MODERN MOTORING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 15, 19 January 1926, Page 12

MODERN MOTORING.

A MESSAGE BY SOUND. i Knock! Knock! Knock! Coming events cast their shadows before, and the experienced motorist usually cultivates a eeense of hearing to the point where every little unusual sound in the engine or in the body of the car warns him of impending troubles. I There is a great deal of satisfaction in driving along the highway and listening to the smooth running of a perfectly perj forming engine. By driving a car day lin and day out. we grow familiar with ' the various pitches of sound given forth iby the car at various speeds. Therefore i any sound that is out of the ordinary I conveys its message to the driver's ear , and is the alarm which, if answered ' immediately, often prevents serious difficulties.

I There are three types of drivers. One j fellow plugs along and never hears anyI thing; another with a vivid imagination ' never misses a sound. Between these , two extremes there is a medium, : the wise driver who recognises sounds 'that are ominous and does not worry over ! the squeaks and noises that come and go with every change in the road. In a car that is properly cared for and j frequently serviced, deterioration is slow. ■ A warning sound, therefore, is usually j given out by the motor in ample time Io i remedy a fault. This warning may come in the form of a light knock or j rattle, and, if located immediately, the ! necessary repairs can be made before j serious faults nave developed. j Sharp metallic or rattling sounds j usually indicate loose connecting rods, , carbon in the cylinders, spark knocks, etc. Deep sounding metallic knocks or I thuds indicate trouble in the main beari ings. I Squeaking sounds are generally located in the spring assembly, in the body of the car, in the fenders and hood joints, or in the friction areas of the hood, in dry bearings, generator brushes, etc.

I Whistling sounds mean leaks in the gasoline manifold, in the cylinder head gasket, in the spark gasket, in the exhaust manifold, etc. Blowing sounds generally come from the lower half of the crank case. These are often caused by a leak past the piston rings. (irinding noises generally come from the timing gears and chains. The location of annoying sounds in the car is often a considerable problem, and even an experienced mechanic may often be at a loss to locate the seat of the - difficulty. There are numerous parts in Ithe engine, such as piston pins, camshaft bearings, and a dozen and one other elements where the sound may be located, and the "divining-rod" method is a simple but effective way to trace the noise to its eource.

Use an ordinary stick or switch about the size of your finger, taken from the .limb of a tree; cut it to a three-foot length. Place it in your teeth or against I the forehead, the other end near or on I that part of the car or motor that you I think the noise is coming from. Put I your fingers in your ears, and the sound will be heard and can easily be traced. An iron bar will do 'as well.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and if you are not really acquainted with the mechanism of a motor you may frequently do far more damage by attempting repairs, and it is far cheaper in the long run to call on an experienced workman who is provided with the proper tools to reach the seat of the trouble at once.

NOTES BY THE WAY. Attention has been drawn to the practice of certain motorists who persist in travelling on the right-hand side of the road when in the country, their reason for so doing being not quite clear when the roads are in good condition on both sides. By acting in such a manner, motorists cause a double amount of traffic to iise one -side of the road, which has to suffer in consequence, "while their action results in additional expenditure to the local body concerned in the-main-tenance of the road. What makes the practice the harder to understand is that Tvaen in the city the same motorists religiously observe the rules of the road.

The Taranaki Automobile Association advises that, for the convenience of motorists, several camping grounds have been established in and around Xew Plymouth. The principal one is in New Plymouth itself, and is situated practically on "the beach, although it is close to the town. Water is laid on, the area is lighted by four lamps from the street main, and conveniences have been erected. A caretaker will be in charge, and to defray expenses it is proposed that motorists shall pay the sum of 5/ per week or part of a week for use of the ground. A second camping ground is -situated on a property at Onaero fridge, about 15 miles north of New Plymouth, and a third at Tongaporutu, about forty nyles north of New Plymouth, on the road to Auckland.

