Evening star., 1922-03-26
TO the Automobile EDITOR:


ing motor work, two pistons are al
ways at their highest point at the
same time.
Will you explain through your col
| umns why they fire in this order in
stead of together?-(R. b. L.
Answer-You forget that the motor
you are studying is of the four-cyiin-
each piston performs four functions
! in receiving one power impulse
| namely, suction, compression. firing
and exhaust. This means that each
| completing compression and exhaust.
When you see two pistons up at the
! same time, one is COMPRISING the
| charge of gas while the other is
scavenging the other cylinder. Hence
the firing order. 1-3-4.2: The other
! The construction OF the camshaft op-
Grating the valves and the proper
| timing of same carry out the func-
tion Of the motor designed.
| AS a reader Of your paper. will you
kindly give me the following infor-
! nation: I have model S Ford
car which is equipped with centrifu-
gal pump attached to front of ra-
diator and which is not satisfactory,
4 due largely to it's location. Will you
| kindly advise If this car could be
| operated without the pump, depend
ing upon the thermo- syphonic action
to cool the motor, and whether or
4 not the height of radiator above mo-
tor is a controlling factor in this
| respect? NJ. NJ. B.
| Answer-It would not be advisable
| to dispense with water pump. 1t
| should not be difficult to place the
pump in proper working order.
ing is designed differently, in that
| the water manifolds are larger and
| the openings of more liberal size.
This is done to offer the least possi-
| BILE resistance to the flow of water.
Your motor is designed for the force
feed system of cooling. and better
| results will be obtained il you adhere
! to it. 1t should be a simple matter
j to repair the water pump for effec-
tive use.
| have a ive-horsepower. single
! cylinder motor cycle, and would like
| to know whether I could carry a tan
dem passenger without putting too
much strain on the motor. Also. does
| It harm the magnetic by storing the
| machine in a cold shed over winter.
and whether 1t is best to drain oil
and gasoline, or can l leave it right
| in the tank? The last trip ! took !
experienced trouble with gil leaking
have a hand pump. and did not pump
any more oil than usual. Everything
was so flooded with oil that it made
| it very hard to start the motor, and
/ when it did start it would smoke
| badly for a while and the oil dripped
| all the time. Kindly state what you
. think the trouble Is, and Oblige
| A READER.
| Answer-The f1ye-horsepower should
| be sufficient to carry the additional
load without injury. Cold weather
| will not injure the magneto, but see
l hot he OF
advise draining the tanks. AS for
| the flooding Of oil, you will probably
| find a bad oil leak somewhere, either
! in the OIL pipe connection or gaskets
not be difficult to locate. Too much
! oil in the crank case would cause the
| excessive smoking. Part of this
| should be drained until normal level
| is reached.
T have a four-cylinder car which
! has Just been overhauled. When my
| motor is running idle with the spark
| fully retarded l can hear slight
| knock, but this knock ceases as soon
as advance the spark. Do you think
this trouble needs attention? F. r.
| Answer-Under the circumstances,
1t would hardly be advisable to dis
mantle the motor for such a slight
! knock. 1t would be best to note care
| fully whether the knock develops or
1 I.
! overhauled, there is no logical cause
| for 1t, and It may disappear after the
| motor has been running for while.
| is necessary to slow up for a corner
say, to five or six miles an hour-
| often find that by letting my clutch
| slip I can pick up speed without
| changing to second gear. I should
like to hear what you have to say as
I 20 M
not j. S.
| Answer-It is bad practice to allow.
the clutch to slip. Would advise that
you use the second gear. When run
ming slowly. continual slipping of the
clutch will soon wear 1T out, no mat
| will be observed that good driver
] rarely slips the clutch. preferring to
use the gear shift lever.
When tho motor Of my car is not
| running gasoline drips from the car
| buretor.. Can you suggest a way to
| overcome this waste S. ].
| Answer-The float in the carburetor
may be adjusted too high. causing
| the valve to unseat. or the float valve
may not seat properly, In which case
It would be best to replace the old
| valve. Very often, however, the valve
may be reseated by tapping slightly.
making sure to center the valve pin
| at the time.
To tie Automobile Editor;
An answer to a few electric prob
lens In, In your s1,raato+.S auto column Will be
A short time ago I received a
severe shock. had one hand on the
| switch or steering column and then
| touched one Of the plugs with the
| other hand. Will you kindly explain
| O. NIL, ca
| those conditions, and do not get
| shocked by touching the positive pole
| Of a six-volt battery with one hand
and the negative with the other hand?
I have seen a person take a pair
produces q spark. I understand that
| this short-circuits the Battery and is
harmful. but should like to know
| II would be shocked by doing the
same thing with my hand. If not.
We have l1e-vult current in the
garage. / accidentally crossed wires
Man snd It % pu1nsd Mals aG she fnafe badiy dEo
would the same thing have happened
| to my hand II I had crossed them
shocked, as the handle Of my knife
has steel pins through the pearl
r. B.
Answer-rhe battery current is of
very low. pressure, and for this rea-
son you do not receive a shock when
placing hands across the battery
Terminals. This same battery current
however, is stepped up 10 a very
high pressure through an induction
| coli before it is led to the spark
plugs. This high voltage current is
what passed through your hand when
you touched the spark plug.
It is bad practice to short-circuit
storage. batteries with pliers. II It is