Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-08-03
O4ERHEAT|NGB BAD
FOR SUMMER CARS.
Retarded Spark and Sedi-
| ment in Radiator Two of
% the Causes.
REMEDIES DESCRIBED

'ft is about as bad for an engine to
overhead in summer as for an individ-
ual. With most cars the nearer to the
boiling point that the engine can run
withou. actually turning the water
into steam the better it will rum" says
the technical director of a New York
auto school.
Many engines do not develop full
horsepower because they are kept too
cool for efficiency. Some of the
trouble is due to retarded spark. In
cola weather the driver who retards
thsiispark too much uses up a lot Of
gas that gives no power. but the en-
gine does not overhead With the rise
In the mercury comes the overheating
and the driver cannot figure it out; he
Is driving just the same. - -,
Driving with retarded spark will
produce ,overheating. Much manipula-
ton of the spark lever is needed with
present-day battery ignition systems.
Many drivers, when they find the en-
CINE knocking at low speed, retard
the -tever and fail to advance 1t again
when running at high speed. With
magnetic ignition the spark control
lever may be advanced about three
fourths Of the full range and be left
there for about all speeds except the
very high. This Is because the nature
of the spark changes with the speed
of the engine. equivalent to an auto
matte spark advance and retard. 1t is
not SO with the battery system.
Sediment Prevents Radiation.
.Another cause of chronic over
heating may be traced to sediment
In the radiator. which prevents proper
radiation. This is a deposit of min
Annt hist ta 4
~ this may be removed by running a
saturated solution of washing soda
through the cooling system. If there
is q water pump disconnect the upper
hose from the radiator and run the
engine to pump out the solution,
q hose. so that the system is thor
oughly flushed before connecting the
radiator hose again.
with a thermo-syphon system dis
connect both upper and lower hose
from the radiator and put the hose
CINE to flush out the water jacket
thoroughly and also flush the radiator
to get out the last of the sediment.
Fan belts get; out of order readily
IN warm weather because grease and
oil ny more freely than when 1t is
soft and pliable, but free oil makes
the belt slip and the fan does not per-.
form fits mission There is a belt
adjustment to take up the tension,
bYtuThen the belt begins to stretch
itlWsre better replaced.
~ Dust Clogs Passage.
where the fly wheel spokes are
shaped to form the fan 1t is neces-
ssxy to keep the hood and drip pan
closed. SO that the air will be drawn
Though the radiator rather than
ei6ewhere. It will not do in such a
cs&e to lift the hood to help cool
thaEengine. The radiator must be
keff clean also; IL oil Is allowed to
g4dn the air passages 1t will coll
le1t dust and not only clog the
passage. but insulate the radiating
st&face. For the same reason the
faces of the radiator. cannot be painted
very much. sNss
Ine should keep the engine free
frdm carbon in the summer and keep
the-valve push rods adjusted close,
hsxE the mixture as clean as possible,
arE make sure that the exhaust
through the mufzier Is free"