El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-26


of an automobile engine. have placed
new gaskets in my valve caps, and no
matter how tight the caps are screwed
down there seems to be a leak. The
thread on the caps is rather coarse, and
I would like to know what compound
TO use so that the leak can be stopped,
and yet the caps not burn fast-R
Hoag.
Make a heavy paste from flake
graphite and Sheuac. Apply this 1ree-
" over all the threads and on and
about the shoulder Of the cap. Use
plenty of graphite. This compound
should prevent any leaks past the
threads, and yet should not allow the
cap to burn fast This mixture is used
freely in repair shops where such trou-
bles arise.
Motoring Department. The Herald
Kindly advise me what effect de-
natured alcohol has on carbon Is IL
injurious to use the socalled carbon
remOVers which are being sold to re-
move carbon from the engine2 CD
Can you recommend a good carbon re-
mover which is effective without TAX
ing out the pistOns2-S. Ottenheimer-
Denatured alcohol is not injurious II
used cOnSerVatiV in the cylinders.
Too much should not be used, as it will
pass the piston rings and mix with
1ubricating oil in the base of the en-
CINE. A small quantity of the fluid II
placed in the cylinders at frequent in
will help to soften the carbon When
the motor is started some of this car
bon which has become saturated viii
be blown out through the exhaust. OBJ
There are a number Of carbon removers
on the market, but the merits of any
particular one cannot be indicated. A
reliable supply store can furnish you
with this information and recommend
a particular brand. A number of the
larger garages now have as part OF
their garage equipment a process
which is very rapid, whereWith the
carbon is actually burned out Of the
cylinders by an oxygen process Your
supply store should be able to furnish
you the name Of a responsible concern
capable of doing this work without
making 1t necessary to remove the
cylinders
Motoring Department, The Herald
Kindly advise me as to the best
means of cleaning a cylinder Of its
carbon outside OF scraping- I have an
- car which carbonizes frequently,
and I find scraping too long an opera
tion.-B. Druckerman.
The preceding query furnishes an
answer to your question
Motoring Department The Herald
7 have new fOur-cylinder car. using
the dual ignition system, that is, max
neto and battery, but 1t seems that L
cannot get the motor to pull evenly
at slow speeds. Believing that bet |
ter carburetor adjustment would l
remedy this I had a mechanic readjust /
the car6uretor' but the miss IS sun /
there I have driven the car about /
2000 miles, and when IL was new every |
thing was all right. The miss seems
to have developed lately. Believing
that there may be some small adjust
ment needed I thought best to INQUIRE
through your paper. The mechanic
who adjusted the carburetOr stated J
that the needle valve is not the right
size. Is this true2-R. G. S.
If the car has been run only 1000 {
miles, and was right at first, il hard /
ly seems possible that the carburetOr /
needs any new parts. Tt is more than /
likely that the new spark plugs Deed :
cleaning and readjusting. The action 1
of the current at these points has
tendency TO burn these away and
gradually increase the spark gap If /
the gap becomes greater than one
thirty second Of an inch the motor is /
very apt to miss at slow engine speeds I
Especially is this true when running
en- the magnetic Would suggest that
you take out the plugs, clean, and re-
adjust the points, so that the gap viii /
not be greater than One-thirty-secondt
Of an inch When running on the mag
netO at slow engine speeds the current
generated IS not as intense as at high
engine speeds. and if the spark gap IS
large miss-fire will result
Motoring Department, The Herald
I have owned an automobile for
long time, but do not know much
about its construction. When seeing l
a motor torn down my attention was
called to a motor crankshaft. In max
ing inquiry as to how this shaft was /
made, and of what, it was made the
know much about it VIII you please
advise me2- Reader.
The manner of making crankshafts
depends upon the grade of the car;
= - A.
cars employ the cheaper method of
The average crankshaft
is drop forged and then machined
down. The more expensive method is
to turn this shaft out of a solid billet
Of steel. This you will readily under
stand entails a greater amount of work
and incurs a greater loss in material. !
AS to the quality of material used. the
average crankshaft is made from car
bon steel, while a more expensive shaft
IS made from 3 1-2 percent nickel steel
In both cases careful heat treatment
is required IN order to give the shaft
considerable physical properties; that
IS, proper tensile strength, etc. A great |
amount of machine work is necessary
1n a motor crankshaft in order to have
Il absolutely true and properly bal
anced- An unbalanced crankshaft will
produce a very irregular motor.
Motoring Department The Herald
notice that a great many of the
cheaper grade American cars use the
block type motor. The majority of
higher priced American cars do not |
use this type Then again, the for
sign cars, both high and low priced, |
seem to advocate the block type mo-
or. Can you tell me some of the ad-
rantages Of the block type motor over
he individual type If the block type
s best, why do not all the American
manufacturers fall in line?-,A- Simp-
JON
It must be granted that the for
signers have advanced further in the
lrt Of making castings than the man
Ifacturers in this country. Their /
Methods of making castings and ma
-erial have become more perfect In ii
he block type motor the whole cast
ng must be practically free from any
A slight defect in any
1ne cylinder after it has been ma
,hined viii often necessitate its being
sast aside Even where the twin cast /
cylinders are used, often as much as !
80 percent of the castings are dis |
;arded. The imperfections are not al
ways discovered before the machining
process takes place. Defective cylin-
iers are often detected after the cost
# machining and finishing has been
attached. Sand holes, etc, are seldom
uncovered before the tool has practf-
ally finished its work.