Looking at 2001 Sunday too buy

[Genesimmons]

Can anybody tell me the main things to look out for? Going to test drive it. Looks to be in decent shape being 2001. It has new Duracell lead acid battery’s I wanna see how it runs and se if it starts too charge when plugged in. And look for gearbox oil leaks. What else do I need to look for. Thanks

[Reddevil]

Check the VIN at www.nhtsa.gov and see if the DC/DC converter and parking brake safely recalls have been performed. VIN is on a plaque above windshield or rear opening depending on model.

[1953Richie]

Drive it up a steep hill. If it has the 3.5 hp motor you won’t be happy with it’s power.

[JarJarJava]

Yeah, but a high-revving R4F (D&D) motor with a controller reprogram or MM and that tall gearbox in the '01 will make it go like a scaled ape.

[JarJarJava]

IMHO, the big thing to look for on the 00-04 is cracks in the rear sub-frame. There are literally dozens of threads on it here, but this one has a good picture and I can’t find Grant’s original thread on the subject right now.

Awesome! Broken Rear Subframe!

I finally got around to pulling off the back plastic to get it prepped for paint and discovered that my frame is broken in two places. At least now I have an excuse to pull off the rear subframe and paint it. [Frame]

I’m not sure if the eL’s from that era are subject to this failure or not, as they have a different set-up (at least mine does)

Leaking gearbox input shaft seal or bad input shaft. If it’s a bad leak, you’ll see it on the outside of the motor. Bad input shaft, you’ll hear it under heavy acceleration. Barking on deceleration is typically just a bad shaft bumper, couple dollars and an hour or so to fix the first time.

Bad wheel bearings. You’ll hear it when you drive, and when you turn.

Cracks in the steering column bracket

99-04 GEM steering column cracks PSA

I think it was @grantwest who first posted about the rear trailing arm suspension (rear sub-frame) cracking on the 99-04 GEMs, well, here’s another one to add to that list… Steering column mounts. I guess someone thought it was a good idea to take a golf cart, cross it with the suspension from a pile driver and then have the steering column held up by two small pieces of 16ga steel. I suspect this one completely snapping was caused by the already crappy steering made worse by a combination of…

Brakes, shocks and steering ball joints condition. Sloppy loose steering might be a steering rack problem.

What charger is installed. If you ever plan to do a battery upgrade, even if it’s just to gel, certain chargers of that era will not be compatible and you’ll be buying a new charger.

Delaminating clear coat on the hood & fenders if you’re into cosmetics. Seems like they all fail eventually if left out in the sun.

[1953Richie]

Are you still parting out a early 2000 gem car?

[JarJarJava]

Yes, but there is very little left at this point. What parts were you interested in?

[1953Richie]

Any suspension parts as long as there’s no rust. All my suspension parts need to be powder coated as this machine spend most of it’s life at the beach.

[MikeKC]

@1953Richie

as long as there’s no rust

LOL - on a 2000 model - I needed a good laugh today, or someone show me one, and impress me

[1953Richie]

You did say you were in California. There’s always hope. I do have your parts list you sent out. I’ll revisit the parts and get request to you.

Thanks

[JarJarJava]

LMK when you have looked over the list, see if anything is left.

RE: suspension - front or rear? What exact model do you have? 2-seat, 4-seat, “truck”, etc. Please don’t say “e825” because they were all e825’s back then.

Thanks

[1953Richie]

4 seat 2001 The wife loves it, me not so much. So I’m the one left to figure this out. Needs a total rebuild or find some better parts for this old rust bucket. Expensive parts are good, transmission, motor, batteries and charger. Back in a few days as the vacation has started.

Thanks