The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1917-01-25
Expert Advice For the
Automobile Owner
Queries and Replies Covering Matters Of
Importance to the Man Who Runs a Car

My clutch slips. have tried wash
ing it with kerosene, but with no result
Also had the crank case taken off, but
see no nuts to take up on. Have tried
both kinds of oil, but have met with no
success. Can you tell me the cause Of
this and how to remedy it?
Probably the clutch is being held dis
engaged by the sticking of the pedal
shaft in its bearing or other members
of the operating mechanism are stick
ing due to lack of fabrication, thus not
allowing the clutch to become fully
engaged when the pressure is removed
from the clutch pedal. If the mocha
nism is found to be in good shape the
next cause would be insufficient pres
sure exerted on the plates. This might
be caused by weak clutch springs or
springs that have taken permanent
set after few thousand miles of serv-
ice.
! Automobile manufacturers can test
| springs for their tension, and, while
great care is exercised in the strength
of the steel wire which goes into them
and the heat treatment of the same,
nevertheless occasionally springs will
pass by inspection, no matter how rigid,
! that have not been carefully heat treat
! ed. and after some little service they
| will take permanent set and fail to
exert sufficient pressure on the plate to
transmit the power
The third and most likely cause is
dirty and gummed plates due to neg
lecting to change the lubricating oil in
the motor.
! think the radiator on my car is stop
| ped up, as | have a great deal of trou-
BILE with the engine running hot. Have
had the radiator cleaned, but get no
better results. Would you advise me
to take the radiator apart to clean it?'
First Of all find out whether the radi-
aior is at fault by removing the lower
hose connection and then run water
into the filler opening and note wheth-
er the water flows freely from the low
er connection Or whether the passage
seems to be impeded and the water
overfows from the top.
Your water jackets may be clogged
with dirt, sand or scale, or your pump
may have broken shaft or yanes.
10 it economical to use oversize tires7
Many tire makers advocate the use
Of oversize tires for the following rea-
sons:
Take, for instance, SO by 4 tire
which fits on a go by 81 rim. In addi-
ton to having considerably more air
capacity or cubicaI contents, there IS
naturally little more tread, and the
oversize tire is, generally speaking, of
heavier construction. The greater
air capacity naturally makes more OF a
cushion, the tire thus making easier
riding for the occupants, and, due to
the advantages mentioned above and to
the fact that the tire is Of heavier con-
structiOn and has greater air capacity,
it will throw off strains which u tire OF
smaller diameter and circumference
would not throw off.
In addition to the above, the circum.
ference of the oversize tire in this In
stance is slightly over three inches
more than the 80 by 49, which we are
using for illustration This additional
running surface means, of course, that
the tire will reyolve fewer times in
making a mile than the 81 by 81,
which, everything being equal, should
insure greater mileage than the small
er size tire.
My engine seems to backfire or ignite
the charge as it goes into the cylinder.
The spark plugs have been out recently
and are in good condition. The batter
les are new, and the breaker points are
set up as close as necessary in order to
give good spark at the plugs. What
is the cause of the baekfiring and the
remedy? ~
1t seems to be case of carbonized
motor. Misfiring and oyerheating usu-
ally are good indications that there is
carbon deposit ON the cylinder head
and piston. Small protruding particles
of this carbon become red hot and ig-
mite the charge the moment it enters
the combustion chamber. When the car
is moving rapidly the mist1ring may
not be so aggravated, but when operat-
ing slowly, or possibly idling, the mis-
firing Will be in evidence.
How often should the crank case of
q car be drained and cleaned out with
gasoline7
With new car this should be every
800 miles or 1000 miles, and thereafter
every 1900 miles will be sufficient.
What treatment is necessary TO make
q brake lining stick better?
No treatment should be given brake
lining to make 1t fit better except keep
! ing ii clean and maintaining the proper
: adjustment on the brakes. When worn
! down the brake lining should be replac-
ed. One of the frequent occurrences is
the wearing Of the asbestos compound
below the surface of the copper rivets
which hold it in place. This brings
the copper rivets in contact with the
metal brake band, greatly reducing the
retarding effort Of the brake.