MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2234, 21 August 1914, Page 3

MOTORS & MOTORING

[By Clutoh.]

To Avoid Trouble on the Road. The following useful hints for beginners were recently published by the "Motor""For the maintenance of a car, to ensure reliable running, no trouble tnust be shirked, no warnings disregarded, and if a strange noise Is heard it must be attended to at once; 5 it must not be allowed to 'wear off * as in this procoss some part may -!rear out/, and it fs only by this careful attention to detail that one gets to understand the car. Some motorists delight ui boasting that they never have any

.trouble, and • never do anything but fill up their tanks. It is they who have the big bills to settle when" tho overhaul comes. ■ "Leather cone clutches -undoubtedly are the best from most—if not allpoints of view, but the leather must bo ■ kept m condition. . A good plan of treatment is to press the clutch, podal down as far as it will go, and keep it in this position by a stick up against tho chassis, seat, or any convenient part. Then take a rough file or a. keyhole saw broken off to about 3 inches long, and scratch the surface of the leather all round, ta get under the hard surface. A little castor oil' may now be rubbed in and left all night to soak It is surprising ivhat a difference this makes to the taking up of the drive, especially if any tendency toward fierceness has been evident. .. "After about six months- it is advisable to take. the back' wheels right off tho axles, and thoroughly clean and oil the brake shoes. It will be found, through rain and washing the car, that . the inside of the drums and the brake shoe connections and springs are quite nisty and possibly seized right up. Paraffin is the only thing to jeloase them in tho latter case, and they, jn turn, must bo dismantled for the pins to be cleaned. If this is not done the •brake may one day be put on and may not spring off _ when ' released, the natural result being sluggishness of the . car and burnt paint In most cases the wheels can only be taken off with the aid of a special wheel drawer. Several designs of this useful tool are obtainable from the large accessory houses, and are illustrated in their lists. A Choked Silencer. . "Another cause of loss of power not otherwise discernible may often be round in a choked silencer. This is in proportion to the quality of oil used, as a 'cheap oil will very soon foul up everythmg. When 'prospecting' for. this sort of trouble*, take-a light hammer and tap'the exhaust box all over, and' if it sounds dull and muffled, it is a sure sign that it wants cleaning,' and to do this it must be taken to pieces and the battle plates, taken out, however, it rings at all and gives a clear sound, it may be taken for granted that'it is fairly clean.. "No tiro manufacturer ever sells tires without advertising the; importance of maintaining the correct pressure, but a glance at quite a largo percentage of cars shows that the tires are flatter than thoy should be. Better, to have them a little too hard than too soft, as .the latter condition causes almost unlimited friction in the walls of . the tire, and their life is thus cut short A pressure gauge does, not cost much extra when buying a. pump, and it is money well invested. : , "If you purchase a jiew car, you ere supposed to get a.,complete kit of tools, but this term is very elastic, and care should be exercised to see that tfcev include a hammer;, a large and a small shifting - spanner, a set of spanners, a magneto spanner, a set of box 'jpannera screwdrivers, pliers, a file or two, a chisel, a tommy, /etc. Tire levers,-of course, must be carried, also a : pump, jack, and oil-caii. If there'is no leather case in which to keep these tools, a box should be made to go ort or under the running board, and the spaces should be tilled up with cloths for cleaning purposes, which latter will aliso stop the tools rattling. . "When _ touring. or even on short' country rides, it is well to carry a few spares and handy odds and'ends, such as an inlet and an exhaust valve (it should not be forgotten that rhese require grinding in when fitted), some emery powder, some copper wire, insulated wire, sparking plugs, spare tubes, i! rench chalk, a spare, cover, a tube of solution and a sheet of .sandpaper (for cleaning the tube at a puncture). Maps of the district m which it is intended to tour should be carried, and, to enable these to be seen at night-time, and to save a possible drenching during a journey to the, car lamps, a little dash lamp is a useful accessory."

A Spinning Clutch. Many motorists are no doubt troubled by the male member 'of tie clutch continuing to rotate after withdrawal and having ■to bo stopped bv moving the gear lever, thus bringing or attempting to bring,' a moving wheel into mesh with a stationary one. Every time this is done it wears the edges or tho gear wheels away, and produces a grating noise. This fault may be duo to the face that the clutch- . shaft, or tlio bearing on which the clutch revolves, is not sufficiently lubricated. On some cars ,thia spindle, or spigot, bearing is" a continuation of the engine crankshaft, and if there is . any lack of lubrication the friction of the revolving .crankshaft will cause the clutch to continue to spin. A writer in the "Autocar" discussing the question, says:—"l find the .bcsst method to adopt in, those cases is to dismount_ the male part of the clutch and see if all grease grooves are clear and not clogged up, and if necessary I cut more grooves to ensure that thebearing as perfectly lubricated. It is also a good plan to examine'the shaft on which the clutch revolves (that is the continuation of the crankshaft) for any signs of_ roughness, which may be due to partial seizure having .taken place previously. If the shaft is rough it_ should be. carefully smoothed down witih a piece of oilstone; do not use emery, as it cannot W entirely removed from the steel and will' .cause wear. By careful attention to tlieso 'details and the; regular lubrication of the clutch bearing; the clutch should \ cease to revolve on the depression of the pedal, and so obviate any waiting to _ engage the low gear from a standstill, and . enable gears to bo changed more easily." Petrol Consumption Fallacies. In few things does the amateur practise so muoh self-deception as in petrol consumption tests. Usually he makes them in the rule-of-thumb fashion and .tho margin of error is very great. Ho tests in small quantities for short distances, and then elaborates the results into standard terms, 'which he accepts as the average for his car with a particular carburetter. So many things govern petrol consumption that a final reading can only bo arrived at when many tests are taken with scientific care. Such factors as road conditions, weather, load, fuel, chassis efficiency, and carburetter adjustment must bo. taken into account, and very few iimateurs havo the facilities or tho pationce to do this accurately. Overturned Cars, , Under certain circumstances the fierce application of powerful brakes may cause the overturning of tho car, ana not a fow accidents of this kind havo been reported. It is folly of the worst kind to force the pace without regard to prevailing circumstances, and then ' got out of difficult situations by frani tic brajsing.. Disaster bound tQ fol-

low such tactics, which in themselves aro. proof positive of rank bad driving. A Four-Seater Light Car. Light cars will not always he twoseaters. The "Light Car" says:—We wot of one sucli vohiclo with nn engjne of only 1400 c.c. approximately, which, can attain a epeed on the level, with a four-seated body and four up, of 47 m.p.h. The ciir is a British production, and is made not 100 miles from London. .When speeds such' as this are attainable with four-seaters hating cylinders of such comparatively small capacity we need look no further for proof of the efficiency of the modern engine.