Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-02-01
Driuer Must Kno,o O,vn Cor
To Obtain Satisfactory Use
Each Car Has Individual PecuIiarities,
and No T,co Are Operated Under Same
Conditions-Study Saues Trouble.

points as they have discovered them.
but he must also make the personal
inspection, for the latter will show
him wherein his particular car differs
from the general run of the MAXI.
One motorist who ignored these
points made a costly mistake that will
illustrate this exceptionally well.
One Of his friends who had pur-
chased a car of the same make and
model discovered that the rubber was
wearing off the front tires at a rate
that suggested misalignment of the
front wheels. At the service station
it was found that the wheels had
the right amount OF toe-in as recon-
mended by the factory, Vet in order
to stop the excessive wear it was
necessary TO adjust the tie rod 50
that the wheels rolled virtually
straight. II was rather an excep-
tional case In the experience OF the
service station, but the friend passed
it along to his comrade as something
that was characteristic of the par
ticular model of car. When the other
fellow adjusted his tie rod so as to
take out the normal amount OF toe
in, of course he ran into steering
troubles and lost a lot of good rub
Der from the treads of his front tires.
Designed for Cooling.
Several years ago, a popular make
Of car put out q. six-cylinder model
with an L-head motor. At the front
and rear ends Of the valve compart-
ment there were narrow Sits, or
openings, apparently designed with
the idea of allowing air TO circulate
through the compartment. thus keep
ing the valves a trifle cooler. The
tendency. however, was just the re-
verse. When an engine became thor
oughly heated the fan would blow
hot air through the compartment and
dry off any oil that happened to be
on the valve stems. The valves near
the radiator were particularly liable
to get excessively hot and dry, and
then stick.
People who drove this model OF
car in cool climates seldom had any
trouble on this score. Owners who
were IN the habit of having carbon
cleaned out and valves ground in
every three or five thousand miles
went right ahead doing the same
thing with the new car, and thus
never experienced any trouble as
result of the openings. Other own
ers, however, found the drying of
the valve stems quite an annoyance.
In high speed hill climbing and hard
use the sticking valves were trou-
blesome to a point where some OF
the owners traded in for other makes
and took a loss which they could
well have charged TO their own lack
of initiative.
Remedy Is Found.
A particular owner who was wise
enough to know that a car can be
twice serviceable to any one who
Will take the trouble to browse about
through its innards studied the sit
uation a bit, discovered why the
valves gave the trouble they did and
remedied the matter by inserting
pieces Of felt in the openings of the
valve compartment. The valve stems
and their operating mechanism
would then stay moist with oil for
a. long time and under the severest
heat strains. 1t was a. little thing
in the way of a remedy, but it did
the trick.
A lot of the chronic troubles which
cars develop are due to the way they
are driven. This sometimes puzzles
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