The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-11-06
SHOULD ALWAYS
EXTEND PROPER
CARE FOR UNITS
Claims Disorganized Sys-
TEN Reduces Parts of
Car to Impotency.

car Quite 30 Nitai TO the efficient
operation, by which / mean the ac-
tual driving OF the motor car n.
the clutch. The clutch that Is nron-
eriy taken care of and adjusted per.
forms Its functions In such a way
that its very existence f. almost
forgotten. But let the part get out
of gear. the facing fall, the bear
ings wear and the results are in
Simultaneous and unpleasant An
ailing clutch Is one of the most
prodigious MASTERS Of power and
reducers of efficiency that can be
lime gined. In fact, a badly disorgan-
lied clutch can reduce the whole
MECHANISM Of the car to impotency.
The clutch occupies a peculiar
strategic position In the mechanisn.
II is the connecting link between
| acting as flexible connection.
to or removed from the rear wheels
The operating function of the
clutch is controlled by a pedal, and
the part must be employed each
time a change OF gear is necessary.
Obviously the clutch is a fairly
busy bit of mechanism.
Modern clutches fall readily into
three distinct types, known re-
spectively as cone. disk and plate
clutches. Cone and disk clutches are
divided into two subtypes, accord
ing to whether they run in oil or
dry.
Not very long ago cone clutches
were almost universal on American
cars, but within the last few years
there has been a notable change In
this respect and at the present time
| disk clutches are in the majority,
with cone In second place. As the
name implies. the cone clutch en-
bodies a cone as the driven mem
Der. This cone fits into the fiywheeI.
which has been followed out to re-
ceive It. the engagement being as
sured by a spring fitted for that
purpose. The surface of the clutch
is faced with leather or with =
fabric composed principally of as
burning or charring. Pressure on
the control pedal releases the
clutch from engagement with the
| fywheel and the power is at once
removed from the driving mechan-
ism. When the foot is removed from
the pedal the cone Is pressed home.
the surface grips the inside OF the
cavity In the fywheel and the
power is transmitted to the rear
wheels. Simple enough and efficient
in action as long as the part Is
properly maintained.
In the so-called multiple disk
clutch the part is fitted with a num-
Der of small disks. sometimes more
than fifty being used. The inside of
the flywheel is fitted with a drum
on the inner surface OF which are
arranged keys designed to main
tain the disks in a fixed position
with regard to each other. The
disks attached to the hywheel act
as driving disks, and the driven
disks which At in between are at
tached to the clutch shaft itself. As
the clutch Is released the disk ;
separate and the power Is removed
from the driving mechanism. When
the clutch Is pressed into engage
ment the disks come together and
the power is sent back through the
transmission TO the rear wheels.
Finally there Is the plate clutch.
which Is really only q variation Of
the disk type. Instead OF using a
number Of small disks this type
employs three large plates, OF
which two are the driven plates
and one Is the driving plate. nxed
on the hywheel. The plates may be
OF metal or they may have q fabric
| facing Within the last year or two
the plate clutch has made consider
able strides into popularity and
there seems to be a bright future
for this type.
And now to examine in detail the
ailments to which the different types
OF clutches are heir and suggest the
remedies to be used for each. The
cone clutch consists primarily OF
the cone, the shaft and the suit
bic bearings. In addition there is a
spring. whose function is to press
the cone into engagement with the
flywheel. In some cases instead of
one main spring three or even more
small springs are used, and in this
case they are mounted at right an
giles to the cone. In course Of time
the tension of the clutch spring is
quite likely to suffer impairment,
so that II has not strength enough
to press the cone firmly home. In
this case the result is slipping and
the cure adjustment Of the spring.
! On almost, all modern clutches an
adjustment is provided for regulat-
ing the tension Of the spring;
usually the adjustment takes the
form OF a collar behind the spring,
and 1t is a simple matter to change
the tension by this means. When
no means of adjustment is provid-
ed II IL necessary to fit a SHIN or
even to renew the spring, but in
any event the spring must be kept
fit to perform its function or much
power will be wasted through slip
ping.
On the other hand, when the
facing OF the cone clutch becomes
too heavily oil soaked II tends to
slip, and the result Is q heavy loss
Of power. The cure in this case
Is simply to sprinkle a light layer
Of Fuller's earth over the surface,
! and this serves TO soak up the ex-
cess oil. Incidentally, when treat
ing the facing OF the clutch the fly
wheel surface should also be clean
ed off
fabrication Of the clutch IL one
| Of the most important things to be
remembered. The bearings at the
throwout collar and the thrust
bearing on the shaft must be given
plenty OF proper fabrication. Gen
erallv oil or grease cups are pto-
vided for this purpose and these
must be filled or turned down at
regular intervals-one neglect may
cause serious trouble.
All the suggestions made for
caring for conc clutches apply
equally to disc and plate clutches.
except, Of course. those for caring
Tor the leather facing. The springs
must he kept up to the mark. the
bearings must he rep1,Jarlv 1,thrg :