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SOME HINTS AND TIPS
For The Owner Driver
Driving "Over Tar
When driving on newly tarred roads, most motorists think that to go slowly over the actual tarred patch is sufficient. They make" the mistake of accelerating immediately the tarred patch is passed.
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'Throttles should "be depressed only gradually, for the trends of the tyre are still covered with tar which is thrown on the body if the wheels die revolved" too quickly.
Brakes After Washing
IL
In very often happens that after a car has been washed the brakes prove to be Ineffective." and the best way to dry them is to drive at about 25 m.p.b.. with the brakes alightly applied. The
on
friction thus set up soon dries the aim of water that has been deposited the brake shoes. M the car has been washed at a garage, bear in mind" this possibility of temporarily
weak brakes when you come to drive the car away, as in such circumstances this point is pro- bably more easily overlooked. Not all cars, however, are subject to this loss of brake efficiency.
Spring Squeaks
After they have been on the road for a time some cars deve- lop squeaks in the springs. This is often due to water and dirt having found their way in be- tween the blades. It rust has formed it should be removed by opening the leaves and injecting " paraffin. The car should be jacked up at the chassis frame- not under the axle, since it is necessary to open the leaves-for then the springs, wheels and
axies actually hang by their own weight from the frame, and the blades of the springs tend to separate. A screwdriver of special spring opening tool should be used
the leaves still to open farther,
Looseness of the spring clips, may cause a squeak. Wear be- tween shackle bolts and their bearings is another cause of "spring rattle. Excessive side-
play between the shackle and the spring eyes will often re- sult in noise.
pins
The latter trouble can be cured by tightening the nut on the shackle bolt. If this does not cure the noise, the cause is pro- bably wear in the spring eyes and the shackle bolts. Care should be taken, when tightening the shackle bolt nut, to avoid excessive clamping, for this will restrict the free action of the spring and may result in the upper blades breaking.
Shackle pins thas have must be replaced with new 'brer- sized pins the spring eyes being reamed "out to ft.
. PLIOM
Regular greasing and spraying of the springs with penetrating oll wil, however, help to avöld these troubles.
Rusted-up Nuts
It very often happens that nuts which are continually exposed to the weather become rusted up and dumcult to unscrew. The best plan of action to adopt then Is to place rags or cotton wool on
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the nut and to pour paratën over the rags. Leave the nuts soaking they for about 12 hours, and should then be free of hard rust. Door Hinges
"On an elderly car it is often found that the door hinges wear and rattle. The best method of curing this to remove the pins of hinges and to fit oversize "pins, haring reamed out the hole to # A more simple method is to remove the pins and to bend them before replacing. Al- slightly though this may make the door a little stiff at first it" will at least remove all trace of rattle.
This
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Motor House Chocks Garages are stili modern con
often veniences
produced by builders with little specialised ex-
and for this reason" perience, many of them are built only just big enough to hold the car for which they are intended, being so, great care is called for when the car is garaged to see that the front wings do mos foul the back wall of the garage. If however, a fairly thick block of wood is nalled to the door, of such a height that the wheels cannot run over it. and in a posi- 'tion to stop
with the the car front wings just clear of the wall, the car may then be driven, slow- ly into the garage without any risk of damaging the wings. `
Guarding Against Functures There is no minor trouble more annoying than a puncture," and although we motorists are all in the hands of the gods in this matter, there is a type of punc- ture which can often be avoided -that is. the flint puncture. Careful owner-dilvers regularly test the "pressures of their tyres: 1ł the same time, the cover should be examined for small sharp stones which have become embedded in the tread, These should be removed with a screw- driver or a similar tool, Somme people use. a penknife for this operation, but this is scarcely · advisable, as there is a danger of further cutting the cover and da- maging the air tube. Holes and cuts
of any appreciable size should be filled with some sort of plastic stopping compound.
Adjustable Spanners
· An adjustable spanner should be regarded purely as a makeshift tool, and it should never be used if a set or tube spanner of the correct size is vallable. Oll the screw, and slides occasionally. Ne- ver tighten a nut with the ends of the laws. Slide the nut as far into the jaws as it will go, zo, as to force the spanner on to the nut and prevent it slipping....
