Evening star., 1923-11-11
BY FREDERICK c. RUSSELL


Winter is coming, and, as usual,
many an engine will be seriously dam
aged through exposure, but more gar
ticularly through the worst kind Of
overheating.
Few car owners who become so
alarmed over the heated power plant
of hot summer day realize that
there are many times in winter when
the engine boils over for relatively
long periods Of time without making
itself Objectionable.
Most of the springtime repair wGrk
is process of removing traces .of
excessive heat rather than the marks
OF Jack Frost.
Those cylinder walls are not scored
because the oiling system was Geld
and sluggish, but because the radiator
covering was not operated propefly
by the driver and the oil was too Eot
and too thin to do its work. These
warped valves would have been bst-
ter off operating in a colder tempelsa-
ture, but there was not enough wafer
in the radiator. The engine ran miles
overheated and the valves suffered.
AT no period of the year is the mat-
ter of balancing the temperature ito
the engine so important as in winter.
Remember that the tendency of the
internal combustion engine is to
overhead. 1t must be kept down TO
an efficient operating temperature at
all times-and there's the rub.
In winter the available cooling SUP
stance. which is the air-eVen in TIE
case OF water-cooled cars, where tae
ing-is of an extreme nature so that
1t has. to be applied to the engise
gingerly.
1t was a long time before motorisz s
~1nt H.
driving is to control the.tiow of avail
able cooling substance, the air. Even
now one sees car owners laboring uE-
der the delusion that the object Of
winter preparation is to keep the es-
CINE bonnet warm or the circulating
water Snugly warm, invariably leay-
ing the front of the radiator wide
open, SO that a constant blast ef
and keep the engine. constantly cold.
New Devices Helpful.
All this is passing with the intrG-
duction and use of devices for either
automatically or manually control
ling the flow of air to the engine. If
this flow of the cooling substance IS
wisely regulated, with full considera-
load as well as with the temperature
or wind, it is possible to keep the
engine operating at all times at a
temperature equivalent to what It
would be accustomed to in normal
weather.
But the problem of operating the
engine properly in cold weather
hinges on these various considera-
tions. There are, for example, a num-
ber of factors that increase the tenn
perature of the engine in winter, ana
when these apply while the air regus
lation is inadequate there is bouns
to be trouble.
Just because it is winter drivers
fall easily into the habit of neglect.
ing TO keep the radiator filled witt
the proper mixture of alcohol an9
water. But there are pump leaks iIi
winter as well as at any other timl
Of the year and the result is that
most engines are encouraged to over
heat just because there is not enough
cooling medium" in the system. IG
the system is shy a gallon or so OF
water in winter it will inyaria bl Y
overhead, regardless of the tempera.
ture.
Again, as it is difficult to remember: L:
to open UP the radiator front after;
chances Of losing a large amount Of
water through the overflow are
greatly increased.
If the engine merely heats to a point
where the motometer monentarily
touches the danger point enough water
will syphon out the overflow to make
the engine run too hot on long grade
if the radiator is not fully exposed to
the air.
The owner usually figures that if he