OUCH! You went about it the hard way, but glad you got it done! I swapped in an Amazon "DuroMax XP18HPE" (they don't sell them anymore, you can only get the 16hp one) but quite frankly, it's a tad overpowered unless you're towing stuff around on your property. I get on the road and it reaches top speed in no time! A few hints for others looking to do this swap: 1. Remove the bed! It's so much easier to get in/around. No need to remove the seat and associated plastic. 2. Remove the engine via the four bolts that hold it to the plate and the little rubber mount I saw you welding on earlier. No need to remove that whole plate. 3. Use a pickle fork and a dead-blow hammer to separate the clutch assembly from the engine. You don't need to remove the big nut (30mm) but just the Allen head screw (it's really long, like 4" or 5"?) That's what holds the whole clutch assembly to the engine. Occasionally tap the big nut with a steel hammer to shock it. It will come off without breaking. Keep the Woodruff key! The one that comes with your new engine may be too tall; if the clutch doesn't just slide right on, use the original. 4. You should be able to re-use the choke setup from the old engine just fine (mine had no trouble fitting, even with the new plastic intake assembly.) No need to remove the cable. The little gray plastic choke lever just pulls right off. 5. The charge coils are a different story, I suspect the one in my new engine is small, if you're up to the task I'd suggest swapping the coil out of the original engine to maintain a decent charging system. Do this before mounting the new engine, it's not something you want to do while it's in the buggy. I'll probably regret this down the line as I didn't change mine out. Looking at possibly using a small tractor generator to generate a lot more power since I have extra lights I put on mine (turn signals, interior light, light bars, etc.) Swapping means pulling the whole flywheel off. Not too hard to do, but a lot of extra steps to do so. 6. Throttle cable bracket is integrated into the top plate of the original engine (at least, it was on mine.) I made mine from a piece of 1.5" angle aluminum (1/8 thick, about 1.5" long.) With a sharpie, just figure out where to mount it and drill holes. Use a tap for the original screw and clamp setup. You just need one solid mount point on the engine (I used one of the bolts that holds the shroud on.) I did have to cut out some parts to shape it to fit, the Sharpie is great for marking where you need to cut. If the throttle itself is STIFF (since this is usually meant for stationary equipment) you'll need to loosen the throttle pivot nut so it returns with spring tension. The original throttle return spring should be easy to put on the new engine but make sure it clears everything. I had to use a flat head screwdriver to gently dent in the bracket the spring was catching on. You want that strong return spring since you've got the throttle attached to a big pedal. 7. I reinstalled the heat shield that goes where the gas tank was (not sure it's necessary to be honest.) 8. Install a fresh fuel filter and fill your tank with fresh gas. New engines don't come with oil so don't forget to add enough oil. FYI my new fuel filter was only 3/16" vs. 1/4" - check your fuel line out and make sure you get the right size, and use decent clamps (I use the kind that just need pliers to open, they work just fine.) 9. Once you've got it in and wired up (all the wires except the charging setup should just plug in, refer to your wiring diagram) turn the gas and choke on - give it a start! Should start right up. It may idle high (mine did) so the screw to adjust this is on the carb; it's a little plastic Phillips head screw; unscrew it until you don't hear the engine RPM decreasing anymore. If you don't, the clutch will want to engage and will be hard to shift in/out of gears. 10. This clutch/CVT system is pre-set, there's not much you can do outside of moving the spring position in the driven clutch (it's a torsional spring, not a compression spring despite the immediate appearance.) You won't get a higher top speed, but you'll have a lot more acceleration and if you're towing something it won't struggle hardly. "While you're in there" it's not a bad idea to replace the belt. Be sure to put that rubber mount on the back left side of the engine on, it keeps the engine from twisting enough for the belt to come loose. Re-use all the nice nylock nuts they use, this makes sure nothing comes loose! IF your drive clutch is squealing when you take off, remove that big 30mm nut and the outer clutch setup will pop off. Clean the inside and the weights (the blocks) with brake cleaner really good. I do like this Predator engine, mine does not have any kind of oil pump system like this does, but it was also only $350 and shipped to my door. My original seized up on me while out on a ride with my son - it developed an oil leak (still can't find it) and the oil sensor never kicked in to stop it. Couldn't start it by electric starter or pull start (couldn't even get it to turn.) Oh, and get yourself a linear actuator for the bed! All you need is a few wires, a DPDT on/off/on rocker switch and a long bolt to mount it to the frame. The spring loaded latch on mine gave out ages ago and one day when I ran up to the gas station with my gas tanks, it popped off and nearly dropped all my cans on the ground! Thankfully I bungee cord them through the handles so they stayed in place.
Thanks for checking out the video and leaving such a detailed reply !! I had to weld my bottom motor mount it was broken. I like that DuroMax motor too. I just got lucky scoring this 459 Predator for 199 at my local HF. All of your tips are spot on. My big complaint is the charging system. I saw vegas carts is coming out with an external alternator. That would be ideal. Those mini charging coils do not work well at all. I get about 4-6 weeks out of my battery before needing to charge it back up. But I love having the pull start backup.
Is the clutch a direct replacement ? My lm400 has some wear on the pulley faces. A new clutch is $500 bucks. Looking for a more affordable option. Thanks
Hi Rick, thanks for checking it out. I did this swap a while back now. If I remember correctly I shed the cable linkage off the old Honda gx390. I maybe had to move the mounting bolt. I will try and take a video or pic of the setup this coming weekend for you.
