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Old 11-20-2013, 12:28 PM   #1
Kam9381
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Default 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

I have been reading through the forums for the last couple months. Some awesome info, and friendly & helpful people. I purchased my very first cart last month. It is a 1987 Marathon. It is kind of a budget build for now. I am a steel fabricator for a living, so I built my own 5" lift, put some 22"x11"x8" rims and tires on, and am in the process of fabbing a custom roll cage/rear seat. My 7 year old daughter is really into helping dad in the garage, which I might add is awesome! Now to my question/problem....Before I get started, I would like to add that I have searched the forum for previously answered questions pertaining to my problem. They seem to have varied quite a bit. The day I brought the cart home, it was a little hesitant to move, and seemed to run a bit rough at first. My daughter drove it around the house for probably 2 hours straight, and it seemed to really clear up, and run good low/top end both. Since that day, I have removed the gas tank, dumped and checked the inside for cleanliness (which was clean), and filled with fresh gas/oil mix. I replaced all of the fuel line, fuel filter, air filter, spark plug, spark plug wire. I added an exhaust gasket at the splice between the muffler and pipe...which was missing. It seemed sluggish on the low end, which I constituted to the larger tires? But before I did anything, you could over rev it if you wanted, now it doesn't seemed to rev as high at full throttle/ high speed. That didn't really concern me so much, but the lack of low end torque is no good. I put a HP3004 (shorter belt) on hoping that would fix the low end issue. It didn't seem to change much, but now after it reaches top speed, it bogs down severely enough that you fall forward a bit. If you let off the gas, then get back on it, its ok but will do it again at high speed. I don't know if it is relative to the smaller belt? Is it falling to deep in the clutch? I haven't had the chance to change back to the stock belt to see if that fixes the top end bog. But as it stands, the low end power is not good enough for me. I don't need a stump puller, but I want to be able to drive it up ramps into the back of my pickup, and I'm not sure it will pull itself up the ramps in the current condition. Sorry to ramble....please help!

Nothing fancy, but here are a couple before and after progress pics!

IMAG0648.jpg

IMAG0709.jpg
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Old 11-20-2013, 01:39 PM   #2
cdeck714
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

Clogged muffler? you could try unhooking the muffler and taking a quick ride on it, but it will be pretty loud.
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Old 11-20-2013, 01:59 PM   #3
Kam9381
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

I can definitely do that, but it ran ok before. Just recently.
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Old 11-20-2013, 02:29 PM   #4
simple man
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

I will take a guess at a partially clogged muffler too! You said you replaced the gasket which now seals the exhaust making all of it pass through the muffler. Here's a link to a post on how to burn it clean. This may not be your problem, but it would be a good idea to do anyway and it's fun and cheap!
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/gas-y...-hot-pics.html
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Old 11-20-2013, 02:52 PM   #5
Dave Box
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

I vote for that HP3004 putting too much strain on a worn driven clutch spring. When it fully opens, it then opens even further and the belt falls into the center. Try driving it with the seat removed and a friend watching the clutch.

Dave
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Old 11-20-2013, 04:00 PM   #6
Kam9381
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

Thanks for the replies! I will try the muffler trick. I hate to drop the money on a clutch, but if it is necessary I will have to bite the bullet. I am looking for any suggestions.
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Old 11-20-2013, 04:49 PM   #7
Kam9381
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

So after reading the Muffler BBQ pages.....I am confused wether to try it or not?
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Old 11-20-2013, 07:28 PM   #8
Kam9381
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

Well....when I got home from work I tried loosening the connection between the muffler, and pipe. I didn't make much difference. It still wanted to bog down at high speed. I put the worn stock belt back on, and that solved the bogging issue, so I am thinking I have clutch issues? Dave.....you mentioned the spring being weak, and the shorter belt falling in? Do I more than likely have a driven clutch issue? They are both free, and not sticking, but if I am running along at high speed, and let off and coast a bit, then get back on it......it seems to be stuck in high gear and lugs......does this mean my clutch isn't closing like it should?
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Old 11-20-2013, 08:07 PM   #9
Dave Box
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

The driven clutch is governed by the speed of the cart as opposed to the speed of the engine so if you back off the throttle but the cart doesn't slow too much like if you were going downhill then the clutch plates will not move. That said I think that you could do with re-tensioning or replacing your spring. If you went that way I might behoove you to put in a stronger spring or to shim your original which is a more technically correct solution that using a shorter belt. Here is a clip on how to dismantle the clutch. Yours might be slightly different but the principles are that same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JED-oeXc-U

Dave
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Old 11-21-2013, 09:20 PM   #10
redcloud
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Default Re: 1987 Marathon - No low end power/ bogs down at high speed and full throttle

I did my 91 marathon driven clutch and the stock spring was so bad I could push it down with my hand and take the ring off. But a big deal getting the new high torque spring system back on that required my press. I found that the weak spring along with very warn and dirty buttons I was not getting low end torque as the spring pushes the belt back up to top for low end. By shimming you increase the spring pressure helping with that but high end could be dirty or warn buttons and even the ramp bad.
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