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-   -   DS excessive oil consumption (https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=154566)

Motorman 007 07-01-2019 05:45 AM

DS excessive oil consumption
 
2002 CC DS. Cart puffs a little on start up and seems to consume oil at a rapid pace needing oil every couple of days. Looking for any suggestions as to common issues and where to start? Thanks.

Motorman 007 07-15-2019 11:50 AM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
No one?

Fairtax4me 07-15-2019 12:10 PM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Dunno how this one got missed? Sorry man!

Typically if it's smoking the piston rings are worn out.

It is possible the reed valve for the breather system in the head is bad and is forcing oil vapor out into the carb inlet. Pull the intake tube off and look for heavy amounts of oil in the carb inlet.

Also possible the head gasket has failed and is letting oil leak directly into the combustion chamber. The best way to check all of that is to pull the motor, pull the head off and see if the head gasket has any visible failure points. Then check the cylinder bore for wear. Usually if the rings are toast the bore will be glazed.

A compression test can sometimes pinpoint bad or stuck rings, but usually it's inconclusive. The only way to know for sure it to tear it down and remove the piston.

CP241 07-15-2019 12:50 PM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Just to ask, is your cart lifted? If so, then "full" on the dipstick is actually overfilled due to the angle of the engine in a lifted cart, and can cause it to smoke until it can burn off the excess down to normal levels. Can you quantify the amount of oil it's consuming? a half quart every couple days? a quart?

A little oil makes a LOT of smoke. If it were consuming the amount of oil I'm visualizing by your post, the thing would be smoking like a train and filling the yard with smoke. Not just a little puff when you first start. You couldn't miss it. I've had carts with worn rings that smoked like a train, and still would only use a half quart or so every few weeks. Depending on how much oil it's consuming, you may have more of a problem with a leak than an issue with it burning the oil. Dipstick fill tube o-rings care common to leak. You may not notice the leak if you park over gravel, in a barn, lean-to, etc. And the engine cradle can hold quite a bit of oil before it ends up on the ground, especially if the "drain" holes are clogged with mud and gunk.

Motorman 007 07-15-2019 01:51 PM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me (Post 1635666)
Dunno how this one got missed? Sorry man!

Typically if it's smoking the piston rings are worn out.

It is possible the reed valve for the breather system in the head is bad and is forcing oil vapor out into the carb inlet. Pull the intake tube off and look for heavy amounts of oil in the carb inlet.

Also possible the head gasket has failed and is letting oil leak directly into the combustion chamber. The best way to check all of that is to pull the motor, pull the head off and see if the head gasket has any visible failure points. Then check the cylinder bore for wear. Usually if the rings are toast the bore will be glazed.

A compression test can sometimes pinpoint bad or stuck rings, but usually it's inconclusive. The only way to know for sure it to tear it down and remove the piston.

Thanks for the quick replies. This doesn't smoke at all and burns a half a quart every 3 days. Cart is not lifted. Definitely signs of oil in the carb where the breather tube connects.....Is the reed valve replaceable? Also, no external leaks of any kind....

CP241 07-15-2019 02:13 PM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Check your airbox, you may find your missing oil lol

That's a lot of oil! It has to be going somewhere... If it's not smoking then it's not burning it. You'll need to find out exactly where it is going. I still suspect a leak...

Just a completely random guess... In the back of the motor the mount for the counterbalance weight is about halfway up the block. If that seal were leaking, it could be pushing oil out there, and there's a hole in the engine cradle right below it. It would only "leak" while you're driving and the oil is being sloshed around, if the oil level is below that point it may never leak while it is sitting. I have a spare block on the side of my shop with a big hole in it, but I can take a couple pictures if you'd like. That part specifically is sandwiched in between the back of the cradle and the motor, you can't fit a finger or anything between there to see it, you would have to pull the motor out.

if that much were blowing into the crankcase vent into the carb it should be smoking just from the carb sucking the oil in. Unless it's dumping it down the intake tube and into the airbox... in which case your air filter should be pretty much saturated with oil.

I would get the rear of the cart up as high as you can safely, and crawl underneath with a flashlight and look for any signs of sludge or wetness. IF it's nasty and muddy, maybe blast everything really really well with a pressure washer, so it's all good and clean. Then take it for a 20 minute drive, put it back up in the air and check. With that much oil disappearing, the motor not smoking (or smoking very minimally) it's gotta be leaking somewhere. Side case gaskets are also fairly common to leak, and pretty easy to replace. They'll leak at the bottom usually where you don't really see it unless you crawl underneath the cart.

If i'm wrong on any of this, I'm sure FT4M will jump in, say CP you're a dope... Check this xxxx and point you right at the answer. And I welcome the criticism :)

Fairtax4me 07-15-2019 02:49 PM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorman 007 (Post 1635700)
Thanks for the quick replies. This doesn't smoke at all and burns a half a quart every 3 days. Cart is not lifted. Definitely signs of oil in the carb where the breather tube connects.....Is the reed valve replaceable? Also, no external leaks of any kind....

Yes, the reed valve is easily replaceable. If there is oil in the carb inlet then you should replace the reed first and see if that helps/fixes the issue. It's under the rocker cover and held on by one screw/bolt. Easily replaceable with the cover off.

And these can burn quite a bit of oil without heavy/noticeable smoking if it's getting into the right place. The head gasket issue I mentioned can cause that as well. The Reed valve is inexpensive and would be a necessary replacement part if you end up having to rebuild the motor anyway.

I think the part number on that should be 1016483. Get in touch with David Hicks at Revolution Golf Cars, or your local Club Car dealer (if there is one nearby) should have them in stock.

Motorman 007 07-16-2019 05:41 AM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Thanks to you both! I'll check all of that out this weekend.

Motorman 007 08-02-2019 10:37 AM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
Sorry for the delay in reporting back. Just haven’t had the time to look at it. Reed valve appears to be ok. No oil in the air box. Spark plug is black. Must be head gasket or rings.... just weird because it doesn’t smoke at all. I can definitely smell it though. Can I check the head gasket without pulling out the engine?

CP241 08-02-2019 11:12 AM

Re: DS excessive oil consumption
 
The cooling shroud may be a bit tricky to remove in the cart, but since it is a push rod motor, and not an overhead cam with a timing belt/chain, yes you can remove the head with the motor still installed.

However,

I would pull the motor out and get it on a workbench where it's a lot easier to work on. There's 4 bolts on the bottom where the motor mounts to the skid plate (there's nuts on the top side) and 2 nuts in the rear where the motor mounts to the transmission/rear end. There's 6 in the rear total, 3 up on each side. only remove the 1 nut in the middle on either side. the 4 in the corners can stay.

Disconnect the exhaust and remove the muffler. Pull the carb off and set it on the frame in the front so you don't have to disconnect any fuel lines. Remove 2 bolts and the tensioner bolt, you can rest the starter/generator on top of the transmission/rear end. 2 wires and a cable and you can pull the engine out. I can pull the motor out in about 20-30 minutes. It's not hard, and will save you a LOT of trouble fighting with trying to mess with it in the cart. With the fan shrouds in particular.

Given the sheer amount of oil this thing is consuming, with no smoke, I would really recommend pulling the motor and going through it carefully. Sometimes having the engine out and on a workbench will increase visibility to issues you may not have seen while it was in the cart due to angles/shadows/etc. But that's just my .02


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