The Washington herald., 1921-06-19
SELECTION OF OIL IS.
IMPORTANT FACTOR
IN LIFE OF AIN AUTO
Neglectfulness of Owners
In Car L fabrication Is
Costly to Upkeep.
ny n. A. TAnANroUs.
(Menber Society Attractive
EpgtueePn.)

6ukneShAt
Investigation has shown that the
average automobile owner today
gives scarcely any consideration TO
the quality OF the oil he buys. A
good percentage Of owners even 20
30 far as to consider the price OF
oil. and endeavor to obtain the
cheapest oil. Imagining that one oil
is as good az another. There Is just
as much difference between many
oils on the market A. there is be-
tween decayed food and good.
wholesome sdibles. II the millions
Of dollars motorists have invested
in cars are to be protected against
serious loss through rapid deprecia-
tion Of cars II 10 up to the owners
individually to give as much con-
sideration co oil selection as they
would to food for themselves
IL you will 60 to an oil dealer
you may discover that he handles
three or four different brands OF
oils. perhaps only one brand. and
at the other extreme Ne may claim
he handles all. The dealer may
have oil In drums or In tins, but the
average motorist buys bulk oil In
small quantities. This Discourage
the dealer from buying branded oil
in sealed containers. and 1t also en-
courages him to practice substitu-
ton. Bulk oils may be good, Tor
the best braided lubricants are sold
in drums as well as tins, but the
motorist has no means Of telling
good oil taken from drums.
Best OIL Il Bcsns1y.
Briefly. every owner should buy
his oils In tins; he should buy one
gallon or five or ten gallons II pos
.sible, instead of the smaller guam
titles. He should buy branded oils
of reputation. There Is a vital rea-
son for this. There are today per-
haps 200 concerns which call them
selves oil refners. These refners
buy their crude oil from various
sources. The smaller companies
buy In the open market such crude
as they can get at the price. This
means they may get one form Of
crude during one period OF say.
three months, while the following
period another crude 10 obtained
ne Cits
these different crudes will be diff
ferent. Some rehners may mix
crudes. The point In that the reput-
able refiner attempts to give uni
form oil quality by carefully select
ing his crude oil. The really large
refiners may own their own wells.
or IL not control the output or part
OF Il from a certain district. Thus
III e.
same base in making oils.
The motorist cannot be sure when
he buys oil from a drum that he is
getting what he asked for. Unfor-
| tunately all oil dealers are not
| strictly honest, which results in
some Of them using q drum stamped
with a popular refiner's name but
employing in this drum cheap oil.
There Is no particular trick In OBJ
tanning a drum stamped for the con-
venience of the dealer, hence once
he has the drum can MI II with any
oil he wishes.
Clean Llbrieatisn Important.
But apart from selecting the
| right oil and buying in tins, the
motorist must employ the oil so II
will not have TO lubricate under al
| verse conditions. Clean oil must bt
kept clean. II you use oil con-
\ stantIy for say 500 to 100 mile'
that has accumulated goot
amount of dirt. water. carbon anc
mixed sediment, the solid mattel
works into the. oiling system and
cuts moving surfaces The watei
mikes with the oil and forms ar
emulsion Of reduced lubricatinE
qualities as compared with uncon
taminated oil. II the motorist viii
change the crankcase oil every sol
miles. each time removing the oil
pan and cleaning It. the utmost lu'
bricating efficiency will be obtained
from the oil.
Some drivers have an idea tina
the older the car gets the heavier
the oil should be. This is based OF
the idea that as the engine wear
the clearances become greater
hence the thicker oil will take vi
these clearances. This is not SO
A new engine will wear quite rap
idly until the pistons. cylinders
bearings and other moving part
have been run in" After these
parts ut perfectly through slight
wear additional wear il practicail!
nothing SO long as the lubricatinI
oil always covers the surfaces
Properly fabricated an engin'
should run for 10000 miles with
out showing any great amount o