El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-24


owner would devote the tenderest
care. it is the braking system, for
. ON the efficient operation Of this part
may depend the motorists life
Strange to say, however. the brakes
seldom receive the attention that they
need and deserve.
Let us glance briefly at the dif-
F fe.ent tsl.,s OF brakng systems now
. in use. before we take Up the question
/ Of what care they need. Brakes a. q
I classified according to their position
T in the chassis. Iuey may be on the
3 rear wheels. the front wheels, the
. propeller shaft or the Jack-shIft, IN
chain driven vehicles. Sometimes two
I different locaLIo-s viii ne uIil-eL la
the same cna-s-s: one set of bikes
may be on the rear wheels, while an
T oJner is on the p.opelle. shat
Brakes are also classified accord
ing to their method Of operation
/ they may be external contracting or
I internal expanding and dle Iurlher
denOmnated as hand or foot brakes,
7 according TO whether they are op-
Grated BY pedal or lever
The braking system generally EN-
plOyed on American cars consist OF
two sets of brakes, acting on steel
drums attached TO the rear Wh-eis.
One set is operated by a foot pedal
and the other by a hand lever. These
members are attached 10 rods Whlcn
run back TO the brake bands, when
are simply metal bands with \ LlIe-
proof covering on the contact side.
When the lever or pedal is acLualed
by the driver. the rods act on the
bands. so that they are either con-
tracted or expanded against the sur
face Of the drum. the friction re
tards the speed of the drum and con-
SeQueutly controls the progress OF the
wheel
Within the past year or so two
new types Of brakinE systems have
been placed on the market they are
an electric brake and vacuum
brake. Each Of these systems seems
to have real merit; but they are not
yet in general use
Until a few years ago the custom
was TO have one set Of brakes Of the
internal expanding type, while tbs
other was external contracting. AT
the present time the general practice
is TO have both sets OF the Internal
expanding type and TO locate them on
The rear wheels The principal dlsac-
vantage of the external contracting
type Of brake is its mud collecting
Droclivities. which lead 10 drum cut
ting and other ills. This Is probably
the reason for the swing away from
At TIE present time the transmits
sion brake, that which Is placed on
the propeller shaft SCENE TO be coming
back somewhat into the favor II en-
joyed in the early days OF motoring
This brake too may be either internal
expanding or external contracting.
When this brake is external CONTRACT
ing, IL is difficult TO design an eIIl-
cieut cover for It, which makes IL
liable to the entrance OF dirt W here
the band is internal expanding, II is
usually difficult to remove the band
for replacement or refining. A wen
designed transmission brake Is power
full. more so than the rear wheel type.
It is easily adjusted, removal Of the
floor boards being all that IS necessary
10 get at It.
The front wheel brake has not vet
achieved popularity in this country,
although It is widely used IN Europe,
especially on racing cars AFTER me
war we may see a drift toward this
construction
Even when properly used, the bral..
ing system Of the motor car Is bound
to show wear IN time The Innings are
subject 10 much friction and heat and
are usually the first part OF the sys-
TEN to need attention. These Innings
are usually OF asbestos composition 1
Of some sort. often reinforced by cop
per wire. After the Innings are worn
they must be replaced for safety
sake. This IS not a difficult problem l
The old rivets are removed, new lin ]
inEs Of proper length are lifted Win /
holes countersunk in the fabric above I
the holes I'm the metal bands, after
w hich new rivets are Inserted and /
their ends Gattened- II the owner ]
does not care to tackle the Job, the /
service station VIII DO II at no great /
expense. II really does not pay 10 ]
buy cheap brake lining because OF the I
rapid wearing OF II and also because l
the cost Of installation should be con-
sidered in the cost Of the lining. Good I
lining well installed should wear 5000 !
miles
the brakinE system vii be In exact I
20 the abuse handed out 70 /
it, II the various attentions needed /
are given the system from day TO day I
serious trouble viii not often be en-
one of the commonest troubles here I
used to be dragging, which Is not so I
prevalent now. This means that the 3
bands slide on the drum, that IS make I
q partial contact, without the driver /
touching the control This means . Z
useless consumption Of power and IN ]
due wear on the lining. A screwdriver /
inserted between the band and drum I.
all around viii free the band so that
il viii not drag. The idea is 10 spring
the band a little, so that when II re- /
turns il viii not touch the metal
The bands should be cleaned at least I
once a month, by squirting a little ]
kerosene onto the lining surfaces and I
after the oil has had time TO dry, some {
fuuer's earth should be sprinkled over T
the surface. This viii restore the D
grip OF the band
Adjustments must be made from .
time 10 time 10 take up slackness in /
the braking system Usually there /
are two places at which adjustments I
may be made, one at the drum ana I
the other near the pedal A yoke and .
clevis pin are generally the only parts 4
requiring removal and adjustment is 1
very much like the use Of turn
buckle The yoke is disconnected and D
given a few turns to shorten the rOI I
and the adjustment Is complete One j
side must never be adjusted without /
similar action on the other side.
Brakes must act with uniformity or
dangerous skidding viii result
The brake connections or linkage
collect dirt and they must be cleaned
and oiled frequently. II Is difficult
to keep the joints OF this exposed I
.inkage properly oiled and for this
reason Il must be attended TO regular
~ and frequently. The pedal crank
which the pedal operates usually con-
-ains an oil hole and this must be
kept free from dirt and filled with oil. Z
II the brake rods happen TO become
bent, they must be Strengthened at
)nce, as a bent rod produces Epringy
iction- Edualizers are somewhat OF a
help, but they are not the whole bat
le, because the pull must be euualized
light up to the band II IL is to be
exactly even
Brake rods often become noisy es-
)ecia1ly in systems where the rods
are long. When the joints are not
Kept well oiled and they wear. this
-attlinE is Intensified. Every joint IN
he braking system from the pedal
rank TO the band con trOls should be