The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1915-05-22
Expert Advice For the
Automobile Owner
Queries and Replies Covering Matters OF
Importance to the Man Who Runs Car

In washing a car will q mixture Of
sasoIine and water cut the sreassf II
20, how should Il be applied?
No doubt the addition of gasoline to
the water In connection with sponging
the car will efficiently aid in the cut
ting Of the grease. It would have to
be applied either In spray or sponge,
as these are the only two practical
methods of mixing it in such way
that It would combine closely enough
to form a suitable mixture for clean
ing. Kerosene is also frequently used
in this manner with success.
have q car with . two speed rear
axle. Whenever ! 90 down hill or over
bump with the clutch out ! hear .
rattle. What 10 the cause Of this7
The rattle you mention Is probably
from the idle pinion on the rear axle.
In this axle there are two bevel pinions
constantly In mesh, and one Of these
is always running idle, and the partic-
ular gear which is delivering the pow
er from the motor depends upon the
position Of a dog clutch. When the
car goes over a rough spot with the
clutch out there is tendency for the
drive shaft to revolve at an unequal
rate Of speed. due to the Inequalities
Of the road, with the result that the
idle pinion Is alternately thrown back
ward and forward against the bevel
gear, with which it meshes, thus max
ing rattle. There is always a certain
amount of back lash in these gears,
and the amount Of noise win naturally
depend upon the extent. Of this play.
There Is nothing serious about this, as
the noise occurs only at rare intervals,
and then is not the indication Of trou-
bic.
Will you kindly tell me how to bend
the gasoline and other tube lines in
short arcs without the pipe flattenins?
Copper tubing of small diameter can
be readily bent into short curves by
melting rosin and pouring it into the
tube. When this becomes cold it solidi-
fies within the tube, and the tubing
can be bent like piece Of solid cop
per. After the desired bend has been
obtained the rosin can be run out by
heating the tube with a blow torch.
Another method sometimes used is to
I'll the tube with sand, but the rosin
method gives the better results.
Why has a rotary valve engine five
or seven cylinders instead Of four, six
or eight?
The odd number of cylinders gives a
more even torque, in rotary cylinder
engine. Questions Of balance make an
even number Of cylinders preferable in
the conventional type Of motor.
10 Il possible to start the motor in a
car whom the self starter fails to work
and tho crank 10 missing?
When the starter fails and the hand
crank is not available the best method
Of starting the motor is to Jack up one
of the rear wheels so that 1t will turn
without touching the ground. Then
place the gear shift lever in high, and
a few turns of the uplifted wheel will
start the motor. Place the gear shift
lever In neutral before letting down
the lacked up wheel or you will have
a runaway on your hands, or at least
the motor will stall, and you will have
all your work to do over again. Prop
erly done the entire operation takes
only a few moments.
What are tho common causes for a
motor missing fret
Missing fire may be caused by an
overrich or too lean mixture. by poor
valve adjustment, inaccurate valve or
ignition timing. leaks around the spark
plugs, cylinder plugs, manifolds. ETC.,
loose ignition wires, weak magnetic
magnets. water In fuel, faulty spark
plugs or those with poorly adjusted
electrodes, carbon deposits in the cyl
inders and overlooking.
When throttle my oar down on high
gear Il begins to jump and jerk as
though tho clutch were slipping. The
clutch 10 all right, however. What can
be the trouble7
The jumping and Jerking action is
probably due to the motor missing fire.
caused either by poor ignition or faulty
carburetion at low engine speeds. Mix.
lures may be too lean or too rich. there
may be leaks in the intake manifold.
or the spark plug points may be too
far apart or too near together. Look
at them first and see that they are
spaced thirty-second Of an inch apart
Then see that your vibrators are ad-
justed II the trouble is still In evil
denre your magnetic magnets may be
weak ond require recharging.
What IL the advantage or disadvan-
tage Of the cantiIever spring In regard
TO the three quarter eIliptic7
The main advantage Of the cantilever
spring over the three-quarter elliptic
Is that It will give the same carrying
capacity with the proper fexibility
with considerably less weight. Anoth-
er advantage lies In its slow period OF
vibration land the ability to eliminate
rebound to great extent The weight
Of a cantilever is nearly all inspiring
weight.
In the DISADVANTAGES the principal