Arizona republican., 1918-12-01
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
FOR OVNERSOF THE
MODERNMOTORC CAR

We have all settled down to the long
grind of bringing things back to nor
NAL after the war, making up oul /
minds to doing without many things |
that We would like to have, among |
them that new motor car ON which |
perhaps We had set our mind. And |
after ALL we shall not be SO badly Of |
if we take due precautions to keep ou- |
cars in first class order all the time
AS time goes on We are bound to nave |
more or less trouble with noises de
veloping both in engine and chassis.
These can be eliminated or at any ralt
minimized, but some suggestions along
these lines certainly will not be out
of order
Naturally the greater number Of the
noises that may develop in the motor
car have their location in the engine
because that has by far the biggest
number of parts. Of all the engine
noises, valve clicks and slaps are b..
far the most frequent in occurrence
Fortunately valve noises are easily
distinguished because OF the regular
| ity of their recurrence. The trouble
may be caused by too much clearance
between the tappet and stem or to the
same condition between litter and stem
in the overhead valve mechanism. 1:
cure is obvious, but the owner mus
be careful to make adjustments in thS
valve system while the engine Is no
because changes made when the met
is cold will not hold true when til
engine warns up, owing to the ten
dency of metal to expand under heat
By making the clearance just percep
tible when the tappet is moved up and
RI he i-h
will be eliminated.
Occasionally it will be found that in
stead of the tappet the litter is at faul,
through wear. The cure here is re
moval of the litter mechanism and re
| placement, though in some instance
the guide may be sprung little K
hold the litter tighter. Wear of eithe
| the cam or follower will produce a
| slight clicking and a new follower Is
the proper course to take in this case.
! Worn valve stems or stem guides also
| produce a noise, and the course to fol-
| low is to remove the springs and test
each valve in turn. Hold the stem in
the fingers and try to move it side
ways in its guide. If there is any play
perceptible a bushing should be placed
| in the guide or a valve with oversize
/
sion it may be found that valve head
has warped, and this will cause a slap,
and the only remedy is a new valve.
The valve heads should always be ex-
amined for warping when the system
is being adjusted or cared for.
The overhead valve system is apt t.
be little more noisy than the conven
| tional type, because of the larger mum
| Der of joints. Careful attention t.
| fabrication of the system and its ad
justments will prevent undue noise
Sometimes sideplays develops in the
rocker arms with an attendant slap
! A bearing in the arm may wear.
new part or bushing for the old one
will cure this trouble. In case wea.
in the shaft on which the arm moves
develops, an oversize bushing in the
rocker arm is indicated.
While the valve system is the mos
consistent offender, other parts of the
engine develop noisy operation. The
bearings may wear so that a knock
develops, growing louder as the wear
increases, until finally it sounds like
the blow of a hammer on a block Of
wood. The cure for this condition is
of course the taking up of the bearings
by removal of the SHIN between the
two valves or the shaving off of the
metal on the movable half. The OPP
Grafton of taking up the bearings must
be carefully performed or the trouble
will be worse instead of better. The
new car owner will do well TO watch
the operation of taking up BEARINGS
before he tries to perform it himself.
When the piston or the cylinder it
self is worn much out of round a
knock will result that sounds not I'M
like that induced by preignition. The
reason is simply that the piston in
stead of being tightly held has room to
slap. The cure is drastic reboring OF
/ the cylinders and the installation of a
) new set of oversize pistons and il
should always be the set and not mere
ly single one.
) Timing gear or timing chain noise
are not excessively loud, but they are
difficult to locate and remove without
considerable dismantling. Silent chains
as they are used today have an adjust
: ment for taking up wear and the hell
cal gear drives are usually pretty quiet
! which could not be said for the spun
gears that used to be commonly used.
The auxiliary shafts on the engine
: are not likely to give any trouble un-
less their fabrication is neglected. sc
that rapid wear in the bearings takes
7 place.
} One of the most troublesome knocks
is that caused by preignition. 1t is
easy to distinguish this metallic knock
: but there are so many possible cause:
that it is not easy to run down the rea
/, one. Of course it may be due simply
t to the spark being too far advanced
but on the other hand it may be caused
by carbon deposits. faulty timing, poo
T mixture. The only course to pursue il
this case is to run down the real cause
of the trouble by process of elimination
: and then apply the obvious cure fol
= that basic cause
: While the engine is the commones
. location for noises. it has no monopol!
D on this very annoying accompaniment
e TO motoring. The other mechanical
, units are quite likely to develop nois.
r operation. The clutch sometimes de
velops bucking, with a rafting unde
the floorboards that is intensely an
e noying. A worn thrust bearing will
D cause this, and as the Indication o
e this part is frequently neglected thi
= is likely enough to be at the bottom O
:. the trouble.
e The gearset is very likely seat o
: noisy operation. When one of tn
= shaft is out of alignment grinding an
4 growing of the gears will ensue. Worl
S bearings are a likely cause of thi
: trouble, but the owner should have tn
g misalignment corrected at once, be
g cause the condition produces not onl,
: noise but broken gears and heavy re
s pair bills
t The propeller shaft and universe
& joints seldom give trouble in spite O
a the strenuous part they are called upol
| 70 vlIo