Finishing the Mci's

Well not a lot to talk about today. We finished u the mci's I was talking about. Five of them in total. Quick tip about the mci engine from EZ Go, or the pre-mci for that matter, make sure that when you tighten your valves that they are actually "tight". I've seen this happen countless times with engines of all makes and models. The thing is, that with the EZ Go models, most people set the timing on the engine by looking at the large timing gear. When the "dot" is at the top end of the gear we set the back two valves. And when the dot is at the bottom of the gear we set the front two valves. This however is the incorrect way. It does work, but it has a tendency to be a headache. If you are an individual who is in a hurry, then go ahead, you can always adjust your valves later, should you feel the need to. But if you are a business owner you should set the valves the correct way the first time. By the correct way I mean that each valve should be set at .004in independently. When the lobe of the camshaft is at the 7 o'clock position and the rocker arm is to the right of your line of sight. I'll cover small topics that can be archived daily, but for anything that you think should be covered, please let me know at spearsgolfcarts@gmail.com and I will address it in the very next blog I post.

Club Car FE 350 engine with ACR

Who's ready for Monday? Well ready or not it's still a Monday. Today I had a customer with a Club Car who needed a rebuild on his engine. I usually just talk about the engine rebuilds because they are pretty technical and a lot of the customers I have talked with would like to try to do it themselves. I guess they need a hobby or just have the free time. I mean I wouldn't want to read this blog if it were about putting on a set of sporty tires and rims and enclosures and radios. So today we rebuilt the Club Car FE 350 engine with ACR. The ACR stand for Automatic Compression Release. This type of engine was the clockwise model, which means the clutch rotates clockwise. You can only put this type of engine in a Club Car gas key start vehicle. There are two types of clockwise FE 350's. Those with the ACR, which are for key start only, and those without the ACR, which are for pedal start only. The only difference in the two is the camshaft. On the backside of the ACR camshaft there is a spring gear which is the mechanism for the compression release. So by changing the camshaft either way you could have either engine. The worst part any Club Car 350 engine (not considering the new style) is that they have lifters in them. The lifters act as tappets which ride on the camshaft and force the push rods to open the valves. Much unlike a tappet though, they compress in when the push rods put force to them. That is because of the springs which are located inside of them. Now these lifters pump up with oil and release the oil when compressed by the push rods. Oil travels from the oil pump, through a small brass filter, then through a small opening in the block, next it arrives at the first lifter, goes around it, through a small opening, and hits the last lifter. The problem is that the lifters have a small hole in the side of them which MUST be lined up with the small hole on the inside of the block where the oil travels. If they do not line up then the oil is not properly being pumped into the lifter. And when the lifters are not working, your engine is not working. Alot, and I mean ALOT, of times you'll hear a tap in the engine, which nine times out of ten is the push rod tapping the lifter because the lifter is not compressing. In which case the lifter will need rebuilding, and I would just as quickly suggest that new lifters be put in. But thankfully Club Car has noticed the problem and now build the 350's like the 290 model, in that they use tappets instead of the lifters. However you now have to adjust the valves, which I just really loved the fact that you didn't have to do that with the older style 350 engines, but it's no big deal. Just set each valve at .004in. and that takes care of them. One more thing, if you should ever find yourself trying to take your camshaft out e-mail me at spearsgolfcarts@gmail.com and leave your phone number and I'll call you back and we will walk through it together. But if your impatient like me then be sure to take the head off and remove the lifters. When you replace the camshaft make sure you line the slot in the end of the camshaft up with the oil pump. That's all folks!

EZ GO MCI

Today I was working on customers with EZ Go carts. Every one of them had engine problems. So today we took out five of the MCI 350 engines. Now not alot of people that I have talked with know this but MCI actually stands for motor cost investigation. EZ Go wanted to cut the cost of their pre mci model and that is where mci comes from. Not that it is a bad engine but, I prefer the pre mci 350 model. There are very few differences in the two. The flywheel on the mci lacks a key for it, which actually makes it more easy to remove. But the rocker arms on the mci is what really drives me crazy. Unlike the pre mci, which have a slot in the top for a screwdriver for valve adjustment, the mci has a square top and its smaller than a eight mm wrench so I use needle nose pliers. The easiest way to tell the difference in the two models is to look at the exhaust. The mci exhaust is aluminum in color and is molded with the head. The pre mci exhaust is cast iron in color and mounts to the head with four bolts. You can also tell by looking at the bottom of the blocks on the exaust sides. pre mci blocks will have EH 35C or EH 29C mci will have EH 352C or EH 292C. You can not swap out these engines in carts without a retro kit or by making your own wiring harness! But anyway, we have them torn down so they will be ready Monday. One more thing. When you hear that an engine is bored at 25 over or 50 over, that is in mm. I like to go by inches myself so if you are like me 25 over in inches is .010 and 50 over is .020. Any 350 EZ Go mci or pre mci engine cylinder that is 2.638 in. or more should be bored. EZ Go recommends that the cylinders should be bored if they are at 50% which would be 2.63765 in. I wont let them go to 75% though myself. And ALWAYS bore both cylinders, even if only one is needed.

FIRST BLOG

Ok everyone. This will be the first of many blogs for Spears Golf Carts. Let's start with , well......I guess we will start with today. I finally talked with my Nivel parts area salesman and it looks like I'm not going to be doing any business with them. There are already a few dealers in my area so, I would have to be an authorized EZ Go, Club Car, or Yamaha dealer to get their attention. I was looking to partner with Nivel Primarily for KF-82 parts. Not that I like that engine at all! I did rebuild four this week though. They run pretty good to be so old. They are just really aggravating to work with. You can barely find parts for them, thanks to J and B parts for the oil slingers by the way, and getting the tappets just right is a task. Spears Golf Carts sells golf carts, parts, and accessories. Can anyone tell me where I can find some KF-82 parts? I'll trade information and answer your questions for customer and parts leads.