MOTORING

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4802, 26 June 1939, Page 3

MOTORING

AVOIDING TROUBLE. REGULAR ATTENTION NEEDED. WATER IN PETROL. That involuntary roadside stops due to engine trouble are still a frequent occurrence, in spite of the much vaunted reliability of modern cars, is well known by the statistics issued periodically by the motor organisations whose road patrols keep a record of every case in which they are called upon for assistance. In the majority of instances, these hold-ups are due mainly to the owners’ neglect. The modern car is actually a thoroughly reliable piece of mechanism, but it is called upon to operate under anything but the ideal conditions. It is exposed to dirt, mud and rain, and it is inevitable that, unless steps are taken to combat the effect of these, trouble must eventually develop. The statistics available show that the ignition system is still the cause of most worries. A plug gives out, or the supply of current from the distributor is interrupted by dirty

breaker points, the coil or the condenser breaks down. Next comes the petrol feed system, but if every owner thoroughly appreciated the wisdom of giving these units some regular attention, it is certain that few cars would ever give trouble on the road.

If, for example, the ignition system is cared for properly, nothing serious to it is likely to happen over a period of years. All it requires is a careful checking after every four or five thousand miles.

Plugs and Points

The necessary attention is simple enough and applies almost solely to the sparking plugs and the points of the make and break mechanism. The plugs are removed and their electrodes adjusted to the proper gap which, in most cases, is about .030 inch, but apt to be greater in the most modern vehicles. The car’s instruction book will furnish the correct measurement, which can be checked with a feeler gauge to be purchased for a few shillings from any hardware or accessory store. Incidentally, in adjusting the plug gaps, only the outside electrode should be bent by tapping with a spanner, or pliers. To try and bend the central one may result in breaking the porcelain insulator. As far as the ignition distributor is concerned, all the owner is called upon to do is to keep an eye upon the tungsten points of the make and break mechnism. These must be kept clean and at the proper gap when opened by the cam, the gap being given in the instruction book. However, it is only when these points are blackened and burnt that they should be cleaned by a fine magneto file. So long as they have a dull grey appearance, they need not be touched, even though there is a “pip” on one and a corresponding small depression on the other caused by the transference of a small particle of metal from one to the other.

One of the most extraordinary things about motor cars is the manner in which surprising quantities of water and dirt collect in the fuel system. Recently, an owner of a popular make was a little worried by an occasional hesitation in the engine. Suspecting the collection of water (from past experience) he removed the little glass bowl from beneath the petrol pump and discovered it to be actually half filled with water. In addition, there was also present a remarkable amount of fine, black sludge. The water can perhaps be accounted for by condensation in both the kerbside pump tank and the car’s own petrol tank, but the presence of dirt is more difficult to explain. Nevertheless, there is not a car on the road in which neither of these elements collect, and that is a fact which every motorist should remember. That petrol pump needs cleaning every few thousand miles, and the driver who is setting off on a long trip will be very wise to go through the whole petrol system before he starts, the carburettor as well as the petrol pump. The reason for this is that, although the pump is designed to trap this foreign matter before it gets through to the carburettor, some of it inevitably avoids the trap and goes into the float bowl. It is when the bowl collects quite a lot of this water and dirt that trouble starts. However, if the owner makes a rule regularly to examine these points, there is no reason why he should ever suffer an involuntary stoppage at the roadside unless, of course, it is due to some breakage or fundamental failure of a vital part which all the precautions in the world cannot prevent.