EZGO Workhorse 350 Drive Clutch Possible Issue

Icarus831

New Member
Firstly hi .... ive been reading lots in the forum over the past few months trying to fix various issues with my late fathers EZGO Workhorse.
I believe its as 350 1999 4 stroke.
I apologise for the following ramble but resources are scarce in UK in regards to.golf carts and knowledgeable engineers

Ran fine for years.
Started to struggle to get up to speed or struggle to pull away. Felt like it was bogging down but would then run fine. Initially put it down to the uk changing from E5 to E10 fuel at the pumps (effected all my work chainsaws and 2 stroke equipment).
6 months ago was running well one day and was driving with my neices n nephews rather ummmm excitedly. It just bogged down and struggled to move forward.


Over the months since I've
Changed plugs. Changed coil. Changed leads. Stripped and cleaned carb (and after it got scrapped in error) replaced carb. Checked valve lash and tested with and without exhaust and adjusted govenor. Engine appears to run fine.

Driven clutch seemed to be loose. Sheaves too easy to separate. Removed clutch. Ramps worn and helix worn n scored. Spring seemed brittle. Replaced driven clutch.( 28 degreenot 36 degree as no 36 degree available to buy in UK unless £1500 or more ? ( cart was £2000 used lol)

After new clutch installed cart seemed to run... all be it not as fast for a minute.
In neutral both clutches act as should. (I believe) when running drive clutch seems to slow abd struggle to move driven clutch.

Removed drive clutch stripped and cleaned. Weights all seemed good no massive wear. Rollers moved well. With belt off drive clutch closes fully and opens. Cant find parts for my type of clutch (26952G03).

Previously cart ran jacked up bit only one wheel turned. I assumed it was some kind of differential as when pressure applied the other started to spin. I will next need to.jack again abd test is hubs have stripped but thr fact it runs sometimes makes me wonder.

Literally pulling hair out now with frustration. No-one local.who has any expert knowledge.

As it appears cart runs in neutral.
In gear it struggles to even move on slightest incline or level ground even but def gets worse over time as it heats up.

Could it be a mixture of issues or something I've done. Don't want to.buy new drive clutch as the only one that seems the same is a st480 type and in UK they are more than a new used cart. Seem to.be £1000 dollars but struggle to.find anyone who ships.

Tried both origiinal.heavy duty belt and new belt that came with clutch.

Any advice welcome. The forum.has helped me get this far.

Thanks

Sam
 

cartmaster

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
First of all, if the cart drives at all, then your hub splines are fine. You do not want to buy that clutch as it is for a 16 hp v twin briggs engine and would struggle to pull that cart compared to the correct one. Where did you locate the part number?.
Second. Have you done a compression test on the engine? If not, that will be your next move for diagnosis. Come back with those numbers and we can go from there. I suspect your inlet valves are badly worn and need replacing. It does not help that you replaced the original carb either. I doubt you have fitted an OEM carb and the aftermarket ones are usually bad right out of the box. You may have got lucky, but I usually recommend just cleaning the original carbs.
Until we have compression figures, there is no point going deeper just yet. These engines are renowned for worn inlet valves, particularly after regular spirited driving 😆.
And for your information, I too am in the UK. Your worries regarding e10 fuel, are easily assuaged by using e5 premium and just pay a little more to keep your engine running fine once we find and solve your issue.
As a side note, your cart comes standard with the 28 degree clutch.
If possible, remove the cam cover and take some pictures of the valve lash adjusters and post them here. I suspect the middle two are showing more threads above the lock nuts than the outer two.
Maybe a pic or two of your cart as we like pictures :rotflmao:
 

Icarus831

New Member
Thanks.
I have compression tested at the start (forgot to mention) I forget the exact figures but I the were both North of 150. (been testing saws all week so head full of numbers) I'll do another today and post as well as pictures.

The old driven clutch removed was def 36 degrees. I still have it here. Stamped 36 lol

I know about the carb issue. It was removed to clean but was mistakenly added to out scrap skip by one of my workers. I didn't find it for a while and it was damaged under other things. I still have it but its a mess. Bowl crushed and black adjuster plastic screw snapped. Maybe I can rebuild it from the replacement one or source a better one? Happy to spend the money so my mother can move things around more easily.

Yeah I use E5 in everything but I know it wasn't before. E19l0 has killed several carbs at work lol.

Part no for clutch came from Internet search. When I had it stripped I couldn't see a part number. Only the weights had E Z 3 on them.
All the searches seem to show internals having multiple rollers where as mine has 3 weights. Any idea what the part number should be? Only clutches I see looking similar are ST480 ones.

