CAR ENGINE FUMES

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4808, 10 July 1939, Page 6

CAR ENGINE FUMES

TRACING EXHAUST LEAKS. Objectionable fumes from the engine are due usually either to leaks in the exhaust system, or to fumes blown out from the breather, due to leaky rings. The main difficulty with exhaust leakages is to find them, but a certain method is to colour the exhaust gas with an excess of oil. This is done simply and without causing trouble by rigging a small auxiliary fuel tank connected temporarily with the carburettor by a length of rubber tube. Oil is added to the petrol till the exhaust smokes badly and an assistant then holds a rag over the exhaust outlet while the whole of the system is checked for smoke leakages. If fumes from the breather are the trouble, do not try to eliminate them in any way which might interfere with their free escape or you will be in trouble with oil leakages from the main engine bearings and other annoyances. You may fit a length of large-bore flaxible tube to carry away the fumes either under the car where they will be blown away before entering the body or to lead them into the carburettor air intake'. This latter method is adopted on a number of modern cars and, besides having been found fully effective, it is said to tend towards improving fuel consumption.