HINTS TO BEGINNERS

Shannon News, 7 September 1928, Page 4

HINTS TO BEGINNERS

Only those who drove motor cars before the introduction of the demountable rim can appreciate its convenience. When a tyre was punctured in the old days it meant from half an hour to an hour, and even more, of extremely hard and dirty work, but nowadays jacking up the car is the hardest part of the work.

When difficulty is found in changing tyres now it is generally due to carelessness in preparing the rim and Avhecl felloe by cleaning off the rust or to carelessness in putting the spare tyre on to the rim. A minute of easy \Vork and extra care in this respect will often! save fifteen to tAventy minutes of hard Avork.

Care must also be exercised to liave the new rim and tyre true on the wheel for if the rim is placed on the wheel so as to be out of true the tyre will wear quickly. And, besides, much the the same on the running of the wheel may be- produced as in the case of a bent axle. Mounting the Rim. In order to have the demountable rim tight upon the felloe of the wheel practically all rims are made secure by means of wedges. These wedges may be in the forms of rings or may be six or eight short wedges. The way to put on a rim is as follows:—First scrape with a file or sandpaper all rust from the rim and felloe band; then turn the wheel so that the valve stem is on top; then lift the top of the rim on to the -wheel, inserting the valve stem in its hole, and when satisfied that the lug near the valve stem and on tile inside of the rim will fall into its hole on the felloe, “slam on'' the bottom of the rim. Next put on the wedge ring (if that type of ring), and screw on all the lugs by hand. Then in criss-cross screw up the bolts with a wheel spanner till a gentle pressure is required, after which go round the. rim a number of times, giving each nut a half-turn until all are tight. If one nut or bolt is turned up hard immediately, and then the next to it, the rim will take an uneven, position.' Even a strong man will not be able to correct this by turning up on the opposite nuts. Trouble Sources.

Difficulty in getting the rims on the wheels is usually due to one of three causes: The rim may be bent or wheel warped; there may be rust on the rim or felloe band; the valve stem may not be in the centre of its hole in j rim. The first of the above is unusual, and there is practically no remedy other than replacing. As there is little clearance between the rim and the wheel the slightest amount of dirt or runt on the rim or felloe band, and especially around the lug or its hole, will make getting the rim on difficult. A moment's time in cleaning before attempting to put the rim on will, therefore, more than pay. A large portion of the difficulty of getting the rim on is due to the valve stem not being properly centred when the tyre is put on the rim. When the valve stem is not in the centre of its hole it will be too close or too far from the lug on the inside of the rim (the purpose pf which is to transmit the drive of the wheels to the rim and tyre). When this is the case the remedy is to let some of the air out of the tyre and then rcinflate.