1989 EZGO, no power midrange

[Hazmat1234]

Cart Around: Just for clarification on the question on running in reverse. I came home and double checked again. It still bogs down in reverse, BUT, it's get's to full throttle in 10-15 seconds with feathering the choke, whereas in forward it may take a couple minutes of feathering the clutch before going to full throttle, if at all. Sometimes it won't go full throttle in forward.

[cart around]

Since it is running, I don't think the piston is in backwards. Choking it reduces air, and helps it suck fuel. Low fuel pressure is a major sign. Running better in reverse is also a sign of leaking crankshaft seals. Unless the cylinder gasket, or split seam is leaking, I would say seals.

[Timberwolflt]

Could be the carburetor just needs a good cleaning... or the new carb is jetted wrong... or the air filter is too clean

[Hazmat1234]

Cart Around: Thanks for the reply and helping to confirm my suspicions. I read about the possibility of a piston being backwards, but dismissed that theory since the motor has a ton of dirt and oil residue on the block and cylinder. Looks like it's never been apart. Also confirmed when I pulled the reed valve for inspection.

The low fuel pressure had me leaning in the low crankcase pressure direction, but two cycles are somewhat new to me. Complete gasket set ordered with new crank seals. Will look at the piston,rings,cylinder and bearings while apart, but not expecting anything with 120 psi on the cylinder, but who knows. Will keep you posted on the progress.

Thanks Timberwolflt: I am not suspecting carb or it being jetted wrong since I am having the exact same issue with the old and new carb.

[cart around]

Since we're now talking about yanking the engine, and spending some money, let's verify a few things.
You say it's an 89 with a 2pg. We have had one of those on here before, but they are rare.
The drive belt on a 2pg goes side to side. A 3pg goes front to back.
The 2pg spark plug is on the side. The 3pg plug is on top.
An 88 2pg has a muffler with the pipe coming out the top. It also has the larger BV-24 carburetor with a vertical choke shaft. If you have this, I have an 88 manual. You will buy 88 parts.

Verify that the screw hole for the oil injection is airtight at the intake manifold.

When the engine is out, you should also look into the exhaust port while moving the piston up, and down just to verify that you are not seeing any square holes in the side of the piston.
Make sure there aren't any fuel line leaks preventing the pump from sucking gas. Weak fuel pressure is a major symptom of seals, or fuel line leaks.

[Hazmat1234]

Cart Around: Thanks for the manual. Yes, found out from looking online when I was buying the carb and fuel pump, I needed to search for a 1988 model instead on a 1989. I have the title for the cart and it was first registered in 04/1989. Evidently EZGO changed production from the 2pg motor somewhere around the 1st quarter of the year and started production with the 3pg motor. All the things you stated in your post for the 2pg are true with my cart as well as the engine tag on top of the block listing it as a 2pg. That's how I originally started looking for parts was from that. I was confused because everything I read for the 1989 model listed as a 3pg. Then ran across an article stating what EZGO did with their change in production.

Question: Are the gasket sets the same between the 2pg and 3pg? They look the same from what I can tell from pics online.

The oil injection fitting is tight with the banjo bolt and two compression fittings as I verified oil was being pumped into the manifold while the engine was running. As soon as I have the engine out and rebuilt, installed and verified running, I will eliminate the oil injection pump and start using premixed fuel and seal off the intake hole. I don't trust the oil injection pumps as I had one fail on a wave runner I had a few years back and trashed the motor.

I have also ordered the parts to switch over to an HEI set-up, but there again, will changed that over after the engine is in and running. I learned a long time ago from owning a transmission shop not to start replacing/upgrading parts until the original problem is fixed, otherwise you may start chasing your tail on trying to diagnose several problems not knowing which change caused which problem.

If I remember right, I saw the square cut-out from the intake side when the reed valve was out, but am going to split the case and check bearings, crank and re-silicone the halves together, So I will verify on reassembly the piston is in correctly.

[cart around]

Looking at this page of gaskets, I would say mostly. https://www.golfcartking.com/ezgo-pa...gines-gaskets/

The carb, and head gaskets are the same. The 3pg kit has 2 reed valve gaskets in it. The cylinder base gasket looks the same, but a few rows down the page, there is a separate gasket listed for the 3pg. I don't know how accurate that is. I will check a few other suppliers.

EDIT: Vintage Golf Cart Parts specifically says it is the same cylinder base gasket.

If you can rebuild a transmission, this won't be a problem. It sounds like this engine is in good hands. My Father in-law owned a transmission shop for over 20 years. He died on New Years eve. Only 70 years old, but never had a colonoscopy.

[Hazmat1234]

Cart around: sorry to hear of your loss. I owned a shop for 10 years before selling it and became a firefighter. Best career choice I could have made with the exception of the cancer risks. I would advise everyone to start getting colonoscopies at 50. Easy to do and catch things early before they become cancerous.

I will pull the motor hopefully in the next week or two and keep you posted on the progress. Thanks for taking the time to respond to the forum.

[cart around]

Thanks. I appreciate that.

[Hazmat1234]

Well... I think I found part of the the problem. Half the piston skirt is missing from the exhaust side of the piston. (pics attached) What's even more strange is the cylinder was producing 120 psi and none of the piston parts are inside the case. One minor scoring on the bottom of the cylinder wall. Going to drop off at the machine shop and see if they can bore it out .50 over. The crank bearings are a little noisy, so will replace them, the crank and connecting rod look good though with no play or needle bearing roughness.