Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-03-11


-~~>-~--~~>->~>~-> ~->~~~~>~>~-
begins. The whole responsibility for
fabrication now rests on his shoul-
ders. and its importance as means
of reducing repair and replacement
expense, prolonging the period of
quiet, economical operation, and add
ing to the life of the car should be
impressed upon him.
\ few days ago | watched an owner
lubricate his car before starting out
for a long drive. He gave a half
hearted turn to the grease cups on
the rear shackle bolts of the rear
spring, walked around to the front
of the car and repeated the operation
on the front bolts of the front spring,
and managed to reach two grease
cups on the steering gear without get
ting his cuffs dirty. Then he stood
off and surveyed the car with the sat
isfed air of one who has done his
work we'll
AS a matter of fact there are prob
ably four or five places on his ear
which should receive careful lubrica-
ton and which, SO far as he is con-
cerned, do not exist at all. True, the
rear spring bolts on the front spring
arc rather difficult to reach, but all
shackle bolts should be given a turn
daily. The grooves in these bolts
easily become plugged, and once
these grease passages get cloEgcd you
can turn the grease cups until you
are blue in the face without doing a
bit of good. The removal of a shaclIle
bolt is a task which should not be un-
dertaken in the private garage whore
assistance is not available. for, altho
removal may be effected, replacement
is another story.
The daily rounds should also in
clude the cups on the steering spin
die. one above and one below and
also the cups at each end of the cross
steering rod. The average owner will
attend to this, but he may neglect
those cups which are under the mud
guard at the farther end of the reach
rod, and the one on the housing Of
the steering worm. These cups need
not he turned up daily, but should
receive attention at least every three
hundred miles.
1t is, of course, much better TO reg
ulate the fabrication of your car ac-
cording to a mileage record rather
than by n certain number Of days.
When your car has run one thousand
miles 1t is time to examine the uni
versal joints and repack If necessary.
part Of the car, because it is inacces-
sible and becaues 1t is so reliable and
well made that it will stand n great
deal of abuse and still do its work
well. Many an owner has blamed his
clutch for engaging noisily when I'm
reality the trouble could be traced to
worn-out differential between the
clutch and the transmission
The brake linlage seldom receives
any attention at all and the many
clevis joints and small bearings not
only operate without any fabrication,
but are also literally coated with dry
mud. This Is another part of the car
which is inaccessible, but neverthe-
less it should be cleaned and oiled
every month when the universal
joints are packed. This may be druid
gerry to the car owner. but it is GER
tainly a simple matter to drive the
car into n garage and have the work
done whenever IL is necessary.
Just behind the brake drum on the
rear axle Is a grease cup which lubri-
Gates the rear wheel bearing. This,
too, Is very hard to reach, and yet
unfortunately it supplies a bearing
which demands constant lubrication
This IS the third of the three sets of
grease cups which require daily at
tention, the others being those on the
shackle bolts and those around the
steering spindles. When you turn up
one, turn them all. and there need be
nothing to remember once the habit
Is formed
A great deal Of attention is being
called to spring fabrication at the
present time and several very good
devices have appeared on the market
designed to lubricate n part which
was once given little consideration.
Altho many of the claims for these
devices doubtlessly exaggerate the
importance of fabrication at this
point, it Is certainly true that thore
should be something between the
leaves besides rust, If the spring is TO
do its work well and live a long life
The labor involved in taking spring
apart for cleaning and polishing is
very often prohibitive, but II some
means Is employed for introducing
lubricant between the leaves, this task
becomes unnecessary. A special tool
can be used for spreading the lubri-
cant, but oil, or even grease, If intro
duced in this way, does not have q
very lasting effect. The most satls-
factory lubricant is a mixture Of flake
graphite and gasoline, applied with
a flat-bladed knife. The gasoline
quickly evaporates. leaving the
graphite, which is not easily forced
out from between the leaves. Spring
fabrication is Of little value unless
the spring has first been taken apart
TO permit polishing Of the leaves, for
1t does little good TO lubricate sur
faces which are covered with rust
once they are cleaned, however, at
tention to fabrication will insure their
remaining in good condition.
II may serve to calrify matters IL