car it won't care. But don't try to add gas to it now to make up for it, You won't get it exactly right. Plus, I don't like to mix it directly in the tank anyway. One thing about the 128:1 ratio is it's very easy, simply 1oz oil to 1 gal gas.

I always use a 5 gal can, exactly 5 gal gas, add 5oz oil, swish the crap out of it til done and pour it in....

EDIT;
Yes, "Swish the crap out of it" is an industry term. I think it's even in the manual