Cart leans left after sitting.

[WVUDave]

Hello!

My cart leans noticeably left after I sit in the driver's seat (200 pound male). It is most noticeable going over the slight bump to get in out and of my driveway, rocks back and forth a bit as I do it. It is barely noticeable without any weight added. Originally I thought it was the front left, now I am wondering if it is the rear left. I looked underneath with a flashlight but do not know what I should be looking for. I've read shocks, coils, springs, but do not know where to begin. Suggestions? 2013 EzGo TXT 36 volt. Thank you!

[camaroluvz28]

The rear leaf springs and bushings are the most common issues for leaning on this type of cart...the shocks themselves have little to do with stance and only help to absorb the bumps and curbs...you should have a nice curve to your springs...Most of the time when they start going bad they are completely flat or even starting to buckle the wrong way causing sag...If your spring is bad go ahead and replace both sides at the same time to get a even stance again. But if you still have a nice curve on your spring the Leaf Spring Bushings could be bad which is very common...

[WVUDave]

Thank you! I forgot to mention we added a seat to the back, and did not have this issue before, so it may have been the extra weight from additional passengers.

[crash12888]

The spring eye bushings aren't the best quality and will usually wear through to the bolt sleeve before you notice it.
That will drop you about a 1/2" but most times they wear evenly, some have just swapped springs from left to right and bought themselves a few more years but you might consider a new set due to the rear seat addition.

[camaroluvz28]

Yes indeed the extra weight def helps kill stock leaf springs...I would go ahead and upgrade to Heavy Duty springs, the ride will be a little more ruff but they will last you a lot longer.

[Cartmaster]

Originally Posted by camaroluvz28

Yes indeed the extra weight def helps kill stock leaf springs.

I agree with this part, but i do not recommend heavy duty springs. the ride would be very harsh indeed with just one or two riders. Personally i would go with dual action springs which will give you a normal ride with one or two passengers, but with people or a load on the back, the helper leaf will pick up the slack. I think you need to replace the springs anyway so go this route and as suggested, check all your bushes and bolts for wear and replace if necessary all at the same time.

By the way, it is usually the drivers side spring that gives out first due to most cart use is with just the driver and all the weight is that side.

The bouncing up and down after a bump may also be partly due to worn out shocks, so worth checking them too. If you take them off and push/pull them together and apart and there is little resistance, chances are they are shot too and will need replacing.

The sagging and the bouncing are two different symptoms.

If you look at the carts on a golf course and the fleet is more than six months old, you will see most of them will be leaning to the left. this is due to many golfers riding alone and human nature makes them place their golf bag on the same side as they sit. This adds more weight to this side and makes it even worse.

[WVUDave]

Still having issue after replacing leaf springs in back. Definitely something on the front of the cart. Any ideas?

[Cartmaster]

At the front It can only be front springs or a bent axle. You could try swapping the springs from side to side.

Do me a favor and take a look at the rear shackles on the back of the rear springs. Do they lean back at the same angle on both sides of the cart with no weight on them? Maybe check with weight as well. If not, you may have a bent frame! You can measure the distance between the frames mounting points for the spring and shackle bolts each side to confirm. I have come across this several times in the past with the symptoms you have described previously.

It only takes a minor rear end bump to bend the arch of the frame.

What can happen here is the spring shackle on the bent side will rotate back to a more vertical position and the rear of the spring contacts the frame making that side sit lower. When you remove weight the spring returns almost to its normal position and the only clue is that the shackles sit at more of an angle than the other side.

[WVUDave]

I’m not sure what I am looking for.

[Cobra,1]

You confirmed “lean” is in the rear springs due to it showed up after adding rear seat weight.
Replace rear springs with duel action springs along with new leaf spring bushings.
Make sure you get new hardware kit, as most times old bolds need to be cut off due to rust.
Had similar problem with my cart and spring replacement cured it.