Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-02
THINGS MECHANICAL
ABOUT THE AUTO

Cam wear sometimes mas a SOOd zeal
to do with the decrepit performance of
ancient motors. When the cams are
case hardened the hardened surface
often becomes entirely abraded If a
renewal is not possible, it is necessary
to reface the cam to it's original con-
tour and lengthen the valve litter or
stem accordingly.
Gasoline is thinner" than water and
will pass through a crevice so small
that water will not leak through it.
Advantage can be taken of this in
testing valves for leaks. Take the
valve, in place in its cage, turn it up
side down and pour gasoline into the
little cup formed by the valve and the
cage. If the valve will hold gasoline
1t Will not leak gas Gasoline or kero-
sene may also be used to carry lubri-
eating oil into crevices where the oil
alone cannot penetrate. For washing
out the engine and similar work use
kerosene and not gasoline. Gasoline
will go down to the bare metal and
leave a surface that is rather harsh
and difficult to Intricate at first while
kerosene will take off foreign matter
and leave the metal in fine condition
to receive lubricant.
| Chain wear is something which is
| easily detected by the amount of noise
which the transmission makes, es-
! pecially when running under fairly
| light load. Under the influence of the
| dust and dirt of the road, and the
/ lubricant, which frequently acts as a
| sort of binder for the grit, the abrasion
of the rivets and rollers in the chain
and the teeth of the sprockets is very
great. Up to a certain point the dis
agreeable feature of the racket which
the parts make is the only drawback
encountered. After that a danger point
Is reached when the parts become so
weakened that it Is best to renew the
chain and regrind the sprocket teeth
The need of the latter treatment may
easily be determined by inspection
The degree of wear in the chain may
be observed by stretching that member
on the floor and then COMPRISING it
end to end, as much as possible with
out doubling it up The difference be-
tween the two lengths thus determined
measures the wear When the stretch
thus observed exceeds a couple of
inches in a chain of no more than me-
dunn length it is best to renew it.
There is no good reason for using a
coil that requires over One-half ampere
of current when the coil is operating
continuously. The earlier coils re-
quired as much as two and three am
peres, with the result that a dry cell
battery was almost out of the question.
A good rule for the adjustment of the
vibrator is to give the least tension
that ii will stand and at the same time
run smoothly. Use care to see that
the vibrator points are not flashing If
they persist in flashing clean the vi
orator points with a piece Of 90 sand
paper. Do not neglect to read the
makers instructions if you have them
The old familiar scene of disabled
car by the roadside is not so common
today as was the case but short time
| ago. Automobiles are gradually
| reaching a state of reliability, and
owners of good cars, who have little OF
no trouble with their machines, become
! careless in the keep of them because OF
| their reliability. Motor cars, like hui
man beings, must be properly cared
for; fed, cleaned, clothed and nour-
| ished when ''sick," hence it is advis-
! able for every owner to know the anat-
omy of his car, to be able to doctor the
weakened parts when necessary.
Sufficient attention is not given tt
| the question of gear-boX fabrication
Usually the gear-box is filed nearly tt
the top with thick grease and the
owner is satisfied so long as the grease
does not run out and the gears are moi
noisy. Such a method results iii g
great deal of absorption of power. Fol
instance, take the temperature of g
box which has run with a little mod.
erately heavy oil in the bottom GUS
enough to splash up all over the inside
of the box is all that is necessary
Now take out the oil and fill the boz
with grease. Run the same distance
and again ascertain the temperature
the increase in heat is most astonish-
| ing. Indeed, the boxes frequently be.
come so hot that they cannot be-
touched with the hand Or again
with the clutch out and gear in neu-
trail, turn the gears by hand-with the
little oil they run easily and continue
to run after the hand is removed. bu-
with the grease 1t is hard work tc
turn them at all and they stick in the
lubricant as soon as the motive power
Is taken away. A distinct difference
is sure to be in the car when coasting
and this brings home the effect thai
| such useless absorption of power mus
will keep grit, pieces of metal off the
gears, etc, in suspension, and these
particles are continually getting be.
/ tween the teeth and by their presence
adding to their number. On the othel
hand, with an oil, when you empty
the gear-box you will find the sole
/ particles collected in the bottom of tn,
| box. II using a little oil in the gear
box is found to result ir the car be
| coming noisy this can be remedied by
covering the box with felt or som,