The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-03-18
OILING CAUSE OF
MANY AUTO ILLS
Average Owner Prone to Seek
Other Sources of Evils Due
to Lubrication.
PUMPING" and ITS EFFECTS
Kind, Quantity and RIng-FittlnG Are
Sensitive Points That Must Be
Given the Utmost Consldera-
tlon by Owner.

No car owner of the present day
needs to be told how important lubri.
cation In all Its many aspects Is In
contributing to the life and efficiency
Of the motor car. However, there are
certain forms Of fabrication failure
that the owner often does not realize
as existing. He does not attribute to
them the troubles which they have
really caused.
For instance, 1t Is q very common
characteristic Of automobile engines
to develop q tendency to allow the
fabrication oil to leak past the piston
rings into the combustion chamber,
where it scots the plugs, induces the
smoking Of an aggravated character
and forms extremely heavy carbon
deposits. Frequently car owners COM
plain Of the carbonizing tendency OF
their engines without realizing ap-
parently that the trouble Is due to
improper fabrication or to q minor
trouble In the engine.
"oiI Pumping" Evil.
The common name for this leakage
Of oil is "oil pumping" and Its fruits
are a carbonized motor, or sooty, oily
plugs, which induce ignition trouble
In more or less aggravated form.
Large sums were spent In changing
spark plugs, putting In new piston
rings and even replacing the pistons,
to cure a chronic case Of oil pumping.
and all to NO use, for the simple rea-
son that one had neglected some Lit.
tie seemingly minor detail that was
the key to the whole situation.
The fabrication Of the engine cylln-
der involves a good many problems
and some cooperation on the part
of the user If they are to be salts
factorlly solved. The ideal condition,
Of course, s to have Just enough oil
supplied to keep the cylinders prop
erly fabricated, but not so much that
1t will work past the rings into the
combustion chamber. In practice this
ideal Is difficult to achieve and IN
practically every engine there Is q
certain amount Of leakage. In most
cases this Is kept low enough to keep
carbon and other troubles from the
acute stage.
Every car manufacturer recon-
mends a certain grade Of oil to be
used in his engine, and his advice
should be rigidly adhered to by the
car owner In case there Is any Ques-
ton In the matter the advice Of the
service station should be asked. The
commonly recommended lubricant Is
a medium body oil, but this is not
universal, so the car owner should
make absolutely sure Of his ground
In this vitally important matter.
Ring Fitting Exaetlng Matter.
Fitting piston rings means moro
than merely placing the rings in their
grooves. The rings must fit the
grooves so that there Is perhaps .001
of an inch up and down clearance, or
Just enough to prevent leakage, and
still not cause the ring to stick. The
rings should be Tapped in size and
ring fittings should be done by ex-
perienced hands.
There has been a tendency in 70
cent years when engine lubrlcating
troubles occur to At some special type
Of piston ring and believe that set
ties the matter. Many Of the special
rings have real value, but they must
be accurately fitted, just the same az
an ordinary diagonally-split ring.
In some cases It is possible to cure
a chronic case Of oil pumping by drill
ing the skirt Of the piston with
1-16-inch holes, spaced at equal dis
tances under the lowest groove. This,
with perhaps the addition Of a scraper
ring in the skirt, will often work
wonders.
Finally, a scored cylinder will in
duce oil pumping, since the trenches
in the cylinder wall allow the OIL to
escape past the rings. In this case
the cylinder will have to be operated
upon by some specialist in this work.