Tar Stains
The arrival of spring usually heralds the approach of the tar- ring season, much to the diagust of the motorist with a new car. Car spots on the bodywork of the car can be removed without dim- culty if a mixture of bolled un- seed oil and turpentine in equal parts
used. The mixture should be applied with tissue paper, and the sooner it is used the easter the tar comes away.
Should linseed oil and turpen- tine not be available, ari alterna-
SACHS
Outboard
Motor.
The small engine.
of highest Power
Speed
Simplicity
Reliability
Economy
For free demonstration apply to
F. FELD & Co., Ltd.,
Pedder Building,
HONG KONG.
HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 1934,
MOTORJOTTINGS
tive which is quite successful is vaseline. Before it is applied the car should be hosed wherever the tar is sticking, perferably with lukewarm water.
Dry with leather by dabbing. The vaseline" should be applied a soft plece of linen, and the splashes rubbed gently until completely removed. The rag should be changed fre- All superfluous grease quently. should be wiped off and the car washed down with slightly warm water and soft soap. Various ready-prepared tar removers are available.
ec.
Care of the Battery The battery is probably the most neglected unit of the car, It should be examined occasionally If good service is to be maintain
Remove the porcelain Aller plug from each cell, and examine the level of the electrolyte by looking into the cell, if necessary- using an electric torch. On no account a naked flame near the cells, as the gas given off by them constitutes an explosive mixture.
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Add distilled water to bring the lever in each cell up to about fin. above the tops of the plates. pouring the water in the, cells through a glass funnel so as to avoid spilling any over the top of the battery.
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Washing Don'ts Dan't wash the winding win- dows with a hose; running water may drain past the windows and rust the winding mechanism.
Don't use the nozzle
on the hose pipe to force dirt off the Detach bodywork,
it in fluid
form
Don't use hand pressure to re- move dirt, the grit will scratch the pairit.
If a sponge and bucket are used in lieu of a hose, don't for- get to change the water frequent- ly.
Pinking
It is surprising the number of motorists who do not realise the value of the many non-pinking fuels now on the market. With the small, high compression en- gines of to-day occasional pink- ing is only to tie expected, and iri nine cases out of ten a little experimenting with fuels will be found beneficial.
Taking Delivery Don't be in too great a hurry to drive a new car away from the agent's premises. Have the cor- rect amount of upper-cylinder lubricant mixed with the Ørst tank of petrol. Make sure that there is oil in the engine and that the radiator is full. Check the tyre pressures. Sce that you have a complete tool kit and all the... manuals that the car maker pro- vides gratis. Get all the infor- mation you can on handling the car from the agent's service staff. Never drive a new ear from cold without at first allowing the en- "gine to Idle at a fairly brisk speed for a few minutes, so that the parts warm up gradually and the oll gets into circulation. Find out the pressure at which the ol should circulate and register on the oil pressure gauge, Read the Instruction book, preferably in the garage with the car before you.
If the Lights are Dim
If the lights are all dull the
may be caused in many cases by
办
loose. connection-probably
somewhere in the lead to that lamp. Such slackness may cause the lights to "Hicker," and if neglected may eventually cause the lament to fail
Value of a Clean Engine Apart from the fact that a clean engine is good to look at and reflects credit upon its owner............ the habit of cleaning. It is, ope, that ought to be cultivated, for when the engine is being cleaned more oiten than not a nut that.. should be tightened is revealed,
- or some other point which needs attention, and which may give rise in time to serious trouble i it is not attended to, is noticed. Paraffin is a good cleaner, but petrol leaves a brighter finish.
Plug Terminal Nat: Substitute
After, the removal of the spark- ing plugs for inspection purposes it is not uncommon to find that one or more of the nuts which secure the high-tension cables to the plugs is missing. Time can be saved by knowledge of the fact that an ordinary wire paper fas- tener will make a good temporary substitute..
