The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1915-12-02
1TTF.TH 17TN11eTElT n ~ = -
Expert Advice For the
Automobile Owner
Queries and Replies Covering Matters Of
Importance to the Man Who Runs a Car

the wall surface area, and by placing
the valves In the head this surface Is
reduced because there are no pockets,
and hence there is a reduction of loss.
The gases may enter and leave the
combustion chamber Of an average I
type cylinder faster than they can the
chamber which has pockets, and hence
there is a gain in power. The entire
combustion chamber of an head cyl
greater accuracy is obtained as regards
compression volumes of the different
cylinders. The combustion chamber
may be made of a shape nearly spher.
ical, and, since the spherical is said to
be the ideal chamber, the head is
advantageous from this viewpoint.
Can you tell me what causes a dis
agreeable odor to como from the ex-
haust7
The odor from the exhaust is dis.
agreeable at all times, but Is worse
when the mixture is too rich or when
too much oil is being used, thus caus.
thinned by turning the needle valve to
the right or downward.
OF late whom ! advance the throttle
with pull on the engine my car gives
q Jump as though the clutch slips and
takes hold at once. What Is the trou-
bIe7
vour sunposition thot thu actIor ~
your car is due to clutch slippage is cor.
rect to a certain degree. The clutch
does not slip out Of engagement, the
trouble being that its surface has be-
come worn 80 that the fractional re-
sistance is not sufficient to hold the
load. II your clutch is leather faced
cone type the leather has probably be-
come dry, assuming hard glaze from
constant slipping which prevents 1t
from taking hold as 1t should. II this
trouble has only started to develop
| you may save the leather by soaking
| 1t with neatsfoot or castor oil, which
will soften 1t and enable 1t to engage
| easily and firmly. II. however, the
slipping has been going on for consid-
cradle time and the leather IS badly
worn the only thing to do is to replace
this facing.
Often with cone clutches the copper
heads of the rivets project through the
leather, bearing against the iron fly
wheel and causing a slipping action.
IL your clutch Is a cone you should see
that the rivets are properly counter
sunk into the leather surface of the
facing to prevent this.
If your clutch is a disk type running
in oil the slipping may be due to grease
between the plates. The plates should
! be cleaned with kerosene, usually pour
ed through the cover plate while the
motor is run for a time with the gears
in neutral. This will wash the grease
out, the kerosene then being drained
off and the lubricant renewed.
Where the disk clutch is housed with
the gear box heavy grease should not
be placed In the gears. as this will
work it's way between the plates OF the
clutch, causing slipping.
10 there any way Of determining what
gear ratio on final drive would prove
most satisfactory?
The gear ratio is determined after
the motor characteristics are ascer-
tanned. Suppose, for example, that the
maximum power of the motor is de-
veloped at 1900 revolutions per min
ute and 1t Is desired to give the car
maximum speed of fifty miles per hour.
4 reduction is used which will cause
the car to show fifty miles per hour
when the motor is turning over at
1900 revolutions per minute. The
most satisfactory ratio depends upon
your motor and how you wish the car
to perform.
Can you tell me the best way to clean
! the muffler on my car, which is beeom.
ing filled with exhaust products Of the
motor?
| The best way to clean the muller Is
to disassemble it and clean the parts
separately If this is not done the re-
suit will not be satisfactory.
! 10 il possible to remove carbon from
cylinders by using alcohol one part to
four Of sasoline2
Alcohol may be used as a carbon re-
mover, but Tot In solution with gaso-
line. In the alcohol treatment the
liquid Is poured into the cylinders
whose pistons are on top dead center.
The cylinder must lie very hot. The
whole cylinder is filed with the alco-
mol and the liquid allowed to remain
In overnight. The next night two more
cylinders are treated. 1t is cheaper
and better to have the carbon removed
by the oxygen treatment. which costs
from 35 to co cents per cylinder and
takes only few hours.
Five of my six spark plugs are crack
cd. The car has been driven about
1900 miles and the oil kept at proper
level. What Is the cause Of cracked
poreeIains7 -l-
( The porcelains may have been de-
fective and cracked easily because of
the extreme heat. Possibly they be-
came cracked when the plugs were
screwed into the cylinders. Often poor
handling OF the wrench causes this.