Low compression, valves seem tight

[Sean2202]

Greetings,

I have a 04 Club car 272 with a FE400d engine. The cart has 4624 hrs and the engine supposedly was rebuilt last year. I know the rings were replaced as it does not smoke anymore, I do not know what else was done to it. I know a little history since it came from my prior workplace. Recently I checked compression and it only has 80psi. That explains why it seems slow up hills under load. I added a few drops of oil and compression stayed the same. I used multiple tests with the throttle wide open each test. Bad head gasket maybie?

I removed the valve cover to look at the valves and they seem very tight as in I can not even get a .0015 feeler gauge between the valve and the rocker arm at TDC compression stroke. The exhaust valve seems tighter than the intake as I can get a little wiggle back and forth from the intake valve but the exhaust valve seems very tight. As far as I know this has non adjustable hydraulic valves but I was just curious on a measurement. Could my valves be too tight not sealing the head letting compression weaken? Where do I go from here?

The cart does run but has low power. Can I continue to use it like it is for a little while without damaging it further?

Thanks for any help.

[lockman1]

Your (key start) FE400 has an ACR, (Automatic Compression Release)
The nominal compression at cranking speed should be around 71psi, so your good there!
And yes, there isn't a rocker adjustment/valve lash with hydraulic lifters.

There could be a number of other things that could make it run weak/slow...
Improper governor setting, improper throttle cable adjustment, worn drive belt, clutches... etc.

[Sean2202]

Thanks for the reply. Great news on the compression release! I actually just replaced both clutches from cartsparts plus. They were very helpful and I purchased the right set up with machining of the driven clutch as well. A few weeks back I also replaced the fuel pump, checked the pickup tube, new fuel filter (I only have one) and drive belt. All of these have helped some but it still is not right as in does not have power to climb hills(maybie I am asking too much of it on a steep hill). Other things to note is it has a studder under acceleration then it will take off. I have been in search of a good service manual for my cart do you have any idea where I can find one? Could you also point me in the right direction of these throttle cable adjustment and governor settings?

Next I will be cleaning the carb. The plug seems to be running lean and the cart seems to run better with the choke valve mostly closed ( I have about 1/4" pull on the choke knob)

Is there a preffered vendor on this site that I can order parts from? I will be looking for engine parts and drivetrain. I will also be replacing the intake gasket when I remove the carb. Maybie sucking air or dried out?

Thanks again

[lockman1]

Originally Posted by Sean2202

...the cart seems to run better with the choke valve mostly closed ( I have about 1/4" pull on the choke knob)

Is there a preffered vendor on this site that I can order parts from? I will be looking for engine parts and drivetrain. I will also be replacing the intake gasket when I remove the carb. Maybie sucking air or dried out?

Thanks again

I'll bet that you've just found your problem... Kawi FE engines are incredibly finicky with their air/fuel mixture!
Air leaks in the intake system WILL make it run poorly!

My FE350 climbs hills without a problem, your FE400 should be able out do me!

CPP has been my "go to" CC parts supplier for years!
Revolution Golf Cars (another fine sponsor) has links to Club Car,
and is most likely able to find some of the "odd ball" items you may need.

[Fairtax4me]

As Lock said, governor or throttle cable adjustment may need to be checked. And you probably need to clean out the carb. Running better with the choke pushed sounds like some of the ports in the carb are clogged or dirty and it’s running lean.

I’m not familiar with the carb on the 400, but I’d assume it’s similar to the Mikuni carb on the 290/350 motors. Remove the main jet and reach in through the Venturi with a screwdriver and tap out the pilot jet (brass core in the center). It does come out and usually has a bunch of varnish or dirt on it.

On the side there’s a brass screw that’s the idle pilot screw. Remove that and clean it and the passages that run through it. The top is NOT open to the outside of the carb so don’t go drilling any holes through it.

The idle mixture screw is usually not removeable, but in alot of cases I’ve found it benficial to cut the notch off the side with a dremel and remove the idle needle to clean the passages and the end of the needle. Before you remove it, turn it in and count how many turns it takes to Lightly seat the needle. Don’t torque on it or you’ll distort the needle and ruin it.
After cleaning re-install the idle screw the same number of turns. You can make final adjustments to the idle mixture with that screw, and it needs to be close to its original position to run properly.

[Sean2202]

Thank you all for the info. I will look up that vendor and get the intake gasket for when I take the carb off. I had a Kawasaki V twin on a 2010 Gator HPX that had a similar miss on initial acceleration last year. I finally rebuilt the carb but the main problem was the intake gasket had dried out letting a small air leak in. I hope that is my case here as well.

Thank you for the detailed carb cleaning write up!