Two Neglected But Valuable Accessories

Northern Advocate, 29 July 1939, Page 6 (Supplement)

Two Neglected But Valuable Accessories

JN EVERY CURRENT MODEL CAR CERTAIN PRECAUTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO PREVENT THE ENTRY OF DUST INTO THE ENGINE. IT MAY BE SAID THAT ALL CARS AND TRUCKS HAVE SOME FORM OF AIR CLEANER, WHICH A LSO SERVES THE USEFUL PURPOSE OF QUIETENING THE HISSIN G NOISE WHICH OTHERWISE WOULD BE APPARENT FROM THE INTAKE. ALSO THE USE OF OIL CLEANERS OR PURIFIERS IS GRO WING

iL/iUJCj-nLr* JLiXVO i U JLII/XVCS Ak3 *JT-SV^P These fittings require a certain a get in the majority of cases. The most one which is packed with tangled steel sucked, and when these shavings are the dust in the air as it passes through, one see an air cleaner which is moist w

mount of attention which they do not common type of air cleaner to-day is shavings through which the air is soaked m oil they will collect most of But that is the trouble. Rarely does ith oil, as it should be.

A car starts its life with the air cleaner properly treated, but after about 2000 miles, every vestige of oil has disappeared, dried up by the heat beneath the bonnet, and there is then little to stop dust from getting into, the engine. Some of it will be caught however, and as time goes on, it will collect in the interstices in the steel shavings, and clog them so that they seriously restrict the volume ol air going through, and that, again, will automatically enrich the mixture. About every two or three thousand miles, the air cleaner should be removed from the carburettor, simply achieved by loosening one clamping screw when the whole unit can be lifted off, and the covering plate at the top of the cleaner should be removed. Not Difficult The whole unit should then be soaked in petrol, so that the dust is cleaned from the steel shavings. Then it is soaked in old engine oil. the outside of the unit wiped clean, the top plate replaced, and the whole unit put back on the top of the carburettor. It is not a difficult job, but it is one that is well worth doing regularly. With regard to oil cleaners, it is not so easy to give detailed instructions, because several different types are in common use. One, indeed, is stated to be so efficient that with it there is never any need to drain the sump and refill with fresh oil.

which comes from his sump will realise why it is so necessary, by the black, discoloured state of the oil and the amount of grft present in it.

Because this grit, composed of small grains of carbon, and tiny metallic particles from the pistons and bearings, not to mention road dust which enters through the breather pipe, collects in surprising quantities in the sump, ft is an advantage occasionally to flush tire sump with a quart of flushing oil. This may be done, say. every second time the sump is drained. When all the old oil has been removed, the drain plug is replaced, and the engine runs for about five minutes on tire flushing oil. This is drained away in turn, and the fresh supply is inserted.

Attention to all these points will give an engine tire opportunity of which it is capable, to run for some 50,000 miles or so without attention to bearings and piston rings.

A popular type is fitted with a cleaning element, which the makers term a cartridge. This is made of some composition, and through the oil filters, the cartridge catching any stray pieces of carbon or minute particles of metal which may bo in lire oil. Naturally, this will eventually become so clogged that the circulation of the oil will be impeded to some extent, and it becomes necessary to replace the filtering cartridge. In most cases, this is advisable at about 10.000 miles, and the fact must be stressed that this task is infinitely more important than looking after the air cleaner, because a thoroughly clogged cartridge may mean ruined crankshaft bearings.

Vitally Imucrtant When an oil filter is not fitted, the

regular draining of the sump becomes vitally important. As most motorists know the usual practice is to do this every 1000 miles, and the driver who takes the trouble to look at the oil