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The Drip Pan Nearly every modern private garage is fitted with a pan to prevent the off and petrol from the engine dripping on to the concrete. Boer, but very few mo- torists trouble to keep it clean Should this pan become saturat. ed with petrol there is always a danger of fire the engine. should packfire. Therefore, when cleaning the car, clean also the drip pan, and perferably sprinkle a little sand or earth in the pan before replacing it under the car. Soldering
On. no account heat a solder- ing iron in a smoky fre. To be successful in soldering everything
must be kept spotlessly clean. Should the ton become, smoked, however, it should be made red- hot before it, is cleaned, and then it must be restored The parts to be soldered should always be cleaned with a me, sandpaper or benzine, but not petrol as very often this too olly Never touch the parts to be kildered
Elusive Noists
When a car is several years old there are manyvelop. For - stance, a tapping sound when the Engine is ticking over is often very hard indeed to trace,
First ascertain if the sound is coming from the tappets which. may be making the nolee, due to having excessive clearances. When it is decided, that, the noise a not due to this, lubricate the tappets very thoroughly with en- gine oil... Should the sound then disappear, worn tappet zuides may definitely, be said to be the cause at the dimquity. Another cause of mysterious "tapping sounds” is the presence of a small flat or one of the cams, thus making the tappets jump at certain speeds,
Wood Beraws
Wood screws that work out of place, due to vibration, can easily be locked in position. The round- headed" type can be locked with an ordinary metal spring washer, whilst the countersunk, type can be locked with a staple or pin. "If it is not necessary to undo the screw frequently. It can be locked
most probable cause is an ex-by punching a burr: on the side
haust battery. To make a quick test try the horn and starter. Should the former be feeble," and the latter fall to turn the engine over briskly, the battery is cer-" tainly run down. Make sure that the charging switch is on “Zuli" or winter charge: start the en- gine by hand and switch off all the lights. Gradually speed up the engine and observe the ammeter. If it swings over to the normal charging position for the speed of the engine, then the cause of the trouble is that the battery » is "down." In an old car minor 'leakages in the cables may cause loss of current if the cnr has been standing for a few days. I the wires are found to be berish- ed or worn they should be renew- ed.
Should the ammeter fall to re-"- spond to the variations in the engine's speed, or there be wild osellations of the needle, these are evidence of belt alin. Tighten the belt, but if it worn, and "bottom" on the pulleys At a new one. Examine the dy- namo commutator and, if it be dirty, clean It, by rotating the dy- namo through the starting han- die, with a piece of silk; dampba : in petrol, hëla against the oogh- mutator, wh
Lamp Bulb
Sometimes a MAT
is troubled with the continual failure of the bulb of one particular lamp. THE
of the screw itself, overcoming an» annoying trouble."
Cloth covered 'Nalls
If it should be necessary to re- move the upholstery from a door, in order to attend to the window winding mechanism, it is useful to have by you a supply of cloth- covered nails from a coach builder. The upholstery is up- ally attached by these cloth-co- vered nails, which are easily re- "movable, but may suffer damage
during the dismantling.
When the upholstery is being "put back in pince these nails
should be driven in with a piece of cork, OT sore similar soft material, used between the nai and the hammer. They should not be hit direct with the metal head of the hammer.
Wheel Changing Few things are more annoying" than to find, on experiencing a puncture, that the defaulting wheel is rusted Armly and im- movably to its hub. Although it may seem an unnecessary pre- caution, it is well worth while oc- casionally jacking, ifp the wheels in tum, removing them,, and. sightly olling the hub. The op- portunity may also be taken, to change over a fehop and rear wheels with the bleet of equalis- ing tyre weare
An irritating noise in a car may be caused by anything and bvery-
thing from a day spring to a lobse flywheel The first step is to trace it. For diagnosing noises the golden rule is to secure a hel- per who can put his ear close to suspected points on the car while the noise 13 in being. The second obvious "wrinkle" is to find a long down slope on which the car can be coasted for several hundred yards with the engine stopped.. This simple test shows whether or not the noise is in the engine.
