The Washington times., 1921-08-13
SUMMER CARE
WILL KEEP GAR
F|TFORW|NTER
Expert Outlines Few Things to
Remember to Keep Down
Repair Bills.

Quite regularly In the fall OF the
year motorists are tipped off as to
how to fight Jack Frost. An effort is
made to expose the most vulnerable
portion of his icy anotomy; and at
least a thousand and one varieties OF
cold weather suggestions are passed
around among the motoring elan.
freely; others pass up these cold
weather hints as though zero was
something merely to harass tender
ears and not gasoline engines. Mo
florists of the latter type are those
who pay repair bills for cracked cylin.
der heads and new batteries, says
Frederick G. Russell in Motor Life
There Is nothing, absolutely nothing,
In this chat that will interest them.
Our aim Is TO pass around another
plateful of suggestions to the sort of
car owners who have the knack oil
selecting hints which fit their par
ticular cases-and acting accordingly.
The difference is that this time the
suggestion will concern the battle
against Old Boy Heat instead OF j..
Frost.
A Cooling Memory.
Why We didn't get to the point ano
explain our aim in the very first para
graph is. we confess, a little ruse to
get you in the proper frame of mino
for the hot stuff which we must pres
entity discuss. Surely IL must be
gratifying for you TO be reminded
that there actually is such a thing as
winter. 1t doesn't seem possible, OF
course; but history tells us that II
is an honest 10 goodness fact. Ano
history. they say, repeats itself. All
this in spite OF the fact that doubt
less you are at this very momenl
lounging in the back seat OF your
faithful bus trying TO magnetic a
breath of ozone on the top OF some
mountain.
Now that we've tried to prove that
the world can be something other than
sizzling pavements ana GREATNESS
nights IL will be far easier TO draw Il
few contrasts. 1t is most trite to
state that thsre Is a vast difference
between heat and cold. but a fact
which perhaps you haven't thought
about Is that motor car is just about
as Inefficient when the weather Is
sweltering as when 1t is freezing. An
internal combustion engine operates
at a high temperature, but there are
definite limits: the moment it over.
heats 1t labors as hopelessly as when
1t struggles against the first blast
OF zero air. Like the human mechan-
ism. 1t Is useful only when 1t is tenn
perate. And 1t is more likely to run
to excesses in summer.
Take the engine, for instance. While
you stop at the wayside inn for a re-
freshing glass of lemonade, nothing
stronger. presumably the feverish
water passages of the cooling system
are pleading in vain for a drink. But
your ears are stuffed with cotton. ut
had drink" you say but you forget
to add in explanation that the last
indulgence was actually three days
ago. Water evaporates quicker in the
summer, and the higher operating
temperature of the engine forces upon
the water an unbridled temptation to
leak out at many connections which
under ordinary conditions would be
water tight. And whereas an engine
will not overhead in winter when the
cooling system Is only half filled with
water, missing half pint of aqua in
hot weather will mark the difference
between making hill on high and
grinding up to the tune of second
gear.
AS necessary as a full radiator in
hot weather Is the importance of hnv-
ing clean water In the system. The
water may be the sparkling variety
when you pour 1t in. but when lost in
the rusty stuff which you have been
using for the past five months a good
portion of Its cooling qualities is lost.
Opening the pet cock under the radia-
tor you will be surprised to find that
there Is so much rust and sediment in
the system that the water won't drain
off until you remove the stoppage in
the pet cock with a nail or a match
stick. And when the cooling beverage
does finally trickle forth you will
swear that some practical Joker pour-
ed coffee In the radiator.
The Joker In the Deck.
What has happened is simply that
you have discovered a joker in the en-
gine's deck-and removed 1t. You
wondered why the engine overheated
so quickly, In spite of the fact that the
fan belt didn't slip. You wondered
Why the car suddenly lost momentum
when you went over The same hill that
seemed like level ground In the spring.
time. Now you know why. II could
hardly be otherwise; for IL you ever
have boiled anything on a stove you
know that liquids In which particles
are suspended arrive at the boiling
point quicker than clean water. Iron
rust Is a good conductor Of heat. 80 1t
Ia evident that rusty water cannot be
kept down to the right temperature
for proper engine combustion. Such
a polluted cooling agent wipes away
the heat too quickly. comes to a boil.
ing point Tor near it), and then sud.
denly fails 10 relieve the engine Of the
excess heat which II naturally devel.
ops in summer.
Among other things in and about
the engine, the carburetor is one that