WHEN THE ENGINE RUNS A TEMPERATURE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 28, 26 April 1927, Page 11

WHEN THE ENGINE RUNS A TEMPERATURE

DON’T KEEP ON DRIVING; STOP AND INVESTIGATE Fe\'er in a human being may inditate merely some digestive disturbance, or it may be the symptom of a serious, deep-seated disorder. An overheated automobile engine may mean only that you need more water in the radiator, or it .may be the sign of some grave mechanical difficulty. A great many motorists think that a fresh supply of water will always act as a cure for an over-heated engine. This is not true when file overheating has progressed to the stage where it injures the cylinders, pistons and bearing?. WHAT OVERHEATING MAY DO. For example, bearings will crack if •objected to tremendous heat. Heat causes oil to lose its lubricating power, nnd therefore great heat may cause frictional scouring of the cylinder walls and wearing on the pistons. On the other hand, overheating may mean that your radiator is leaking water, that you have forgotten to fill it, or that it is clogged with sediment from dirty water. It may mean that you have been driving for a long distance in first or second speed, or that the fan belt is not at proper tension to give an adequate cooling draft. If overheating occurs on the road, do not keep on driving, but stop and investigate. Filling up the cooling system with cold water after the engine has cooled somewhat will afford temporary relief. Try to find the cause of the overheating—whether it is entirely due to the cooling system, or whether it has some other mechanical basis. IF YOU MUST GO ON lien it is absolutely necessary to continue the journey, overfeed the engine with oil. This will cause it to Rive off volumes of smoke through the exhaust, but the additional oil will protect the cylinders and pistons. In case you cannot get either water or oil. and cannot find the cause of the overheating. telephone to the nearest garage and wait for help to arrive. As a general precaution, always keep the radiator of your car full of water, and make sure that it is watertight.

RUNNING A CAR

. THE COST OF IT /' £2 A WEEK MINIMUM An English motorist says he has recently evolved a stereotyped reply to the eternal question of what it costs to run a car. It is this: “ Two pounds a "'eek minimum, and after that whatever I care to spend on it.” The figure has been arrived at by allowing one Pound a. week for depreciation, on a car valued about £2OO when new, and ot her pound a week to cover everyelse—a modest allowance withal. This is a bare minimum, allowing nothing for repairs and cleaning, which have to be done at home. Actually he spends considerably more than two Pounds weekly, if not actually on the °h items that would not arise without it. course, the argument is frequently fn VE K tllat if a man is not motoru? he would be spending money in otll6 ! r way, but it is the opinion r the writer that a far stronger case generaHy made out for this than is arranted by the facts—a day on the v n ® ls court or digging the garden is ardly so expensive as a 150-mile run. ,r* , t* l ? new motorist understand nn ai li y kis liabilities and let the old But i to help him to do this. swa i* llle experienced one, in anmat nR Questions of expense, also nirts ** Quite clear that even on a very dr~~ es * income motoring both can be th* e ancl is "ell worth doing. Like all 8:00(1 things of life, certain sacrif ® s fre required for its attainment all but a few fortunates. a smart little car on the road aat ls there only by keeping an 1 1- ct watc h on the purse strings in s Lh ections - But ask anv owner of that ? Car w l letk er the strict discipline hu u e has to impose on himself and on t v^ OUse hold in order to keep the car the road, perhaps even for only six while 6 montlls in the year, is worth _The ** Ayes ** have it.