The Washington herald., 1921-04-17
Practical Paragraphs.
New Rings and OIL Leaks.

view hfnBa anu vi Lenkss
1t frequently happens that after
new piston rings have been INSTALL
cd for the express purpose of stop
ping oil leaks the condition con-
tinues Just the same. 1t may be
necessary to lap in, the rings for
a really satisfactory job. II the
,cylindeE I has been worn out or
round n will be necessary to At
the ring TO the altered shape and
tapping Is necessary.
Brake Adjustment.
When the car owner has installed
on his vehicle a winter body of any
type he should. remember that he
has added considerable weight to
the vehicle. For this reason IL Is
necessary that he carefully adjust
the brakes to care for the added
burden. Neglect of this obvious
precaution causes many minor rear
end collisions in city driving and
many contribute to serious acci-
dent.
Ingenioss Foot Rest.
Few veteran drivers need to be
told how much comfort results from
the installation of a foot rest Just
behind the accelerator pedal, 30
that the arch of the foot is suppor,-
ed. Not only does this prevent. leg
strain but IL actually makes for
more delicateiy responsive. control
Eof the accelersting function. An
admirable foot rest of this kind
may be made by cutting through
section of a wornout tire and
fastening II to the floor boards with
small screws driven through the
beads.
Weight and Pressure.
We hear a great deal of discus
sion on the subject Of weight as re-
lated to tire pressure. Every car
owner knows II is bad for the tires
| to force them to carry more weight
than they were intended to bear.
Unfortunately 1t is not always pos
sible to avoid overlooking the car
nor can the driver be expected to
weigh each passenger and then jump
up his castings to meet the demand
about to be made on them. When
it becomes necessary to carry extra
weight let the car be driven slowly
with all due care to avoid unusual
bumps and a temporary overload will
pi"OoOAy " the
| tires.
Inserting tbe Tube.
When inserting a new inner tube
or replacing the old one which has
been repaired, the inside of the cas-
ing should first be wiped out with a
damp cloth to remove any sand or
grit that may he present. A single
| sharp pointed grain of sand between
the casing and the tube is very like
ly to force its way through the 'ube.
causing the puncture. This Is the
real cause Of many a mysterious
runcture.
Pressure Feed Failure.
1t sometimes happens on cars
where fuel is fed by pressure sup
piled by the exhaust gases is be-
! comes increasingly difficult to main
tain the pressure at the requisite
figure. AS a rule. pressure does not
| drop quickly. but seems gradually
to ooze away. The first thing to do
in a case of this kind is to examine
the filler cap of the tank.
A leather or rubber gasket is
used at this point. and often the
rubber becomes spongy or the
leather gets hard and caked, or a
small bit of foreign matter may
have lodged between the cap and
its seat. On the other hand, il
sometimes occurs that the pressure
in the system is built up to a point
where the small valve operated by
the carbureter float will be unable
to restrain the fuel, and flooding of
the instrument will result. As a
rule. a pressure of one and a half
pounds is ample to insure an unin-
terrupted supply of fuel in the car
bureter.
Valve Stem Leakage.
Leakage around the stems of the
intake valves usually manifests it,
self in a falling off in power. diff
cult starting and misfiring at small
throttle openings. A makeshift
remedy lies in fitting the valve stem
guides with some form Of lubricant
retaining means. This may be either
a series of narrow grooves cut in