If the noise continues during a coast in neutral the helper cas clamber about the car, and, in the silence obtained by running. the car with the engine' Idling or stationary. the noise should be traceable to within very fine lim- Ita. It is possible that the noise cannot be provoked except at a good speed, when the helper can- not safely be clambering about on the outside.
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In such cases, attempt to re- produce the noise in the motor house by jumping fairly violently
on the running boards and on the floor of both cockpits. The hel per can then usually put an ear close to the apparent location.
Tracking a Misfire
When a six or eight-cylinder engine begins to misfire on one cylinder on the road it is not worth while making an imme- diate stoppage to trace the faulty sparking plug Even with a pro- per testing instrument It may be quite dificult to identify the faulty unit with any rapidity The correct procedure is to drive on for, say, half a mile, dismount. open the bonnet, and to feel carefully all the sparking plugs.
The plug which has been our of action during the last hat- mile will by that time be almost cold-at all
it will events be quite perceptibly cooler than those which have been firing properly all the time.
A Thing To Avoid Some keen, owners are in the hábit of printing the handles of their screw-drivers and hammers. This is not a wise' thing to do, as the paint tends to causa blisters
CONFIDENCE IN
MECHANICS
To Tell Or Not
A great deal of good. potential and actual, has resulted from the undoubtedly improved stan- dard in garage equipment; and such improvement in appliances generally will give increased con-
the private who habitually or occasionally sends in his car of "servicing or repairs. But' machinery is not all, and there can be no com- unless reliance plète confidence
Adence to
owner
can be placed in the human ele- ment.
In too many instances at pre- sent this is not the case. Every motorist has been irritated at another by im- some time or patient, clumisy and brutal me- thods being used for a perfectly almple operation which required only a little knowledge, and care. The practical remedy, for an un- Batisfactory state of affairs is to have "some definite. standard of comparison and attainment that is capabe of general application.
The most hopeful suggestion is that some organising body should enlist the support of all service stations and garages in order to institute & class of "star" or "badge" mechanics. Qualification for the "star" class would be by examination conducted in the candidate's
garage by A competent inspector of the or- ganising body. The tests would be purely practical. We all pre- fer that our carburetter should pus right quickly rather than that we should be treated to a dissertation
on the theoretical aspect of carburation.
· The then.
ביס
Diagnosis
suggested examination, would consist of diag-f nosis and the correction of common" faults, as might be se lected by the examiner. The questions might range from the repair of a puncture to the re- placement of a broken piston ring or of a fractured spring leaf. Marks.would be deducted for slowness of diagnosis or of carry-
on the hands when the tools are......ing, out the "repair, wrớng me- being used,
thods and slipshod workmanship..
.
The expense need not be great, and it would be well worth the employer's while to defray it. To have a"guarantee of his chanics' proficiency would re- dound to his own benefit, and as the scheme became widely, ad-
me-
opted it would simplify the choosing of new men.
Such a step, it is suggested, is the inevitable consequence of of the motor the popularity vehicle, improved equipment, and a higher standard of require-.. ment on the part of car owners.
WHAT A NOISE LOOKS LIKE
Did you ever see a noise wrigg-. ling? Well, I did. It was at. Joseph Lucas Ltd's main work in Birmingham. last week." "There аге hundreds of fascinating things to see there; indeed, the people who do them and make them would-quite naturally-have been burnt at the stake as wizards not so long ago. But about this wriggling noise: it was a motor born noise. By means of a bit of black magic called an oscillos- cope (or is it oscillograph?) one can actually see the note, or any other noise, for that matter.
The Lucas magicians train up a horn in the way it should go. and then, when it is making a really sound sound, they photo- the graph it; and they keep. negative. or the print, or what- ever it is. and use it as a standard to which all the horn's descen- dants must conformi. „Dr. Turner, the chief wizard, and his merry men need not possess ears to ensure good, uniform results. All they have to do is, to tie a hom down, start it, blowing, and watch the shape of the sound. Thên they twiddle screws and things until the picture is like the stai- dard illustration-and there they are. You go and ask the Lucas people to show you, the next time. you are in Brum.
Vagrant.
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THE 56759,
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