The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1919-12-19
REGULAR OILING
OF CAR SPRINGS
Cleveland Auto School Head
Thinks Neglect Is often the
Cause of BreakdoWns.
EASY WAY or LUBRICATI0N
Put Lifting Jack Under Body Of Car
and Spring Leaves Are Separated
by Means OF Small Tool
ProlonSs Life of Car.

The reason you feel completely tired
out after days ride in one car-or |
on the other hand, thoroughly re-
freshed after q similar trip over prac-
tically the same road in another car, is
due to a difference in the action of
the springs of the two cars, says Clyde |
I'll. Pratt, president of the Cleveland
Automobile School company.
The most important part of the cars
mechanical construction as far as the
riding qualities are concerned is the
springs. If the reader will take the
trouble to look at the springs of vari-
GUS cars he Cor she) will note that
there are number of general types of
springs. These may be classed under
various names, among them full-ellip-
tic, semi-elliptic, three-quarter elliptic,
cantilever and platform springs being
the most common.
How Springs Are Made.
ALI springs, regardless of their type,
are made up of a number of separate
layers of fiat pieces of spring steel
placed one above the other, short
pieces being in the middle and the
longer ones extending through to the
eyes of the spring. The spring is con-
nected to the frame by means of a
spring shackle which is fastened to the
end of the spring by a spring bolt
through the eye.
BY watching the springs carefully
when someone else is lettering the car
up and down you will notice that these
separate leaves slide on each other in
stead of simply bending as most peo-
pie suppose. In order to keep the
vibration of the axle from being trans
mitted to the body of the car it is nee
essary to see that the spring leaves
slide easily on each other, and in order
for them to do this there must be a
film of oil between the separate leaves
through their entire length.
Without this oil film these springs
cannot slide without excessive friction,
which means that they will not bend
properly and the spring action instead
of being smooth will be stiff and jerky,
with the result that the car will ride
hard and the springs are more liable
to break. In fact, most of the broken
springs can be traced to a lack of
proper fabrication of the spring leaves.
Easy Way to Oil.
An easy way to oil these is to put a
lifting jack under the body of the car,
so that the weight will be taken off the
springs. The spring leaves are then
easily separated by means Of screw
driver or a small chisel and little
L. ,t1w ADI
Graphite Is usually used with the oil
in the spring leaves, because the graph
lite does not work out as quickly as the
oil alone would.
Many Spring Oilers.
There are many different kinds OF
spring oilers on the market. Some Of
these are good and others are good
only because the spring needs oiling
and these help to call your attention
to IL. The spring bolts must also be
oiled practically every day or they
soon wear 40 the springs work hard
and then at an unexpected moment
break, allowing the car to drop down.
The market also offers many auxil.
iary springs and various shock absorb.
ers which will very often make quite q
difference in the riding Of the car. But
with the instructions that come with
all of these various attachments you
will ind that one of the very impor.
tant items which they bring out is to
have your springs thoroughly oiled OF
creased before applying the spring
sustaining device.
AS you travel around in various
makes of cars you will find that 1t is
not so much the make Of spring or the
type of spring which makes the car
ride easy as it is the proper care and
fabrication OF the springs. This more
than anything else viii keep your
springs from breaking, making your
car ride easy. cut down your gasoline
consumption and prolong the life OF
the car and tires.