I'll check and pic the valves today if time. I've some big tree work to start first and if I begin tinkering I'll be there all day lol.
 

cartmaster

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
If you still have the original carb, maybe the float bowl from the copy will work. Don't worry about the plastic adjuster as it only alters the idle mixture and as you know, these engines are not set to idle on a cart. The correct drive clutch does have weights and not rollers, and if you bear with me I can check the correct clutch part number later. I will be back !
 

cartmaster

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
Back to your drive clutch ( Primary ) This UK supplier has both OEM and aftermarket clutches suitable for your cart, and the OEM is not currently in stock. The aftermarket one may be OK, but be sure to order the right one. My brother was sent one for a two stroke earlier cart by accident and did not perform well. The company replaced it with the correct one, so all was good.
Parts for these clutches have always been pretty much unobtainable in the UK, so replacement has always been pretty much the only option, but if on inspection, you found the weights and rollers in good condition, and as long as the outer sheave moves smoothly, then it should be OK to continue to use. I feel confident that the engine may be under powered if the clutches move as they should with no load.. Also make sure that your brakes are not binding, as this will have an adverse effect on the clutch operation.
I am curious as to exactly which model workhorse you actually have, as in the UK different models used different clutch helixes. the 800 series had the 36 degree clutch and a 295cc engine and the 1200, ST and refresher models were standard with the 28 degree clutch for increased torque for either a heavier load and/or larger diameter tyres. You should be able to verify engine size if you can find the casting or sticker numbers as either EH29C or EH35C. The numbers pertaining to the 295 and 350 respectively.
 

Icarus831

New Member
Engine says 352cm³ model EH 35 (something but doesn't look like c) I tried searching the cart numbers online but no joy.
I have to assume the clutch is good as I'm struggling to pump more money in I might just by the mother a powered wheel barrow lol.

Pics attached

Salvaged old carb but if the carb is the issue I'll buy proper part.

Compression test. First 3 chugs of the starter drivers side 155 rising to 170after 5 sec's full throttle
Passenger 145 rising to 167.

Valves set to 004
/005 hard to be totally accurate.

What do you think so far cartmaster?
 

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Icarus831

New Member
Cartmaster ..... no worries at all. Happy to be helped at your speed. If you're ever Dorset way ... Beers or suitable booze on hand as a thanks.

Rear hubs all seem ok.... cleaned and reattached. Wheels spin freely. Was initially alarmed as one went forward and the other backwards lol. But figured the dif under no load.
 

Tomd

Cartaholic
May I suggest you put a voltmeter on your battery and see if maybe it is overcharging. You said it was running good one day and then all of sudden it started bogging down. A defective voltage regulator that causes you S/G to charge wide open will cause your problem. Just a suggestion from a student of Cartmaster lol .
 

cartmaster

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
You beat me to it Tom. Now we seem to have confirmed the usual suspects, this is definitely the next thing to check. Good call Tom. And don't even suggest being a student of mine lol. You gained your knowledge through experience not me !
 

Tomd

Cartaholic
I did gain a lot of knowledge from experience but I also got a lot from reading your posts over the years. :) I just hope my mind stays good enough as I approach old age . I may already be there lol
If this isn't the issue with the cart then maybe you and I both can help him figure it out.
 

Icarus831

New Member
May I suggest you put a voltmeter on your battery and see if maybe it is overcharging. You said it was running good one day and then all of sudden it started bogging down. A defective voltage regulator that causes you S/G to charge wide open will cause your problem. Just a suggestion from a student of Cartmaster lol .
Ok
I'm on that this evening. Stupid questions to follow.... S/G? What's that? And do I test across battery running and not ? I can usually figure out electrics but multimeters and I have a bad history lol.

When I did a fresh compression tests the plugs were very carbon fouled. Coukd this be a symptom or just thst I've been testing cart alot on n off without running it for any length of time ?. New plugs are somewhere in one of my workshops or barns. I'll dig those out too.
 

cartmaster

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
S/G is starter generator 😆
Put meter across battery, you should see 12/13 volts. Watch meter and start engine. Meter should drop to 10/11 volts before starting, then rise to approx 14.5 volts when running. We may need to look into the fouled plugs soon too.
 

Tomd

Cartaholic
If he doesn't have a meter then just remove the cover where the ignitor, voltage regulator is located and unplug the green wire on voltage regulator. See how it runs with that wire unplugged. It won't hurt anything to run for a minute or two. If that is the problem then it will take off and run normal again.
 

Icarus831

New Member
I've a multimeter... just have a tendency to lose.. break. Leave in engine lol.
Unplugged but hard to tell. Maybe a bit better ?
With multimeter across battery terminals what should I expect?
 

Icarus831

New Member
S/G is starter generator 😆
Put meter across battery, you should see 12/13 volts. Watch meter and start engine. Meter should drop to 10/11 volts before starting, then rise to approx 14.5 volts when running. We may need to look into the fouled plugs soon too.
Sorry only just saw this reply.....
 
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