HINTS AND TIPS

Shannon News, 25 November 1927, Page 4

HINTS AND TIPS

Care of Doors. Stemming the doors of a car cracks the paintwork and produces rattle. By a little attention the necessity for slamming will be obviated and the coachwork generally will be found to last much longer. Once a fortnight, or every 800 or 1000 miles, a little oil should be put on the latches and squirted into the locks and on to the hinges. The door will then "snap to" the slightest push or pull. It is as well also to drop a little oil into the lock, as on medium and low priced cars the lock springs become rusty and lose their tension. A strip of polished metal screwed along the bottom of the doorway will prevent wear of the bodywork. Valves That Stick or Scrape. v

A valve stem scraping in its guide always sounds as if a piston were scraping, and many motorists have gone to the trouble of taking down their motors, not knowing that the noise originated from , so simple a thing as a valve. As a rule the oiling of valve stems is not advisable, for the reason that the heat of the metal and the close adjustment of the stem and guide causes the oil to become gummy and eventually to hinder the movement of the valve. However, a little oil and graphite used occasionally is the simplest remedy for a sticking or scraping valve. In a valve-in-head motor it is only necessary to light high grade engine oil over the valve springs. The necessary amount of oil will work down through th e guide and lubricate it. In the case of an L-head motor the oil should be applied to each valve (when open) through the sparkplug openings in the cylinder head. If a valve has been sticking it may be necessary to give a similar treatment of kerosene first before treating with oil and graphite.