CARE OF SPRINGS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19153, 9 November 1927, Page 6

CARE OF SPRINGS.

HOW TO GIVE PROPER ATTENTION. Of recent years a great deal more attention has been given to springs and spring maintenanre than has been afforded that important part of chassis construction hitherto. Springing has been studied from every angle and under all conditions, and the result of this concentration of expert attention on the matter is seen in the. very fine suspension which the modern car can boast. As a matter of fact, there is little to complain about in car suspension to-day; even in vehicles which may be considered to be in the lowprice category; and what is perhaps more noticeable, and, in a way, more remarkable, is the fact that the big proportion of designers have adopted what is, perhaps, the oldest form of spring suspension as applied to automobiles—the semi-elliptic spring. Manv designers have come back to semi-elliptic springing who have previously flirted with other and perhaps less orthodox methods. Firms who have at one time or another adopted full cantilever or semi-cantilever (otherwise known as quarter elliptic) have returned, after much actual trial of these methods, to the semi-elliptic, and have found in the older method the more suitable and the more efficient type considered from every point of view of spring service. But even the ,best springing system—and it may here he stated that not all chassis constructions are best suited by the semielliptic system, and that some are expressly built to be adapted for other special springing systems—cannot operate successfully unless it is properly looked after and due care is taken b? the user in the matter of maintenance.

Springs need attention just as much ns any other part of the ear mechanism. The shackling of the springs is a point in question. Perhaps tho hulk of motorists do not realise how much the sha-ckles hare to do with efficient rir operation. Loose and worn shackles cause rocking and side swnv. Loose shackles make for side skidding, especially in the case of well loaded fivesea ter tourers and closed cars. They make the car unstable on grease, and they add to the wear and tear of tyres, because they cause sudden side strains of considerable weight to be imposed upon them. Shackle? should have pood rigid side plates, and the best, makers adopt the f-ery sensible practice of fixing the side plates rigidly together. This means a creat deal in preventing: side sway. Then, again, makers of high-grade cars make the shackle bolts a ground (it in the plates, and ensure accuracy of fitting in the bushed holes in the spring ends and in the chassis side frame or bracket. These points are important. Really good fitting here is an assurance against side sway, but ample constant lubrication is necessary. or such wear will take place as will cause looseness and wobble. Hardened and ground pins and proper forced grease lubrication pre the points to be kept in mind. And the same applies to the leaves of the springs, tvhich should he oil or grease lubricated and protected with spring gaiters. Attention to these points is imperative, if freedom from wear and consequent side instability is to be attained, and the amount of time and trouble taken in attention here is repaid a hundredfold in the better operation of the vehicle under all conditions and its longer life.

Careful inspection of the propeller shaft and universal joints .should be made at least twice a year. A bent shaft will make a car rough, and any shift in the joints, due to loose bolts, will cause rattles and unbalanced condition. Improper lubrication or small lumps of mud Catherine on the shoes of the joints will upset the balance of the shaft and start extremely bod vibratory noises. If a' whistling noi.se is heard when the engine is idling, and not on a full, it indicates a kaky joint in the intake manifolcl. Usually a gasket needs replacing.