El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-16
"Cap" Hardy on Engine Assembly
By WINsOR REED DAVIS

- - go e@e~AS - 1899
REED DAVIS.
I on the case and set the point so that
Z 70 Just touches the top OF the Jour
Z nal al one end Like that Now move
I Il down and set II up at the bearing
az the other end OF the shaft With
the same setting It should Just touch
! the top OF the Journal there"
Yes but &C doesn't" I Informed
him.
'llo. because the surface the gage
Is on Isn't clean. seraPe off the re-
mains OF that paper gasket- and some
Of the old shellac and then Try It."
DID as directed and the shaft
checked nicely.
Now" said Cap. you know that
the shaft and the machined faces OF
! the crankcase are parallel 50 you
have something 10 work from In as
semblinE the rest Of the engine
Begin with the center main bear
ing. Make sure that all other caps
are loose and be careful in moving
those caps not 20 drop any shims or
20 get them mixed Your bearings are
nearly right as they are and a shin
IN the wrong place may double your
work Put plenty OF OIL on that CEN
ter bearing and tighten down on %
hard. The shaft should be tight enough
to offer some resistance. too tight TO
spin when you let 90 o. Il. but not
I too tight 20 turn over when you give
! an easy pull on L. Now get 20 work"
Bill and I went 10 work In earnest.
frightened down the cap and found
that the bearing was too loose
Take out one OF the thin shims on
each side said Cap, and try 81
again"
We tried again. then removed
second SHIN from each side and tried
. a third time.
Remember" called Cap. "that when
you get those nuts down tight they've
got to line up with the holes IN the
later. Let me see how that feels
now"
He came over and tried the bear
'.That does #. Il feels good. Now
take the cap off again and let's see
II it's bearing evenly The oil marks
viii tell Us something. but II we were
in any doubt the only safe way would
be to wipe off all oil and put a light
coat Of Prusslan Blue on the Journal
and turn Il around so as to mark the
high places OF the box and cap. But
remember, II you ever do that put the
blue on thin. Too much o. Il VIII
Next" said Bill Speed It up. Dad.
Loosen that center bearing and
start In on one Of the end bearings.
Same method as before. taking shims
off OF each side until you think it's
tight enough At the rate you two
move that's all yUuu get done to-
night"
For half an hour we worked with
out a halt
Were ready for you" told him.
enough so that the bearings won't
bind and not so much that thereIl
be a lot OF play. Then you're ready 70
start on the connecting rod bearings,
First try number one. Fit Il 70 the
crankshaft by taking out shims. just
ar you did with the main bearings. !
When Il Is adjusted correctly Il should
just fall over under Its own weight
no more. no less. As soon as that's
done, loosen number one and 90 the
same with number two, and 20 forth
We started In on the connecting
rods
when we had finished the last con-
Meeting rod. Cap ordered Us 70 turn I
the crankcase over. with the piston I
side up. Get those piston pins out Of /
the cylinders" he commanded, wipe I
en- clean and put EN- IN the connect I
ing rod bushings. Now were all I
ready for another test with the sur [
face gage"
He placed the gage on the machined |
top OF the crankCase beside one OF the /
connecting rods which protruded /
through the cylinder opening. Then /
he set the point TO just touch the top /
Of the wristpln at one end and. with I
out disturbing the setting moved the I
gage around % the other side Of the I
rod and tested the height OF the pin
THAT checks" said Cap. What's
that proven
IL al right angles with the face OF I
the crankcase. doesn't it2- said Bill
More than that" said Cap. You /,
remember we tested and found that /
the crankshaft was parallel 70 the 4
face. so this test tells US that the con-
Meeting rod and the shaft are at right /
angles 20 each other and that's what i
we want 20 know. Now get busy and 4
check up all the connecting rods the 4
same way II any Of them are tipped /
to the side u means that the bearing I
VIII have TO be scraped or the rod I
Strengthened II Il happens to be /
sprung out OF shape While one OF /
you Is doing that the other can get
these plstons ready" "Pistons? 4
What's the matter with themf / i
thousht they were brand new
They are. and youu have to wash /
and wipe them carefully TO get out \
every trace OF chips or emery. Then i
as soon as Bill finishes with the con-
Meeting rods, you can clip the pistons
on and test them. Clean number one \
and III show you how"
With Bits help had the piston on
In record time.
What do you test with2" I asked.
Get me 2 couple OF squares"
He placed the squares on the face \
Of the craukcase, bringing them /
against the side OF the piston az right /
angles to each other. 10 looked to me i
as If the pistons we're tilted. for /
could see light between one Of the |
squares and the piston. I pointed Il
out to Cap.
What OF itT' he demanded. THE /
top Of the piston has more clearance /
than the skirt, anyway. Look he =: /
we move this square around 10 re /