New-York tribune., 1921-03-20
[ 'arburet0 t0r Nay
Show q Divas
Temperament
Keep Your Hands OF This.
Device, Because Adjust
fng 1t lent the Proper
Kind of First Aid Always

Kind OF First Aid Always
The carhuretor and its habits form
the subject OF the attached Nrtcie, BY
II C. Brokaw. technical director OF the
West side y. NJ. e a. autonobifc schools,
Il your carburetor creature Of
temperament? Does it pop and sput,
ter and go wrong generally on occa-
s;oa. that occasion usually being Just
when you want it to 90 right
Chances are that the poor carburetor
Z not to blame at ALL Indeed. 1t is
almost certain, il the motor has been
running along steadily and yon have
not BEEN fussing with the carburetor,
that it is still in proper trim and the
trouble must be looked for elsewhere.
II used to be that the csrburetor
could be blamed for lot Of things,
and the way it was adjusted anJ other
wise maltreated was enough TO make
any perfectly good carburetor act
ueevish Nowadays the rule Is, when
something goes wrong with the car.
bu-etor, to let it alone unless yoh have
been interfering with it previously.
Foreign substances entering the float
chamber with the gasoline are quite
likely to start rumpus. Water,
the tank, being heavier than the gas,
will naturally go to the bottom of the
Aost chamber. but if tiny globuie is
sucked up into the needle valve there is
going to be trouble untilsit gets out
/: again. 1t cannot pass through the
valve, and what is more. it won't let
ANYTHING else pass through. Or it may
he that a tiny grain of sand ora speck
al dirt, or flake from the lining of
The tank works in and similarly clogs
the needle valve.
The only way to prevent things Of
fhis kind is to drain the carburetor
every little while, or let enough gaso-
line run out to carry out water or
sediment. If the carburetor. is provid-
ed with valve which can be ad djusted
from the outside, usually'giving com
rete turn open will allow the sediment
to disiodge and drop down, but the
valve must be turned back to exactly
the original position. In some car
buretors it is necessary to disassemble
The device when dirt lodges in the mar
row spray nozzle, in passing through
which gasoline is vaporized.
The wise man, when something hap
pens to the carburetor which he cannot
understand, looks first at the fuel tank
and sees if he has forgotten to buy
that ten gallons at the Oil station.
Next he opens the drip cocksof the car
buretor to see if the gasoline is flowing
freely, noting whether it fills up quick
" when the drip cock is closed. Short
sge of gasoline in the carburetor will
produce back firing because the mix
ture fed to the engine is, too thin for
proper operation. Sometimes there
may be bent spindle on the float
which prevents it working freely, or
the float itself may be leaky, if of
metal, or gasoline-logged, if of: cork.
Back fire always has an element of
danger, because the sparks are likely
to set fire to any gasoline fumes which
may be lurking around under the hood.
Too Much Fuel Floods 1t
Another trouble of the opposite ma
ture comes from flooding the carbu-
rotor, which may be due to obstruction
OF the valve which controls the supply
OF gasoline, sometimes called foat
needle valve. This causes the engine
to run heavy, with loss of power, be-
causes the mixture becomes too rich.
1T is continued this may cause an
excess deposit of carbon in, the cylin-
der. with all the consequent evils.
lean mixture might also be caused
BY the intake manifold being loose
where it attaches to the. carburetor or
where it attaches to the cylinder block.
II not kept tight, or if the gasket be-
comes worn, the suction. stroke of the
motor will draw in lot of air, offset
ting the mixture and causing irregu-
lar firing.
Usually. however, the trouble with
most carburetors is something else
that Is, the trouble is in some other
place, usually in the electric system.
The spark plugs may be foul or out of
adjustment, SO that they do not spark
regularly. There may be- a short cir
eult IN the wiring, which. because of
vibration. would come at-irregular in
tervals. Occasionally spark plug wire
drops until it rests upon the top of the
cylinder. 1t rubs there for weeks or
months; from vibration the insulation
i worn thin or through, and every time
tne wire touches the metal of the
syhnder there is short circuit, and
tne carburetor is blamed because the
engine misses, and then your hands
iong TO get down there and adjust that
carburetor.
The motorist would do we'll to study
the section on the carbhretor in the in
struction book accompanying the car.
" tnls is not sufficiently definite, pro-
cure pamphlet from the carburetor
service station, which will take all the
working parts and explain exactly what
!ney are, how each operates and how it
Is adjusted
Lean Mixture Is Best
The ideal adjustment is to have the
M'Ature as lean as it can be. without
producing backfre. This is not only
/ economical, but gives the greatest
yvWer. II the engine is logy and does
aos seem to have proper power, get
vu1 ~ ana inspect the smoke coming from
.ns exhaust. If there is black smoke.
sae mixture is too rich. This should
~: ~ oe confounded with blue smoke,
eating oil.
me carburetor should get the once
over occasionally and water ana sedi-
n nsnt De drawn off regularly: beyond
.aat it should not need much atten-
H Son. OF course, it is necessary to
asve the throttle lever or accelera tor
4 properly linked up with the throttle "a
ss.s sc,es. u work. Occasionally one, runs
isloss case where a bolt works
.oose or drops out and, the owner can
aot understand why the engine does
sos work, in case the valve is shut. or
sVlked too hard if the throttle Is
ssndlng open.
ouen trouble can be prevented bv
SS;scIul 4. inspection. Any owner. Of or
sSaary gumption, can master the car
s.seor IN few minutes with the
ss0k IN hand, and should do SO: hut
y should learn. first of al. "a kesn
il nngers off the adjustment and un-
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