SPARE PARTS

NZ Truth, Issue 1148, 1 December 1927, Page 15

SPARE PARTS

AN excellent means of curing leaky ex- *~* haust or intake valve hole plugs is by the use of graphite grease on the threads. Not only will the graphite grease cure leaking, but it will enable the plug to be readily removed and replaced. # # # WHENEVER a tube is changed by the " roadside, before the new tube is inserted the interior of the cover should be mopped out from top to bottom on each side with a dry rag first of all; the wheel should then be spun to loosen any road dirt or grit m its Interior, and when one is certain that all foreign matter has dropped to the bottom of the cover at the lowest point of its circumference, that part of the cover should be carefully mopped out with a rag slightly damped. The cover may then be dusted with French chalk. # * * TN the event of an ordinary gear-lever knob becoming lost or broken a very handsome replacement can be made from an old billiards or snooker ball. Old composition balls can be obtained quite cheaply m second-hand furniture shops, and they are not difficult to drill provided that a lathe or good drilling machine is available. In any case, a garage having a machine shop would drill the necessai*y hole for a shilling or so. # # • A SIMPLE and successful substitute for the more satisfactory, but also more expensive proprietary uppercylinder lubricants is ordinary engine oil, which is mixed with the petrol m the approved way. As a rough proportion, half a pint of oil to two gallons of petrol should be ample, and m some cases this can be cut down to a quarter of a pint to the tin. # # *" . pELLULOID, unfortunately, is very easily damaged and unless care is taken m cleaning side curtains they soon become almost opaque, owing to the surface of the celluloid becoming covered with minute scratches. It is not so well-known as it should be that many metal polishes are excellent for cleaning this material. # • • DAIN-WATER is always to be desired for us-3 m the radiator whenever it can be obtained. There is no chalk m solution m rain-water, so that by its regular use all danger of getting a "furred-up" radiator is avoided.