Arizona republican., 1918-04-14
IF O|L|NC ESSENTIAL FACTOR
 IN RUNNING OF GAR

It has been aptly said that the im portance of fabrication to the proper operation and continued existence of the motor ear, cannot be over -empha- sized One who follows the develop ments in the automobile field, might be tempted to think the present genera ton of car owners had been thorough ly educated in this, but then he finds one making some mistake in lubrica 1 tion that shows that many car owners still do not know the real meaning of | the subject.
 For several years past no wise mo- | torist has used grease as a lubricant for his transmission, yet many car owners who ought to know better still | employ this heavier lubricant in this location. Grease cannot flow to the 1 bearing surfaces and in the transmits | sion the gears cut clean path through | the grease when it is cold and run practically unlubricated thereafter. In addition grease has the unfortunate characteristic of carrying dirt and for eign matter that it may pick up. It | has distinct drawbacks as a lubricant in any location, especially in cold , weather, when it ought never to be used In winter the grease is almost certain to become packed against the walls of any case in which it is used, while the gears operate entirely dry.
 When grease is used in cups, it has the characteristic of getting hard so that the cup cannot be turned down properly, and very little fabrication gets to the bearing surface for which
 it is intended
 On practically all cars of any but the most recent vintage, grease cups are fitted at various locations If the owner desires to substitute oil as a
 lubricant for the grease, he has prac-
 tically to replenish the cups every day.
 In many cases this would be worth the increased labor. On the other hand it may be possible to replace the grease cups with large oil cups having grad
 ual feed. Some of the newer car mod
 els have been designed with central lubricating points and with wick oiling devices, which require replenishment only once or twice a season. At any rate the substitution of oil for grease | for almost any fabrication service will | be benefit to the parts affected.
 Naturally different parts of the mechanism require different lubricants, 1 that is to say different grades of oil. l For the gears, the transmission, differ l ential and rear axle, a heavy oil will l be the most satisfactory lubricant. l Other parts will do better on a cylin- 1 der oil For the average car two
 grades of oil will pretty well take care i of all the fabrication needs.
 l The past year or so has seen a num- 1 Der of extremely ingenious oil cups of l fered to the motoring public, some of 1 them embodying a gradual feed l achieved by means of constricted pass | ages that allow the oil to leak out only | by degrees. Others employ what is 1 known as wick feed, in which the oil is | carried up in wick and fed gradually 1 to the part needing fabrication For such places as the shackle bolts of the | springs, the cross shafts of the brakes 1 the universal joints, in some types, this l makes very satisfactory arrangement i It has always been the custom to lu-
 bricate universal joints by means of i grease or graphite, because there is l great difficulty in keeping oil in the
 joint This part moves with great
 rapidity when the mechanism is in
 operation and needs the most effective 1 fabrication. Recently it has been found ] possible to 1ubricate the universals by
 means of oil fed through wicks. In
 many cases this change would have to
 be the result of altered design, which | the manufacturer is loath to do be-
 cause of the cost
 Wick feed has the double advantage
 of being economical, as well as eff i cient. In operation the oil travels up 1 the wick by capillary attraction, just
 as it does up lamp wick, and is dis 1 charged upon the surface requiring lu-
 brication. The oil spreads itself over
 the whole surface and really this method is the next best thing to hay