The Washington times., 1918-10-05

der to suggest that leaks of any
kind produce wastaSe of power.
The cylinder head gasket. IL that
be the construction of the car,
must be kept tight, without hicks
or dents. The cylinder head must
be carefully frightened so as to
avoid any chance OF springins. In
this connection Il Is a good trick TO
give the threads of the spark
plugs, valve plugs. etc. a treat
ment with stove backing to pre-
vent obscure leaks. This also
makes il easy to take out the plugs
when IL Is necessary TO do so.
1t is not easy to reduce the
waste OF power in the exhaust,
though a dirty mufher helps to
cut down the power, and this part
should be cleaned at intervals.
Utilization OF the heat OF the ex-
haust in warming the ingoing
mixture adds to the power, and
that is about all the owner can do
in this location.
The various devices and Access
SORES driven from the engine add
to the consumption of power.
When il comes to total up the
power so consumed and that lost
through inevitable friction in the
moving parts OF the engine, the
figure is worth considering. How
ever, Ii is practically impossible
to cut down losses caused in this
way, but 1T Is vitality essential
that they shall not become excess
sive through improper or made
quate fabrication. See that the en-
CINE and all devices driven from
II have sufficient lubricant Of the
proper grade at all times.
Deposits OF carbon in the COM
bustion chambers are prodigious
consumers Of power. The owner
should watch this phase OF the
matter with q Vigilent eye and
either clean the carbon out him
self or have Il done at proper in
tervals. In cases. owners will md
II advisable to install one Of the
water feeds which have become 30
popular In the last year or two.
This device will serve to keep the
carbon deposits down after the
combustion chamber has been
thoroughly cleaned. though I do
not believe that 1t will remove
deposits ALREADY formed.
One OF the commonest forms OF
power waste Is the use OF too rich
a mixture. When twice the amount
OF gasoline IL used that Il actual
~ needed by the engine, this Is a
waste OF the most direct kind. At
the present time every car owner
ought to be absolutely certain that
he Is using q correctly proper
toned mixture. II he cannot make
sure himself. he should go to the
service station and have the ex-
perts there tell him what Is what.
In addition to the waste OF fuel.
the use Of too large q proportion
OF gasoline, allows the liquid gas
to form In the combustion chamber
and force its way down into the
oil reservoir. where Il destroys
the efficiency OF the lubricant.
Coming to the rest OF the me-
chanism, we find that the clutch
is a prodigious Waster OF power.
unless II Is kept properly adjusted
to prevent slipping. The thrust
bearing and throwout collar
should be fabricated at proper in
tervals. Any sign of failure in
the clutch calls for immediate
action.
The transmission IL another
part Of the mechanism that in
evitably consume power but not
excessively. IL il IL kept in proper
working order. The matter OF
fabrication here il vitality i'm
portant and should be attended to
carefully. II any mechanical
trouble develops in the transmits
sion. there Is enormous power
wastage. Misalignment, broken
gear. teeth worn bearings, etc,
are causes OF transmission fail
ure that entail power losses. New
er neglect symptoms of trouble
in ths-tr2nsmission.
Next we came to the universals,
and these hard working parts must
be kept well fabricated all the.
time. The rear axle unit Is always
potential location OF power loss
This unit ought to be cleaned out
three times a year. and after being
flushed out with kerosene, should
have fresh lubricant. Mechanical
trouble in the rear axle should have
instant attention. for it means
heavy power waste. The brakes. II
they are in such condition that the
bands drag, will waste power.
Finally the owner can do some
thing toward preventing excessive
power losses by seeing that his
tires are kept pumped to the proper =.
pressure always. When the tires
are soft and spread out unduly,
1t takes more power to drive them
over the road. More waste And so
we may say that eternal vigilence
is the price OF power conservation