CAR MAINTENANCE.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 304, 5 September 1929, Page 7

CAR MAINTENANCE.

USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS. The fracture of a valve spring when one is at a considerable distance from a town where repairs may be carried out need not occasion much alarm, for a successful temporary repair may be made as follows and the trip resumed with little delay. The two broken halves of the spring should be removed and reversed, so that the two flat ends bear on one another, and when thus replaced on the valve they will riot work into one another as they did when the fracture occurred, so making the valve useless. However, the repair is made more satisfactory still if a washer is available which may be placed between the two.

Causes of Engine Running Down. What is known as running down—that is, the engine starts well but | stops after two or three revolutions i —may be caused by any of the folj lowing : Water or sediment in the carburetter, loose, connections, break- | down or any other disarrangement of I the ignition, such as would otherwise interfere with starting, a weak or imperfectly-recuperated battery—frequently the latter which suddenly j fails to supply current, a leak in the j water jacket that admits water to j the combustion space, “ seizing ” or ' sticking of the piston in the cylinder j on account of a failure of the cooling J system, heated bearings that seize and interfere with operation, poorlymatched or badly-adjusted new parts —particularly pistons that cause heating and perhaps seizing from | friction, and lost compression from stuck valves, leaky pistons, etc. J Car-washing Hint. [ When washing a car of which the fpan<A s > bonnet and still retain some of their original gloss, permanent scratches are far less lia--1 ble be made if the sponge and leather are applied in two directions I only, that is, in approximatelystraight lines at right angles.- If a ! scratch should then be made it will be “ worked out ” during the course of washing on subsequent occasions, but if, as is more usual, a circular motion is given to the sponge and leather, scratches, when they occur, will remain clearly apparent for a eonsiderably-longer period, if not indefinitely. A Mudguard Squeak.

A squeak which took a long time to locate by reason of its resembling one from spring shackles was eventually found to arise from the line of contact between a mudguard and its stay. Often there are packing strips of wood between these parts ; the wood may shrink, and thus allow a slight relative movement to cause a faint squeak, synchronising with spring deflections due to irregularities of road surface.

Paint for Upholstery Blemishes. Blemishes of the upholstery due to cracking and scaling of the “ enamel ” of the leather can be rendered almost imperceptible by paint of appropriate colour applied to the damaged places with a small brush. Any paint that is unintentionally applied to the unharmed surfaces should be wiped off at once. When the paint is dry a gloss can be given to it by a liberal application of leather reviver or prepared wax.

A Spark Plug Terminal. Notwithstanding the fact that there are already numerous ways of fastening cables to spark plugs this idea may interest motorists because of its neatness and simplicity. First cut the wires flush with the rubber insulation. Then take an ordinary brass screw-eye, insert it exactly in the centre of the cable end, and screw in. The eye can be flattened by filing or giving it a few blows with a hammer against an iron block.

To Circumvent Dirty Control. In some carburetters the petrol duct to the jet issues from the float chamber close to the “ floor ” of the latter, and an easy passage is afforded for particles of foreign matter. One can overcome the trouble by blocking up the original exit from the float chamber and providing another at a higher level. A short piece of copper tube suitably shaped is soldered in holes drilled in the carburetter—one in the duct and another liin above the bottom of the float chamber. The petrol outlet from the float chamber is now above the bottom, to which height sediment fails to reach ; therefore it remains in the float chamber without doing any harm.

A Simple Wind Screen Wiper. For use in wet weather a very efficient wind screen wiper can be made by taking a piece of fairly large gauge stiff steel wire and bending it into the form of an elongated U. One end should be bent over at

right angles to form a handle, and the wire can be covered with rubber tubing. This can be slipped over the wind screen and swept backwards and forwards to remove raindrops.