It should not be forgotten that it is •wise to stick to that particular brand of petrol which you have found best for your car. It is folly to buy the cheapest I spirit and incur the danger of plug and valve trouble, and it is risky to take in petrol of any but recognised make and quality. For these reasons, it is well to carry your spare tin, no matter how many petrol pumps are erected in the country. Thus armed with a reserve of your favourite brand, you can keep going until you meet a pump at which the same brand is obtainable. The distinction of having the greatest rated horse-power of any standard model in the world belongs, strangely enough, ito the Daimler, one type of which is rated at 51.4 h.p. The bore of the engine is 4|in. The only other 3ritieh cars rated in excess of 35 h.p. are the Lanchester. 38.4 h.p.; Rolls-Royce, 43.3 h.p.; and Owen, 40 h.p. Powerful Continental cars are the Isotta-Fraschini, 44.3 h.p.; Hispano-Sniza, 37.2 h.p.; Farman, 37.2 h.p.; Rochet-Schneider, 37.2 h.p.; and Renault, 45 h.p. High-power American cars are Panhard-Levassoeur, 37.2 h.p.; the Locomobile, 45.6 h.p-; McFarlan, 48.6 h.p.; Cunningham, 45 h.p.; Packard end Studebaker, 36 h.p.

HELPFUL HINTS. Water, with, a little ammonia added, is a, good cleanser for leather upholstery. In gravity feed gasoline systems, air must enter the tank to replace the gasoline as it is used.

When the clutch is allowed to engage suddenly it will cause heavy strain upon the entire driving mechanism. A good method of protecting the coil and distributor from water is to fashion a boot from a short section of an old inner tube.

Good oil will not smoke unless too much is being used. By running on soft tyres much is "lost, as well as bringing about undue wear on the tyres.

Gasoline should not be used for external cleaning of the engine; and kerosene that is used for this purpose should only be applied when the power plant is cold. An ordinary screw type of grease cup can quickly be changed to an oil cup by removing all grease from the cup and recess to be oiled, by inserting a small sponge in the cup reservoir. WJien the engine stops suddenly it is •usually due to ignition trouble. If it stops from a shortage of gasoline it will indicate this by popping back through the carburettor or by running unevenly.

It is advisable to replace bent parts, especially when they are forced beyond their elastic limit. A bent steering rod, axle, etc., will not stand a repetition of cold bending or heat treating without being that much nearer to the breakingpoint when put back into service.

To keep an engine in the most efficient condition it is essential to change the oil frequently, especially when the car is new, to exclude the dust as much as possible, to keep the engine warm so that it will start quickly a.nd so that there will be little water condensation, and to have the piston rings replaced when worn, so that they will always be tight.

A loose battery cable in the terminal may be tightened by wrapping a layer or two of tinfoil around the end of the cable. Perfect contact is retained, because tinfoil is a good conductor of electricity.

Fine sandpaper, not emery cloth, should be used to clean the generator commutator. Hold a little piece of sandpaper against the revolving commutator with a email stick having a flat end until ita surface becomes bright.

Poor compression is the greatest offender in the wasting of petrol, and this is brought about by a number of ailments, such as poor spark, bad carburettion, worn bearings, poorly seated valves, etc., but the worst of all is the wear of cylinder walls, pistons and rings.

Many adjustments will be avoided if care is taken in the use of the brakes. Apply the brakes slowly. Reduce speed by closing the throttle or talcing the foot from the accelerator, allowing the engine to operate as somewhat of a brake, then disengage the clutch, and apply the brake. This does not apply when one must stop suddenly. When descending steep hills, the brakes eau be assisted by shifting into low, or if it is a moderate decline, into second, and allow the compression to act as a brake. Keep the ignition on when uaing the engine and there will be no danger of explosion in the muffler when the throttle is again opened.

Even when the tools supplied with the car are of good quality, there are certain items which are rarely included, and yet are needed badly on occasion. One of these is a large adjustable spanner, about 12in in length, and opening out so as to deal with nuts 1\ to ;1 inches across at the opposite flats. A long screw-driver is also a useful addition; this should have a boxwood handle, and an over-all length of 14 to 15 inches. A tight screw may often be loosened with a long screwdriver, when attempts to shift it with a short one have failed, while it can often be more thoroughly tightened with the former than with the latter.