The Washington herald., 1919-09-21
DRACTICAL
L A r A GRA PHS
Rattling Tire Chains.

The common method of locking
spare tires Is to use a c.lain and mad
lock. The only trouble with the idea
is the noise incident to the rattling of
the chain and the fact that II mars
tie finish of parts with which. il
comes In contact. Some car owners
cover this chain with a bit of hose,
but this Is usually too stiff, and IS
somewhat noisy and even permits
marring OF the finish. A bit of. Iesth1
er or heavy substitute, the length Of
the chain and wide enough to form a
tube to inclose the chain. offers a sat
isfactory solution of the problem.
| Turn in the edges of the leather case
and II you cannot do the job yourself,
the nearest harnessmaker will make
the tube for you.
Tool Arrangements.
An admirable idea in the arrange
ment OF tools in the home garage is
to give each tool a number, which is
painted on the walls or racks in the
place where the tool belongs. In this
way II is a simple matter to return
each tool to its proper place so that
! II is ready w.len it is next needed.
Low Water.
| Operating the engine without suf1-
| cient water or with no water at all
may result in injury to the spark
| plugs. To give service without crack
| ing the plugs must be properly cooled
and provision for this is generally
made in the water jacketing system.
When the water runs low the plugs
become hotter and there is great dan
ger Of their being damaged
Power Losses.
Leaks mean power wasted. lost.
The leak may be of water, fuel or
oil. but, no matter what il is, it
wastes power. Slight leaks here
and there may cause a total loss of
power that will be serious. There
are dozens OF joints in the engine,
and each one may spring a leak
under certain conditions. Good gas
keting is the best insurance against
! leaks, but IL is not all the battle
The joints must be inspected fire.
quently. II you are not sure of the
existence of a leak. squirt a little
| oil over the suspected spot: bub-
| bles will tell the tale of leak.
Cylinder head holding down nuts
should be frightened occasionally.
The inlet manifold if it is outside
the casting, should be frightened to
| the carbureter and cylinder block.
Remove the pan under the engine
and see If there is any dripping Go
over the three major systems, wa
ter. gas and oil, and stop any leak
found. For oil paper gasketing is
best. Use wrapping paper and be
sure there is no break in the gas
ket at any point. around the stud
| holes. Asbestos coated with graph
ite makes the best gasket for inlet
manifolds. Carbureter fanges and
similar locations. Joints that carry
hot gases should be fitted with gas
kets OF copper-Covered asbestos In
certain cars special types of gas
kets are recommended for various
locations. These types should be
purchased from the service stations
and used as directed. The impor-
tant thing is to insure against
leaks, for every leak means a power
loss.
Tire Chains.
Tire chains are practically always
used in wet weather and care is neCes-
sary to keep them from getting rusty
The chains should always be dried of
before they are returned to the tool
box after use. Especially should the
clamps be looked after. A little cup
grease or vaseline will prevent rusting
and eliminate the trouble of prying
them open or using a hammer to close
them There should always be carried
in the tool kit a crosspiece tool and
one or two extra cross chains. With
this tool broken cross chains may be
removed or replaced very easily.
Oyerheating Preventive.
In cars that use thermo-syphon cool
ing. the water system should always
be kept completely filled. If the water
level drops considerably. the circula-
ton of the water will be reduced and
may even be stopped altogether. With
pump system the pump continues to
force the water through the system.
regardless of how much or how little
of the liquid there may be. but the