Cusman 735 OMC Hydraulic Lifters?

[Midas]

Hi I'm a newbie to this but have been a mechanic all my life. I have a 1962 735 golfster that I recently acquired. It's been parked for 40 years and is in very good original condition. I have cleaned the fuel system and oil and filter change, also replace old coil. It runs quite well but has lifter noise. When following the valve lash procedure I noticed that I can depress the push rod in about 100 thou and it springs back like an hydraulic lifter that isn't pumped up. tried running with covers off but oil shot ten feet. I have tried zero lash to 3 turns in with not much difference. Ive been searching the web and cant find any of these engines that had hydraulic lifters. If anyone can help I would very much appreciate some help on how to set these. Cart mod is 735-878915 ser#132662 Engine mod 218 spec 160539 ser# 21315 Thanks

[CharleyL]

My Cushman is a 1987 with OMC 2 cylinder 22 hp motor and it has no hydraulic lifters, so I doubt that your original 1962 Cushman engine would have them. Yes, the lifters rattle, even when set to the proper gap. The old car engine lifters rattled too, until they developed hydraulic lifters. We put up with the noise back then, because we didn't have anything better. Sorry, though I have mechanical experience dating back to about 1951, I never had anything to do with Cushman vehicles until I bought and rebuilt my 1987 Truckster (see my avatar) and it's OMC engine. It's very noisy when running, mostly because it's directly below the seat. Even after adding some sound proofing to the seat and engine compartment, it's still noisy.

Charley

[Midas]

Hi Charlie, thanks for the reply. I build drag race engines with solid lifters so I know what a sewing machine sounds like. but like I said these lifters definitely had some give to them. Update, today I set them at 1 turn in from zero lash and put some sea foam in the crankcase and after five minutes of run time the tappet noise went away. Runs as quiet as can be, Never believed in mechanic in a can, but this worked amazing. I must have a very rare OMC as I only found one other guy that said he had heard of one with hyd lifters. I hope this might help someone else dealing with the same issue.

[CharleyL]

I doubt very much that your motor is an OMC. Either that, or your cart age is wrong. Could you be reading 1962, when in fact it is a 1982? OMC engines were never in carts that early, unless someone modified your cart.

Go to the www.sillylittlecars.com website, then click on "manuals" and you will find both a manual and a supplement manual for he 1980's model Cushman. The supplement contains both the electrical diagrams and the complete information about the OMC engines. You can download these manuals in PDF format FREE from this website. Only the Supplement will be of use to you, since the main manual only contains exploded views of the body sheet metal and part numbers for the pieces, none of which are available any more, except from a donor vehicle.

There were 3 versions of the OMC engines, a single cylinder version for certain models of Cushman Scooters, a 2 cylinder 18 hp, and a 2 cylinder 22 hp for the carts and trucksters. The only difference between the 18 and 22 hp is that the spark plug location was below the cylinder center in the 18 hp version (the spark plugs need to be accessed from below) and above cylinder center in the 22 hp version (when looking down at the engine, the spark plugs are in view). The 22 hp cylinders were a higher compression design. The crankcase and the rest of the parts in these engines are all the same. For the one cylinder version, a cover plate covered the unused cylinder location on the crankcase.

All of these OMC engines used a positive displacement cam operated fuel pump. Even new/old stock of these have deteriorated rubber parts, so not worth buying them, even if you can even find one for sale. The best solution is to install an electric fuel pump. They are constant pressure, so fuel is delivered to the carburetor as the carburetor opens the float needle. You will no longer need the bypass filter and return fuel line to the tank. My truckster never ran right with it's old working fuel pump, but runs great since going with the electric fuel pump, and after the first start of the day it is running within the first revolution anytime it needs to be restarted for the rest of the day.

