Imperial Valley press., 1917-02-24
WhatEvery Motorist
Should Know
(From Motor the National Magazine of Motoring)


All parts of the present day auto
mobile require more or less constant
attention, but every motcrist will neg
lect something about his car, some one
thing, some another. Inattention to
come parts is due to inc ccessibiity, nut
often it is simply a case Of forgetful-
ness. Most drivers will see that there
is oil in the crank case, water in the
radiator, and gasoline 10 The tark, as
these are regular iuties, but with
many this is about as far as their at
tention goes. They do not seem to
realize that all moving parts however
small, need fabrication and, if not
given it, wear is bound 20 result, with
the accompanying squeaks and rat
ties. Grease and oil caps are placed
on bearings for the very obvious pur-
pose of supplying lubricant to them
and consequently they should be sup
piled at frequent intervals
Of all the parts on "a car, probably
the most neglected are the brake link
age and the springs. The Lrake T., ,ds
and connections are located under the
floor of the car so that they are
rather inconvenient to reach, and ore
must crawl underneath to fill the
grease cups or to squirt few drops
of oil on the numerous shat bearings
and clevis pins. For this reason they
are often allowed to go without at
tention long time, so that. berg
much exposed to mud and dirt. they
wear quickly, thereby weakening those
important safety devices, the brakes.
These connections should be fabricated
at least once every week.
Mysterious Squeaks.
One often hears mysterious squeaks
emanating from beneath the car and
wonders what causes them. Most like
ly they are due to the dry spring
leaves rubbing over each other or by
the bolts in the shackles. If the
springs are not provided with self
lubricating inserts, the frame of the
car should be lacked up a couple Of
times a season, or oftener, if neces-
sary, the spring leaves separated and
graphite grease or a paste Of flake
graphite and kerosene spread between
them, a stiff feather being very con-
venient for the purpose. The grease
cups on the spring shackle bolts should
be kept filled and given two or three
turns every day. Sometimes the holes
in these bolts become clogged, pre-
venting grease being forced through,
and it is necessary to clean them
cut, even going so far as to raise the
frame of the car to permit the remov-
a. of the pins. If lubriction is neg
lected one of the bolts may some day
break and drop the frame onto the
axle. Spring clips sometimes work
loose, causing a broken spring, so it
il we'll occasionally to see that they
are tight.
Although very accessible, many
drivers fail to oil or grease the steer
ing connections sufficiently, so tha:
soon there is good deal of lost mo-
tion at the steering wheel. There is
considerable strain and constant,
though slight, motion at the steering
knuckles so that, being exposed to dirt,
they need frequent fabrication to pre-
vent grit working into the bearings.
The steering gear case must be kept
filled with grease, adding little each
month. Because they do not require
very frequent attention, tie front
wheel bearings and the ball joints of
The tie rods are sometimes overlooked,
whereas they ought to be thoroughly
cleaned and repacked with fresh
grease about every 5000 miles.
Brake and Clutch.
Other parts that often are allowed
to go too long without attention are
the brake and clutch shaft bearings,
he levers and bearings of the self
starter, the transmission, the clutch,
and the cear shift lever bearings. The
clutch, if of the tyre that runs in
OIL should be drained once a month
thoroughly flushed with kerosene, and
refilled. The transmission and diff