The Washington herald., 1918-03-24
Some Auto Upkeep Stunts
Not So Good AS They Look
Owners Are Warned Against Ammonia for
Cleaning Body, Belt Dressing for Clutch
Leather; Many Useful Hints.

The wiser owner will each year
clean the exhaust system thorough
ly. This cleaning should include
the exhaust manifold. pipe and
mHn1sr. The latter should be taken
apart and the parts soaked in kero-
ssns over night The pipe and mani
fold may be cleaned by drawing
through a pack of kerosene-soaked
waste attached to q long wire.
Some car owners are using am
monia solution to brighten up the
hood when the latter has become
dull This II bad practice, though
the immediate results seem to be
good. Ammonia destroys the finish
and should not be used, in fact
body makers and varnish concerns
give strict instructions to keep the
car away from stables and barns so
that the ammonia from the manure
win not inJure the body finish.
Car owners should get into the
Hh4DlE OL bEAN EsSAhe AcA NAAN
clutch leather to swell it and act
as q remedy for slippage. In dis
engaging the clutch ii will be well
to notice whether there is a ridge
In the leather. Such a condition
prevents the clutch from engaging
as far as 1t ought to and the only
way to remove the ridge is first to
take out the clutch and then trim
down the leather with a rasp.
The spoke ends of wire wheels are
apt to rust, especially if there is the
slightest looseness which permits
water to enter. A small quantity Of
graphite spread over the surfaces
at the spoke end will prevent this
rusting. Also rims should be spread
with graphite not only to prevent
injury to the tire, but to make re-
movaI and attachment of the tire
TO the rim an easy matter.
The owner whose car remains in
the garage for the good part of the
winter should jack up all four
wheels and remove the tires, take
out the tubes and place them in a
dark, room. The tires should be
covered with cloth. II the car Is
to be used at intervals during the
cold weather the tires should be in
dated hard and the wheels moved
once each week or oftener. so
that the pressure will not always
fall on the same portion
When a rim with tire is mounted
on the wheel. IL often happens that
the rim cannot be moved into place.
remaining Lartly on and partly OF.
Slight springing OF the rim is all
that is needed and this may be done
by placing the head of a jack
against the hub of the wheel, and
the base of the jack on the protrud-
ing portion of the rim. Thus sprung
a little, a hammer blow will slide
the rim over the edge of the wheel
In most cases of this kind, the
mere operation of the jack will
force the rim over the wheel
II the owner cannot shift from high
TO second without rasping the gears he
should accelerate his engine slightly
at the time Of shifting. The rasping
usually is caused by an inequality in
speed between the engine and the
clutch. The later, however, may drag
and cause hard shifting.
An effective, manual water control
may be made by removing the rubber
hose between the top Of the cylinders
and the radiator and replacing it with
q metal one. containing a shut-off
valve OF the butterfly type, such as
are used on carbureters. A rod from
this valve Is extended through the
dash and enables the driver to regu-
late the amount of water flowing
through the system and hence to con-
troll the temperature OF the engine.
In making an ordinary connection to
a battery terminal. the stripped end of
the wire should be wound around the
binding post in a clockwise direction.
When the screw is frightened, it will
be turned to the right and with the
wire wound in the same direction there
Is a tendency for it to wrap all the
tighter around the post. When the
wire is wrapped the other way around
II tends to unwrap when the screw is
tightened-
The private garage owner may be
glad to know that ordinary COM
mercial ammonia is a valuable fire
extIngulsher. Another formula for
a liquid which discourages combus-
tion is common salt one ounce, So
dium nitrate one ounce, sal ammo
MAC two ounces, magnesium clor-
ide four ounces and water twenty
ounces. The solids are dissolved in
the water. Another efficient solu-
tion is made OF twenty parts Of
common salt. nine parts of ammo
mum chloride and seventy-one parts
Of water.
The principal disadvantage charged
against valve-in-head motor. espe-
cially those of the valve cage type,
is the dificulty OF properly cooling
the valves This dificulty is not
pronounced In the case of the inlet
valves. because the incoming gas is
cool and keeps the valves fairly
cool, but II does mean that the ex-
haust valves will need frequent
grinding. In many cage type mo-
tors the cages must be watched to
see that they do not turn around
and thus cut on the inlet or ex-
haust.
Those who are in doubt as TO
whether their engine-driven tire
pump forces oil through the hose
should examine the end Of the lat
ter. Usually this hose has a rub
ber lining and IL oil Is being pumped
the lining becomes softened perhaps
70 such an extent that it will not
hold to the nipple. In cheap hose
Il is dif3cult to again attach the nip
pie even though wire is used as bind
ing because the first operation of
the pump blows the hose away from
MS connection. The remedy lies either
In getting q good grade of hose or