The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1915-06-17
Expert Advice For Ghe
Automobile Owner
Queries and Replies Covering Matters Of
Importance to the Man Who Runs a Car

Will slightly rotating the poppet
valves Of a motor prevent the valves
from Improperly seating and carbon
from forming on the valve seats7
oscillating the valves VIII tend to
keep the seats clean and thus the
valves will be found to seat more uni
formly. Naturally, this will also pre-
vent the accumulation of carbon In
any quantity on the seats.
My motor sklps when running slowly
or pulling hard on high gear IL the
spark lever is advanced moro than half
way on the quadrant. As soon as re-
tard the spark below this point the en-
CINE picks up and will pull as we'll as
II ever did. Why is this2 Il is not
the fault Of the earbureter, as I have
tried all kinds of adjustments and have
operated il under every condition.
If the magnetic is correctly timed 1t
is probable that the trouble Is due to
weak magnets. When the spark lever
is advanced all the way the spark &C.
tuaIly occurs when the armature is at
the edge of the magnetic field instead
of being in the position where the
strength Of the field is greatest There
fore IL the magnets are weak the eff
feet must first be felt at the weakest
point In the field, and that may be ei-
Their position Of great advance or re-
tard. depending on how the magnetic
is linked up. Recharging the magnets
should remove the trouble.
! have bent steering knuel<le.
Should this be Strengthened when cold
or hot7
The knuckle should be Strengthened
when hot. 1t is better to put in a new
one. however, as it is difficult to
straighten 1t so that the wheels will
run true. II the bend is in the spindle
there Is no possibility OF Strengthening
1t satisfactorily, and even If only the
arm is bent 1t will be hard to true
1t up.
Are the 30 called antitrust prepare
tions Injurious TO the cooling system?
We have no reports where any OF !
the preparations which are on the mar
ket that are sold especially for auto
mobile radiators have done any harm
There are occasions, however. where
boiler compounds have been used
which contain corrosive substances
that have acted injuriously on the RI
diator and water connections. For |
this reason before using any prepare
tion 1t should be known that it is in
tended particularly for radiators and
nothing else.
How far apart should the spark plug F..
points be, using a high tension mag =
neto7
The usual point clearance Is one thir- /
ty-second inch, but many End that !
even a smaller clearance is better. II
the plug points are too far apart you
VIII soon be aware that something Is
wrong. as the motor will start to miss. |
particularly when the car is running
slowly. /
We would appreciate your telling US
how to correct the oiling system in /
new car which has given trouble since
Il left the factory. The car has been !,
driven 5000 miles, so by this time
should be thoroughly "worn in" The
trouble is that oil works up into the
first and fourth cylinders.
Faulty piston rings seem to be the
only condition which would give the
bling trouble you mention. 1t may he
that the joints of the rings. which are
Of the ordinary eccentric type. have
become aligned, leaving a passageway
FOR the oil TO enter the combustion
space. Another possibility is that you
have too much oil in the crank case,
which causes a greater supply than
necessary to be thrown up. 1t would
seem that the best step to take would |,
be to remove the pistons and examine
the rings on the cylinders that give
the trouble. The pistons can be re- I
moved by taking Off the lower half OF
the crank case, removing the lower
rod bearing cap and with
drawing piston and connecting rod as
semDiy. A replacement OF the rings !
should eliminate the difficulty. ,
Can gas such as generated from car
oide be used in an automobile engine7 4
Yes. Occasionally We hear of a mo-
torist driving home on acetylene gas
when his supply of gasoline is exhaust /
ed. The objection to the use Of this
gas is that 1t Is much more expensive
than gasoline.
The storage battery seems TO charge
,n my car so that il will furnish cur
rent for tho lights and start the motor;
hen suddenly il will become dis
charged. Where should look for the
trouble?
From the information you furnish II
would seem that the battery is either
discharged or you have a
short circuit IN the system. II would /
seem quite likely that 1t is the former.
and IL this is the case a thorough re- 1
charge will remedy the difficulty UNI
less the battery has been left IN the
discharged condition for too great q
length OF time. II so. the battery
VIII probably require orerhauiing. The J.
symptom for this trouble IS exactly I