“SUN” SERVICE STATION

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 698, 25 June 1929, Page 6

“SUN” SERVICE STATION

rny ej "Moiordorn'' section ol The So JL Queries and Answers Departme: accurate information regarding mech ever the particular puzzle may be »r or motoring Information of any kind, refer the point to men who are r© respective liDes. All communications must be acc( address (not tor Publication), and sent dom," THE SUN. Auckland. Answe “Light.”— -I have a Rugby car, 1925 model. When new the Ughts were good, but they have gradually faded to dim. I have had the bulbs tested and thev are good. Also the battery is O.K. and all the joints are clean and tight. ' # What about the wires, the switch and the reflectors? If the wires have not been replaced' they may now be m a bad way—insulation worn and so on. If the starter works all right the trouble is not in the battery. Have you tried new globes in the old sockets? “English.” —l drive a 18.50 h.p. English car and have trouble with the engine stopping unexpectedly. After pushing out the clutch to stop I lose the engine, which is very awkward. I travel with the engine throttled down to the idle limit, which is not -excessively slow. I tried an experiment with the ignition and found that when I altered the lever to about half-retard, I got better results. It seems to me from the somewhat meagre details that the trouble -really lies with the carburetter —either the throttle is set too fine or the mixture is too lean, and would suggest you increase that a little. Generally speaking it is not a good policy to travel with the ignition too far advanced. W.T. —I bought a second-hand Ford about six months ago, and ever since I have great difficulty in starting the engine. When 1 do eventually get it going, after a lot of trouble, it runs O.K. To save the battery, I don’t use the starter for starting up. After opening the throttle a little and closing the choke. I turn the engine over half a dozen times. I then set the throttle and spark levers and turn the switch on to battery (the battery is fully charged). But the engine is very hard to turn over. After altenately choking and turning it over with the crank, at last I get it started. But it is hard work, and the trouble- in starting every time takes all the joy out of it. Sometimes as a last resort. I jack up the rear wheel. I may state

jn includes In its service to readers a snt, the oblect ot which 1s to Siva hanlcal and touring subjects. tVhat- i n either diagnosing Irritating troubles, “Headlight" will endeavour to help, or eeognised automobile experts Id tbeir :ompanle<3 by the inquirer's name and - t to THE SUN “Service Station, Motor- ] ers will appear weekly In this column- , that after I have had a short run, and ■ warmed it up, X can start easily on the crank or on the starter. I cleaned the plugs and commutator. How about the gap in the plugs, which seem wide —perhaps I should close in the points a little? The wires on the commutator are all soaked with oil from the breather tube —would this affect starting? * * * Your trouble is probably due to the ■ following:—(1) The cheap and heavy ; grade of oil you are using tends to l gum up your transmision and make starting "difficult. This should be drained out and your crankcase filled ■ with any well-known grade of oil recommended for the model “T.” (2) • The correct spark plug gap is .025 to i .030. (3) The commutator wires [ should be replaced. If the old ones are soaked with oil this will cause a 1 short-circuit. Your nearest authorised ‘ Ford dealer will be pleased to supply ' the replacements you require. ’ “Scotch Motorist.” —I have often seen useful hints in the S.S.S. column of Tuesday’s Sun, and shall appreciate ' some information how to Duco my car. It is an aluminium body mottled and | glazed or sprayed varnish or transpar- ! ent Duco, and after 2i years it is just getting shabby. I would like to know the best method of cleaning off, so that nothing is left on to show up underneath the new transparent Duco I i propose to use. I have a spray gun to . work off a vacuum cleaner which ' works at about 301 b pressure. It seems a good proposition, and many readers j may desire to hear of it. I propose to ’ cover the mudguards with paper . greased to keep free from spray and cleaner. Is this a good method? There has not yet been manufac- [ tured a transparent lacquer which can l be exposed to the sun’s rays without ' deteriorating. Clear lacquer can r safely be used on any article which is 3 not exposed to the sun, but it would l be a waste of money to it as you propose. Curiously enough, the addit tion of a pigment to lacquer allows the [ lacquer to withstand the sun’s rays, ; because the colour picks up and neu- - tralises the destructive ultra-violet 1 rays. You should use a good spar var- ' nish of the best quality obtainable. I Move the present finish with paint > remover, and treat the aluminium with I a lye—a soda wash may be sufficient J —because aluminium is a greasy metal [ to which a finish finds difficulty in adIhering unless the surface is "given a tiny “burr,” or roughening, to allow j the finish to grip.