New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-08
Automobile Shopman's
Prize Plan Of Interest
to Car Owners
Not Perfect, However
Leaves Pieces That May Get
on Valve Seats, Caus-
ing Trouble

formation from the following do
,cribed methods OF carbon remova
Z was written by an automobile deal
md won the first prize in contest hei
.ecentlv for a description Of method
!Lder the direction OF "horse!eS
,ge.":
Djsregarding cost and time the
best way TO remove carbon iroHh
automobile cylinders and plstons IS
TO take off cylinders or detacnaols
heads and loosen the accumulated
carbon by scraping. This VIII az
solutely remove every particle OF
carbon. The objection TO TINS
method is the labor cost and me
time consumed. With non-detach-
able cylinder heads the cost Of tax
inc down and replacing cylinders
manifolds. wiring. water connec-
.ions. etc. is almost prohlOitiVe.
Even with detachable heads, the
time consumed is out of proportion
to the value of the work done.
Considering cost and time CON
sumed. the best method is 10 insert
specially prepared soft brass
chain through the spark plug open
inc and run the motor for five MN
utes at slow speed on the .other
cylinders. The time consumed may
be reduced by using several cnaihs
and cleaning two or more cylinders
AT one time: completing the job IN
two or three operations instead OF
in four. six. eight or twelve as the
case may be. The carbon IS
knocked off in chunks and dust ana
blown out through the exhaust
valves. With overhead valves
however, the large chunks are apt
To stop in the cylinder until re
duced to powder. This method Will
clean and polish the surface OF the
cylinder head and piston with the
exception of negligible ring
about LEA inch wide around the
outer edge OF the piston. u IS
first class job, and the. Spec'ai
chains to fit each car can be maze
or obtained at nominal cost from
the manufacturer or accessory
dealer The small amount of car
bon remaining around the waive
space can be removed by scraping,
hut eXcept in rare cases this is not
necessary. The objections to tins
method are that about once IN ten
cases chunk Of carbon Will suck
on tho seat of the exhaust valve
and have to be removed; and that
with loose pistons carbon du/t VIII
fler through to the crank case.
II the valves are to be ground ana
the crank case washed out these
objections disappear
The objection 10 liquid chemical
removers is that. while the carbon
Is absolutely removed from the cyl
inder head. it is often redeposlted
in a soft lump on the piston, whore
II hardens when the car IS used
again. Burning out the cylinders
with oxygen is quick and far less
extensive than taking down the
motor; the free oil and carbon are
burned away very nicely, but the
road dust sucked in through the
carburetor remains, forming
hard. rough surface, TO when new
carbon adheres readily, and IN a
very short time the car is as pad
as ever. Scraping without DIS
mantling the motor is unsatisfac-
tory eXcept in motors having large
overhead valves. With the ordi-
nary T head or l. head motor
there will usually be few spots
that cannot be reached.
A teaspoonful of kerosene or al
cohol put into the cylinders OF
hot motor once week when the
car is in for the night tends to
loosen the carbon. This - good
practice. and postpones the evil
day when a visit TO the shop IS
necessary. but sooner or later
more strenuous means must be
used. Introducing water or steam
into the cylinders is highly recon-
mended BY a few people, but this
method has not as yet been
crowned with universal success.
An additional supply of hot or cold
air introduced above the carburetor
either by an automatic device or at
the will of the operator is simply
an admission Of the defects of the
carburetor and a more or less
clumsy attempt TO overcome them.
As a general summing up of the
above the following may be ac-
cepted as good practice: % AS
preventive give a dose of kero-
sene or alcohol once a week, en-
ploy the best carburetor obtaina-
Bile, and use as little oil as pos
sible to insure proper fabrication.
,2) When the car owner is in such
hurry that every minute counts.
use oxygen. 90 For ordinary
caces usa chains and Scrape around
the valves if necessary. t4) For
motors with large overhead valves.
remove the valve cages and scrape
out. These methods arc based on
nine years shop experience.