Evening star., 1924-05-25


NO more is it necessary to try the
car out after repairs or adjustments
, have been made. and no more is il
Justifiable to endanger the lives of
others by running around town with
4 mechanic perched on the running
board
This is the sprinetime message to
ear owners, who should know that
here are now ways and means of
testing the accuracy of repair shop
, work without running the risk Of
testing it at time when all attention
should be given to the matter of
driving the car.
Many of these tests are given by
he repairers. Others can and should
be given by the owners before they
drive away. There was a time when
the motor car manufacturers thought
there was no way to tell whether a
"ar was put together properly except
by taking it out on the road and put
ing II through a course of sprouts:
Nowadays substitutes for the road
Test reveal the accuracy OF the Work,
and much time and labor is saved as
q consequence.
Tests Grow Rare.
This idea rapidly is gaining head
way in the automobile service sta
lions and repair shops. 1t is getting
TO be rather rare to see car owners
driving about while adjustments are
being made, and it is just as unneces-
sary as il is rare. Much OF TINS is
due to the vast improvement in the
automobile itself.
Take the matter of carburetor ad-
justment, for instance. There was a
time when to touch the carburetor
was to f1irt with trouble. Any ad-
JuStments that were made usually
Of r.
cnced mechanic, who, lying on the
running board, would turn the ad-
iustments gingerly, while the owner
kept the car on the move.
Much of this gentle handling OF the
carburetor was done as a precautlon,
against stall, for stall IN the olu
days was a problem in itself. Now
adayS one can stall and stall, KNOW
ing well enough that If the battery
is in reasonably good conditlon the
sclf-starter will slave willingly IN an
Effort to start the engine again
Thus in adjusting a carburetor to-
day it makes little difference whether
the mechanic turns for too rich or
too lean a mixture. With the ald OF
the starter motor he can actually
make a dozen mistakes in traction
Of the time it used to require 10 au-
Just the carburetor accurately.
No Reason for Mistakes.
But there is no reason why he
should make any mistakes. SdTpu-
retors are more accurate in their ad-
iustment. Some of them have but
one adjusting screw, while others
may have two, one of which may not
require attention. Five notches TO
the right or left, as the case may
he, and the instrument is dead.
So many notches back again and she
IS ready for work. No mystery
about II.
Times have changed with respect
to the servicing of cars. and II you
are still driving around with me-
chanics aboard it is d foregone con-
clusion that you are not fully alive
10 the changes that have taken place
in cars and their use.
1t is a waste of time to drive the
car up a steep hill to see whether the
clutch is slipping. BY locking the
brakes and allowing the clutch to
engage while the engine is running
and the car in low gear the condi-
ton Of the clutch is easily ascer-
tained. If the engine does not in-
mediately stall the clutch is slipping
and should be adjusted until 1t Will
show results by this test.
By this time both mechanics ana
car owners should be better judges
of the exact location of annoying body
and chassis noises. Much of the effect
of road use of the car can be had
by standing on the running boards
and rocking the car, but even this is
often unnecessary. The more modern
method is to put a little oil In every
possible body joint that might squeak,
and inspect the chassis Invariably
this method reveals the car as re-