Charley

[Midas]

Sorry Charlie, all 735 sharknose golfsters 1961 thru 1964 came with the twin cylinder aluminum OMC engine, also called the Huskie. Why wouldn't they? Cushman was owned by OMC at the time. You can look this up on vintagegolfcartparts.com under history of cushman golf carts. There is no question my 735 has it's original engine, that's why I listed all the cart and engine model and serial numbers in my first post. this cart still has the original tires, some plastic still on the seats, golf bag holders with straps and the old boy's last score card from 1975. All I wanted to know was if anyone else had run across one of these with hydraulic lifters, and how to adjust them, which it defiantly has. I appreciate your input, but if you don't know just say so. After setting the valves one turn in from zero lash and a little sea foam the engine runs very quiet, no lifter noise at all. If it were a solid lifter the valves would be held open at that setting and would not run. It does still have the mechanical fuel pump and bypass and works fine. I'm trying to keep this cart as original as possible and hope I don't have to go electric, but good to have options!

[CharleyL]

OK, I had never found a date for when OMC had taken over Cushman, but knew that all of the 1980's Trucksters had the OMC engines. I found my Truckster sitting in the edge of a pine forest behind a friend's woodworking shop. His dad had been a Cushman Scooter collector, but had this one truckster to run the back streets to a local lunch shop and meet up with his buddies for lunch. The truckster had been sitting there untouched for about 13 years with trees growing up through the pedal holes. I talked my friend into selling it to me and I've restored it enough to be able to use it to help me maintain my 3 acre estate.

The supplement manual available on the www.sillylittlecars.com website will tell you all about the OMC engines, the specs and the rebuilding of them.

Be certain that the finned area of the cylinders and crankcase are clean, and that the air damper controls are working properly, since they fail with age and fail in the closed position. They are also unobtainium, so since I live in NC it doesn't get cold enough to really need heat, so I just removed thermal controls and drilled and tapped holes in the front casting in positions where the head of the bolts installed would catch the edge of the damper and hold it semi-permanently open. These engines overheat very easily if the dampers aren't working properly or there is mud and debris in the cylinder and crankcase fins blocking air flow.

Also, keep an eye on your engine oil level. If that original fuel pump fails, they usually begin dumping fuel into the crankcase and it thins the oil. If the dipstick starts showing higher oil levels and begins to smell like gasoline, you need a new fuel pump.

I managed to find that many of the drivetrain, steering, and brake parts for my truckster were actually automotive parts readily available through auto parts stores. Unfortunately, there is no cross reference to find them. You need to find a parts guy who has been in the business a long time who can recognize your broken part and then find it on the shelf for you. The forklift repair shops are another possible source, since they used to service the Trucksters. For my truckster, the 1" wheel brake cylinder rebuild kits were the same as early 1970's Ford F-100 trucks. The cylinders themselves were also the same except for an external bump in the casting that could easily be ground off. The master cylinder for my Truckster was sitting on the shelf at the forklift service shop and sold to me for the original price of $34. A flexible brake line to the front axle was for a 1970 Dodge D100 van. The forklift shop also had new brake shoes for my 87 Truckster.
I know much of this won't apply to your cart. It's just to give you an idea of where you might find needed items at frequently better prices. Www.denniscarpentercushman.com, www.directparts.com, and www.vintagegolfcarts.com are the three website sources that have had parts for these too. Dennis Carpenter's shops and store are about 10 miles from me, and although they claim to only sell parts for the Cushman Scooters, but one scooter model used the 1 cylinder version of the OMC engine, they have had and sold me gasket sets, stainless valves, and other engine parts that I needed for rebuilding my truckster engine over the counter and very convenient. Dennis Carpenter mostly specializes in old Ford car and tractor parts, plus Cushman Scooter parts. There was a new boat tail scooter seat/engine cover body sitting in the parts showroom when I was last there. They are located just North of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a few miles North of Charlotte, NC on hwy 49.

I have most of two 22hp OMC engines in parts, all disassembled, cleaned and bagged in my garage. If you should ever need something, I may have it. No cylinders and no thermal controls though. They are the weakest and most likely to fail part, from my experience. When last checked, cylinders and even whole short blocks were still available, but expensive.

Charley

[Midas]

Charley, thanks for the tips. I will definitely keep an eye on the fuel pump and oil dilution. Don't believe the cart engines had the dampers for heaters, so that shouldn't be a problem. I did clean the fins and fan housing when I got it as the mice had moved in. Sure wish someone would chime in on the hydraulic lifters as this must be very rare and only in the golfsters. Probably to keep the country clubbers happy. Thanks for the parts offer, hope I never need them, but it would give me a good excuse to get the hell away from all this snow and cold in northern Michigan