The Washington herald., 1918-05-26
Mysterious Trouble.

Mysterious Trouble.
Editor Query Dept.-We have a
super-six Hudson in our shop which
we have thoroughly overhauled; COM
preston o. K. ignition o. X, carbu-
retion o. r.. differential o. X. Brakes
are not binding. the timing is correct.
yet the car will not pull. What can
be the trouble. NIX
If everything were as correct about
the car as your letter indicates, there
would be nothing wrong and the car
would pull all right. One of the first
points to check over is your statement
that the compression is correct. Very
often compression at the slow speeds
of hand cranking will be all right. he
cause of heavy oil or some other rea-
son which causes a seal between the
pistons and the cylinders. One of the
chief reasons for lack of pulling power
after overhauling is that the piston
rings are not put back on the same
pistons and in the order that they pre-
viously occupied. 1t takes some little
time 10 wear in pistons. and during
this period of wear the pulling power
AHOlHGl
cause Is that the tappets are UP too
tight. leaving insufficient current at
the valve stems. Other causes are:
Main bearings too tight. spark plug
gaps too far apart. clutch slipping. air
leak around intake maniford. carbure-
ter float level wrong. or too tight a
mesh in the transmission and axle
gearing. All these should be checked
over.
Parts For CarnatIon.
Editor Query Dept-Where can l
set parts Tor the Carnation car?
.. Is there any law against using
green and red lights instead OF head
lights?
). What space should be between
the tappets and valve rods? Should
this adjustment be made when the
engine is warm or cold? E. NJ. ".
l. Puritan Machine Co.. Detroit.
p No. 3. eos in. when cold.
Spark Won't Advance.
Editor Query Dept have a 1914
case on which the spark can only be
, advanced two-thirds the way Could
YOU tell me whether it is only sup
posed to advance two-thirds or is
something holding it?
?. What causes oil to leak out from
the leather-covered transmission? /
lose quite lot of oil in this way.
r. P. NJ.
l. While the spark lever will not
travel all the way around the quad
rant. the spark itself IS being ad-
vanced as FAR as possible. The spark
should be so set that ignition takes
place on upper dead center with the
ieN-aT in FtrlI arI
?. You probably mean by this the
universal joint. II you will use a
heavier grade of oil 1t would probably
remove the trouble
Connecting Generation.
Editor Query Dept.-I have a l2-
volt Westinghouse generator on my
1915 Hupmobile. Can ! connect the
generator to the coil and then run
wires to Atwater-Kent distributor?
2. What is the difference between
generator current and magnetic cur
rment? E.G
1. 1t can be done. but II is more
satisfactory to connect from the
tattery.
2. The generator current Is d.
rect. while magnetic current Is al
ternating..
Bent Clutch Plates.
Editor Query Dept-I had the
clutch on my Dodge overhauIed, but
the mechanic got the discs out of
shape. When the job was completed
the clutch pedal did not seem to
come back as far as before and the
clutch would not altogether release.
When he removed the check nut in
tended to keep the clutch pedal
from going in too far, he hxed 1t
so that I could shift gears by push
ing the pedal very hard and then
waiting a few seconds. Il It safe
to run the car this way2z H. w.
1t Is safe enough. but you must
have had q very bad mechanic to
bend your plates enough to cause
drag. The discs should be abso-
lutely fiat and true. The entire
trouble is due to the bend in the
disc. which prevents you from sepa-
rating them far enough by the or
dinary pedal action. 1t would be
better to take them out and
straighten them.
Light Won't Light.
Editor Query Dept.-I own an
Oakland Six. The tail light will not
light when I turn on the switch.
Can you suggest the trouble?
Bulb burned out, wire broken.
fuse blown. bulb not in socket
properly. socket broken or worn.
Wire and Wood wheels.
Editor Query Dept-I would like
to know which wheels you consider
stronger, wood or wire?
2-Have wood wheels any n,or.
or less wind resistance?,
(Which wheels are cheaper?
F.J. z.
1-About equal.
2.-About equal.
S-Wood.
Timing the Oakland a.
Editor Query Dept-what
wrong with the timing on nav o.
land 42? The engine apparently il
In good order. when running Tree.
but commences to baekfre when i'm
low speed. II becomes vary hos