New Britain herald., 1914-05-05

turning over fast when using the nigh gear.
 Motor Department, The Herald:
 On coming down a steep hill would it
 be advisa ble to shut off the spark as
 we'll as the gas and leave her in high
 gear? Then I will be using my en-
 zine as a brake. By doing this I be-
 lieve I will be saving the lining on my
 brakes. Your answer will let me know
 if I am right or not. J. H. C.
 It is not good economy to do as you
 suggest. The replacing of the lining
 of the brakes is a simple matter. Us
 ing the motor as a brake is not good
 practice. There are exceptional
 cases, however, where the brakes should be favored as much as possi-
 ble. In descending long grades,
 where the brakes have tendency to
 overheat, then it is advisable to favor
 them as much as possible, cutting off
 the motor and using it for additional
 braking effect.
 Motoring Department, The Herald:
 Will you please answer these two
 questions in your paper?
 Where the "H-quadrant' is used,
 how am to know which way to shift
 the lever for first, second and third
 speeds and reverse? Also is it ad- visable where the electric starter is
 used to advance the spark half way
 when starting: Constant Reader.
 Usually the "H-type' quadrant is
 marked. If it is not marked the
 quickest way to determine speeds is
 to start motor and then try one.
 This, of course, should be done with
 caution-that is to say, the clutch should be engaged very carefully.
 You could very easily determine the
 low gear or the high gear by the manner in which the motor attempts to pick up the load. If you are not
 sufficiently experienced, would sug-
 gest that you jack up the rear wheels
 as an extra precaution. If you do
 not care to experiment with the en- zine running you can eercise your self by cranking the motor with the
 gears in mesh. . On starting on the battery it is ad- visable to retard the spark. In start ing on the magneto the spark should be advanced.
 Motor Department, The Herald: Will you tell what is meant by 9
 brake equalizer and why it is used? :? Amateur.
 The brake equalizer Is a device which, when the brakes are applied, equalizes the pressure so that there will be no more pressure on the
 brake operating on the right wheel than there is on the left. It is ob- vious that when travelling on a slip pery street one brake holding tighter than the other will cause the car to skid sideways. Most cars are equipped with brake equalizers, but ! it does not follow that the brakes will l hold equally, because even though perfectly capitalized, one of the brake | bands may be more greasy than the l other, and consequently will not hold as we'll.
 Motoring Department, The Herald: | Will you kindly publish in your next | issue the answers to the following g l questions:
 i. l have 9 Peerless car of 1910 l model, and last fall I overloaded the l engine and burned out the packing 1 around the water jacket. I purchased | some packing and put white lead be- ] tween it and the cylinder, but 1t leaks ] considerably. Can you suggest a 1 form of packing that will stop the l leak? The screws that hold the
 jacket seem to loosen. Is it advisable to put white lead or other paint on 1 the screws that would make them l stick? The leaking water runs over and around the caps over the intake l and exhaust valves. The water seems to bubble. Would that suggest l that the valve covers are not tight l enough? I took the covers off l cleaned them well, and put them ! back, but they still seem to leak 1 Would you suggest putting any kind ] of packing in there, and if so what l kind?
 2. Is there any way to repair a 1 crack which leaks considerably on a l hard rubber case of a storage bat l tnrvo-Ar Tuforacfo1 poodor