The Washington herald., 1921-08-11
.MUCHCAR TROUBLE
BLAMEDONQUlCK
TEMPER OF DRIVER
Little Precaution Urged
To Prolong Life of
Automobiles.

AoSOAAtOOAkCo.
IL Is an old aging that charity
begins at home" and wrongly ap-
piled the old saw would lead to the
disappearance of all charity. It is
a fact, though, that the average
motor car owner Is far more char
/ table toward other vehicles than
he is to his own particular pet.
The average motorist is careful to /
drive so as not to injure another
car, but he seldom treats his OWL
bus In the same way. The treat
ment received by the average car
\ is the reverse of charitable, in fact
II would come under the eyes of
the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Motor Cars. II such an
/ organization were in existence. Let
us examine some of the common
and inexcusable abuses in detail
after which we may realize how
easy 1t is to avoid them and resolve
to do SO.
Take for Instance a bad case of
missing. The average car owner
knows that his engine has devel-
oped q miss by, an unusual vibra-
ton. which is annoying certainly
but scarcely more than that, and
by a distinct loss OF power. This
latter may not be vitality important
because most American cars have
far more power than they need, ex-
cept in emergencies. =.
Regarded as Nuisance.
So it happens that many owners
regard a miss as simply a nuisance
and say to themselves, "Oh, I'll fix
the blame thing when l get time"
: They usually get time within two
or three months, during the inter-
vening period of which the engine
has ben missing with unwholesome
/. regularity. But in actual truth
, when the engine is missing, many
different parts of the mechanism
are being subjected to unusual and
, injurious strains. when, the engine
misses, II frequently happens that
while the engine is part of the time
propelling the car, during the rest
Of the time the car Is propelling the
engine. This sets up injurious
strains on many parts. Every car
owner has noticed the vibration that
is set up by missing. This condi-
tion Is due to the fact that when
one cylinder misses. the engine as
whole slows down to a certain
extent and then speeds up as the
next cylinder fires. The car mean
while is running along at nearly an
even speed. II follows that when
the engine slows down momentari-
Iy and then speeds up again an un-
, usual strain is placed on universals,
gears. etc.
One Tooth Engaged.
To explain this let US remind the
reader that only one tooth of bevel
gear is completely engaged at any
one time. When the engine is slowed
down by missing and then speeds up
again with more or less of jerk. II
is obvious that the single gear tooth
has to carry n most unusual strain,
? which in time may cause breakage
, or chipping. The net result of our
Investigation so far is the discovery
= that missing is not a mere annoying
e condition that may be tolerated un-
I'll convenient to eliminate IT. but
, an actual danger to the mechanism.
: Whenever a car owner detects a
: miss he should go after the cause
: and eliminate the trouble with as
| little delay as possible.
Very similar results accrue wneh
the accclerator pedal is operated en-
evenly This will be almost obvious,
and the driver who desires to be
: charitablesto his own car will real
ize that pressure should be applied
, to the pedal gently. Incidentally.
when driving over very rough roads.
, where Il Is not possible to keep the
foot steady. would it not be more
= senSble to use the hand throttle?
Q Trouble. With Clutch.
The clutch wrongly handled is one
r of the most ,uncharitable units in the
e entire mechanical organism. When
the clutch is thrown into engage
J. ment it is almost inevitable that the
d mechanism as a whole is subjected
Y to certain stresses or strains. II the
n engagement is harsh or violent,
Z these stresses are magnified many
0 times over The lesson here learned
r is easy; accurate operation OF the
s clutch on the part of the driver and
e adequate maintenance Of the part so
v that II may not become harsh in ap-
= plication.
One Of the commonest places in
which the average car owner shows
i has lack or charity toward his own
r vehicle is in the fabrication system
1t Is not always easy to give the en-
gine enough oil and yet to avoid
: OVERRIDING it. This problem will re-
y quire little study and a little care
y fal examination. but the wise car
owner will resolve to study it at all
costs. The instruction books that
. come with the various cars will tell
the owner what grade of oil to give
u the best results with his vehicle and
: how much of the oil should be used
II the owner stops there, he is'mak-
ing a great mistake. 1t is so easy
to keep on filling up the reservoir
as the oil Is used up that the aver
. age car owner is tempted to let 1t so
at that. But that is not the proper
way to handle the matter:
Oil I'm Engine.
The oil used in the engine is SUBJ
jected to great heat, particularly
that which comes in contact with
the upper end of the piston. In
evitably a certain amount of the
virtue of the oil is eventually lost.
II fresh oil is poured into the reser-
voir to bring the volume up to the
tproper point a considerable guam
tity of partly vitiated lubricant
stays in the system. 1t follows,
therefore, that the charitable own
er will at stated intervals empty
his reservoir Of the oil and refill 1t
| u,ifh frash he reCentacla has