The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-17
CLUTCH REQUIRES
MUCH ATTENTION
Great Friction in This Mem
Der Necessitates Constant
Care, Says Expert.
By H. CLIFFORD nRoKAw.

A"tOmoo"S ocnfoiS, ~ oto VI" S'ty'
One always likes the man who grips
the hand as though he meant it. and
one has little real use for the uncer-
tain or listless handshake. On the
other hand. one instnctively breads
the rough clutch of the coat collar. be-
tokening that he has been brought to
book for something or other by cop
for instance. 1t is proverbiaL also. that
one should keep out of the clutches
whether it be Of a vamp a loan shark or
the law. All these things have their
duplicates in the important mechanism
OF the car known as the clutch.
When the clutch parts meet in friend
ly grasp. the grip should be firm and
not Indifferent, but If it is like the
harsh clutch of an officer of the law
1t produces like unpleasant sensation .
and IL the clutch tries to run away
with things 1t produces as much trouble
as the siren or any other shark.
Cars have a clutch for the purpose
Of connecting the engine to the driving
mechanism. If there were nothing in.
terposed for a smooth and gradual ap-
plication of power. to start the car 1t
would be necessary to throw in the
gear set. If the engine were running
fast enough to pick UP the load. the
gears would crash together and tho car
go ahead with q sudden jerk. "A good
deal Of the time the load would be sur
fioient to stall the engine. or tear the
teeth of the gears. Shifting to higher
speed gears would also shake things up
an q 1fua1y yr,on
The clutch prevents all thiA sincS
with 1t 1t Is possible to cut OF the
power by disconnecting the engine long
enough to shift gears and then power
can be applied slowly. so that the load
IS picked up gradually. The clutch is
always Immediately back Of the fly
wheel and is one of two types, cone or
disk. The cone clutch usually works
directly on the fiywheel; that is, a
leather faced cone IL held against a
bevelled surface inside Of the fywheel
rim by stiff spring. A lever operated
with the foot congresses this spring
and disengages the cone when it is de-
sired to cut off the power without put
ting the speed gear in neutral.
In the disk clutch there are merely
substituted a number of plates in place
of the cone, and when these are pressed
together friction makes them operate as
one piece. Since friction is always de-
pended upon in this important pro-
pelling device, 1t Is one place in the
car where there must be lots of friction
and there may be. therefore, lots Of
wear. Consequently the clutch needs q
considerable amount Of attention.
Disk clutches are Of two varieties!
dry, where the plates are usually faced
with friction fabric; or running In oil.
the purpose Of the oil being to make a
very smooth application Of power with
out undue wear. Because of the gradual
application the plates rub against one
another at quite high speed until they
finally take hold as the clutch Is fully
let in.
Troubles Of the clutch are slipping, or
the inclination to take hold too sud
denly, called harsh clutch. Slipping
81 caused either because friction sur
faces are not brought together firmly
enough through lack Of spring tension,
or because the facings or disks are
worn 80 that they do not function. The
leather facing of the cone clutch may
wear raidly and become so thin that II
does not hold. This may be remedied
either by washing off the surface with
easolene, or applying tale or Fullers
earth to the facing. II. on the other
hard, the leather becomes hard and
grips too harshly, a little neatsfoot oil
applied to the leather will soften the
surface slightly.
In the multiple disk clutch, which
runs in oil. slipping always indicates
that the oil is too heavy. 1t may be
eummed from heating, and the road
dust which works in. Then 1t is neces-
sary to thin the oil with little kero-
sene. If this sticking goes a little too
FAR the plates will be gummed together
so that the clutch will not release. This
always means that the clutch must ~be
drained. thoroughly cleaned with kero-
sene and have fresh oil.
If this style of clutch takes hold too
rapidly. or, as 1t is called, Is too harsh.
heavy oil must be added With the
dry multiple disk clutch, slipping usu-
ally indicates that the bearing surfaces
are worn, or that grease has worked In,
and harshness indicates that the sur
faces have become too dry and need a
little fabrication.
Inasmuch as the spring tension may
be at fault, 1t is well to examine this
first when there is trouble. Springs
sometimes lose their tension and drag, |
or the adjustment may work loose. or !
work too tight
Sometimes the clutch pedal arm or the |
rocker shaft to which II is attached may
become bent or otherwise out of order !
and prevent proper operation of the |
clutch. The clutch lever. which is OPP
Grated by the foot operates collar |
which enables ~, driver to compress
the spring. I'd this releases the clutch. |
When ~ pedal is up the spring holds |
the parts of the clutch firmly together.
This lever may be pivoted Just under /
the floor boards and the lower end CO. /
crate directly on a collar, or II may be /
attached to n shaft on which Ia a rocker 4
arm operating the collar. but the result l
is the same In either case-pressing the 1
lever releases the clutch and removing /
the foot allows the spring to hold the /
parts together. These parts require fire.
quent fabrication. or a dragging clutch /
may result.
Sticking of the lever, or an inclination
20 operate slugglshly. indicates that fu-
brication has been neglected. The leather l
facings OF the cone clutch and tho fab
rio facings OF the dry multiple disk
clutch require occasional renewal. The l
facings may be secured AZ a supply |
house and be renewed by the owner but /
II is usually much better 10 have this l
done at the garage. Many manufacturers
supply new plates with facines already
attached old plates being turned in TO !,
the dealers
with every car there In a book de-
scrlbing the particular style of clutch
used. with Instructions for It's care. AL
little study of this will save much an
noyance and enable the owner properly |
to care for this important piece OF |
mechanism.