EZGO Pinion/Drive Gear

DaveyGee

Member
An inoperative EZGO is first priority 'round the homestead. Mine is a 1997 Textron SN:1015150.
It sure sounds like a pinion gear on the drive motor gone bad while I go, full power, nowhere.

I've opened the top hatch, disconnected the wires, and removed all but the top bolt to the motor. Anticipating the next move is tough. The motor looks heavy and I don't know if lifting it through the hatch is possible. How far must the drive mechanism pull out before I can lift up and out? Getting it all back in place, installed with new "drive gear" without a hitch seems daunting. Is dropping through the bottom easier? That would mean the entire axle and suspension dropping down. Right? I'm up to the task, just not sure of the best path.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
I would make sure one of the rear hub splines isn't stripped. That's usually what causes the problem you're describing. I take the motors out from the bottom. Jack the golf cart up and take the rear drivers side tire and wheel of and it's pretty easy.
 

Patrick L

Cartaholic
Like HotRodCarts mentioned, I too would recommend looking at the rear hubs first. They have a tendency to fail, easy to fix and not too costly.
 

TVAN

Cartaholic
I have had the same thing several times. If that is the problem make sure you order the correct hub for your cart. Electric and gas use different hubs to my knowledge.
 

DaveyGee

Member
Thank you for getting me on the right path! Glad I didn't follow the worst case and remove the motor only to find it unnecessary.
I found the spline on the driver's side hub stripped, but the other side looks good. Does this mean only the one side powers the cart? Can I simply switch wheels? Also, I'm wondering if my method for quick braking, turning off the key while speeding down the hill, is causing undue stress on the splines?
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
You need to replace the hub/brake drum that has the stripped splines. Your golf cart has a opened rear end so when one wheel loses traction the other will take over. The most common cause for the hub to strip is the nut not being tight enough. The castle nut that holds the rear hubs on should be torqued to at least 90 ft. lbs. The EZGO service manual calls for 90-140 ft. lbs. Once the nut is torqued if the cotter key hole isn't lined up continue tightening the nut until you can key the cotter key in. Turning off the key while going down hill wouldn't cause it. What is your reason for turning the key off when going downhill?
 

DaveyGee

Member
Ah-Hah! I did not torque the castle nuts...merely finger tight. Thanks for the specs!
Speeding down the hill engages the voltage regeneration feature, but then if I need to stop, turning off the key or switching to reverse will stop quicker than braking.
 

Patrick L

Cartaholic
Have run into the same problem many times with older cars. Axle/hub nut left loose, shears the key and ruins both hub and axle.
 

DaveyGee

Member
It has been two years since that easy hub replacement. the problem is occurring again. So I figured it was the other rear hub. Sure enough the splines on the left side are stripped. Question: I can grab onto the axle spline (each side) while stepping on the go pedal without much resistance. Perhaps I should grab both sides at once (with help) to be sure the problem is not the differential input shaft? Is there another test?
 

Patrick L

Cartaholic
I would think the axle/rear end is fine, just a bad drum as before. Probably should have been checked/tightened along when the one was replaced.
 

DaveyGee

Member
At the time I had checked it, but evidently did not torque the castle nut to specs as it was much easier to remove. Oops.
 
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