Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10
BY Fl. CLIFFORD BROKAW.
Automobile Technical Adviser.


The mechanics of the modern auto
mobile include finely made parts, COM
plicated to the non-technical automo-
bile owner, but quite simple In the COM
prehension of the engineering frater-
nifty. The average motorist is entirely
oblivious of the necessarily delicate ad-
justments in his car, because of which
machinery continues to function
smoothly as he uses his car from day to
day. The main responsibility of the
owner in regard to all this completely
Of mechanic adjustment is to see that
its parts are properly fabricated.
Most Distracting.
There Is nothing more distracting
when on motoring vacation than me-
chanical troubles growing out Of lack
of fabrication. With each automobile
sold the manufacturer provides a book
Of instructions which if carefully fol-
lowed will eliminate trouble. The auto
mobile dealer is always glad to supple
ment such information in any way
possible. The book will give sugges-
tons as to when the oil for the engine
should be changed, and the local dealer
will probably recommend what, in his
opinion, is the best kind of oil to use.
In modern motor cars the transmits
sion is small and compact and efficient,
the gears are closely fitted and move at
greater speed than few years ago. But
the mechanical perfection of the pres
ent transmission Is of no avail unless
properly and sufficiently fabricated.
Pure oil of a proper grade containing
no harmful filler to clog small open
ings. should be used.
The differential needs fabrication
also, penetrating oil which reaches all
the wearable parts. This is especially
necessary with the high speeds, smaller
axle housings and heavier loads char
acteristic of motor driving nowadays.
The wheels of present-day automo-
biles are being made smaller, so they
revolVe much faster than they formerly
did. And the average driving speed rs
almost double what it used to be. Con-
seQuently the wheel bearings have sew
eral times as much work to do as they
did before. They are also subject to
severe end thruStS because of the
rapidity at which curves are taken.
These bearings need to be fabricated,
but with grade of oil that is finer than
that used for the differential: an almost
fluid oil, in fact. There are, however,
some cars made whose wheel bearings
require grease.
Strain Increased.
The universal joints have come in for
their share of increased strain as well
as other parts of the automobile be-
cause of the high speed and sudden
stops Of modern driving. Unless lubri-
Gated we'll, excessive wear and conse-
quent noise will be sure to appear pre-
rnaturely. There are two types of uni
verSal joints. One Is tightly tnclosed
and designed TO be fabricated with oil
and is contained within case. The
other type, which is not Enclosed, re-
quires a fibrous grease.
One of the pleasures of driving Is q
perfectly free, easily performing steering
wheel. The steering wheel is constantly
being turned and twisted and moved
when driving, and, of course, the steer
ing gear is In constant motion. Unless
this very important part of the auto
mobile Is properly fabricated, one will
be rewarded with shimmying wheels
and a steering performance that is
loose and unreliable. Sudden fast turns
add their share to the strain on the
gear. A highly viscouS oil is the kind
to use in this case.
Automobile riding would indeed be a
dreary process were it not for the highly
flexible and excellent springs with
which the modern motor cars are