OIL THE SPRINGS

Shannon News, 21 May 1929, Page 4

OIL THE SPRINGS

A NEW METHOD. Motorists and automotive? engineers have long been seeking to improve the method of lubricating springs. Because of the comparative inaccessibility of automobile springs they are frequently neglected. Dust, dirt and water work into the springs, making frequent and efficient' lubrication necessary if the springs are to be kept from Doing virtually welded together,, nullifying the ■ advantage of laminated spring construction. New springs ride easily because they are greased with graphite before they are assembled, but when the lubricant dries out, the spririgs; rust and lose their flexibility, • eventually crystallising to such a degree that any severe jolt may break them. To counteract ■ this tendency and to make the necessary lubrication so easy that there will be no cause for neglecting the springs, a self-lubricating spring has i boon designed by an American spring company. Slots one quarter of an inch . wide and two inches long, overlapping one-quarter of an inch, with slots in adjacent leaves, provide a channel for the grease to be distributed across the face of each leaf by capillary attraction and the flexing of the loaves. By means of alcmite grease cups, each end

of the spring can easily be filled with grease. It is stated that ir. this way sufficient grease is provided completely to lubricate the leaves for approximately 3000 miles. Tcst3 made by .the designer of the self-lubricating spring showed that old springs drilled with over- kipping grease slots and filled with an ordinary grease gun, not on.lv produced greater flexibility and freedom from squeaks, but .also materially increased the mileage received from a set of tyres. Cushioning the spring leaves with grease also saves motor and chassis from a certain amount of de vastating vibration.