HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20693, 31 December 1938, Page 24 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

I A COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS.

STEERING GEAR tendency to become stiff HOW TO OVERCOME TROUBLE Those owners who make a practice of looking after the routine maintenance tasks themselves, such as chassis greasing, may be puzzled at a tendency of the steering gear to become stiff in its action and lose its positive feel. in one such case, the owner checked the wheel alignment, pumped oil into the steering pivots until it exuded from the bearings, and checked the tyre pressures, all with little or no improvement. But the easy steering was later returned by a very simple method. As this is something which certainly will affect other owners, it is worth describing. The truth was that oil was not going into the bearings of the steering i pivots, even although it appeared to come out from them on application of the oil gun, and it was this which destroyed the old freedom of movement. The* solution was to Jack both front wheels off the ground while the chassis was being oiled and work the wheels from side to side, so that the oil from the gun was helped on to every part of the king pin bearings. When a car is lubricated at a service station it is customary to lift it on a hoist so that, automatically, the weight is taken from the front wheels, which in itself assists the oil into every part of the bearings. At the same time, any attendant worth his salt also moves the wheels from side to side in the manner described. MAY LEAD TO EXPLOBION “WATER” IN BATTERIES RISK RUN BY MOTORISTS Probably few motorists realise that what they are prone to term the ••water” in the batteries of their cars gives off in certain circumstances oxygen and hydrogen, a highly explosive mixture which has been known to cause a mild explosion when a naked tlarne has been brought close to the battery. There is, therefore, an element of risk in endeavouring to ascertain by means of a lighted match, for example, whether there is enough “water'’ — [ i.e., electrolyte —in each cf the cells by holding the light close to- the hole vacated by removing the event plug. True, the risk is not always existent in sucli circumstances; as a rule it can be said to occur only when the battery is gassing or boiling as some people term the phenomenon because of the battery having recently been “on charge”—after a run for instance. But, to be on the saf - side, it should be made a rule ne'er to be hi lten, thit no naked light is ever h* ought cl os .• io the lop of the buUiy. Another way in which an explos.oc can be produced is by removing charging wires frotri a battery without first switching off the current at the charger. In these circumstances it is possible that, a spark caused by the breaking of the circuit will ignite the gases. A case is known where the glass cells of a radio battery .showered over the unfortunate owner, who failed to switch off before taking off the charging clips. A USEFUL DEVICE MAY REAPPEAR ON GARS Some years ago it was the custom to fit a reserve petrol tap to the main tanks of most British cars, this being arranged in such a fashion that it trapped about two gallons of the tank's contents in reserve. When the main supply ran dry the tap only had to be turned J.o a new position to make the rescue available. It was a most useful device, because the owner always had , warning of an impending exhaustion of fuel in ample Lime to run to the nearest kerbside pump. This reserve tap has fallen into disuse for two reasons; first, the universal adoption of some form of instrument board guage; and secondly, the reluctance of manufacturers tu lit anything in the petrol line which can wear loose and cause leaks. However, there is some agitation in England for the return of this reserve tap, and it is likely that this will be heeded by manufacturers, because it is such an obviously valuable device that any minor disadvantages it may possess j are comparatively unimportant. Its ; value is not in the least impaired by j the use of instrument board guages. Is it too much to hope that it will eventually appear on all cars sold in New Zealand.

©PARKS Cardiff's Lord Mayor is to have a new car, because he is unable to sit I in the present one with his silk hat j When the sister ship to the Nor- j mandie is built it will have a garage j for 100 cars. During a church service recently three men stole the minister's car. The congregation were singing: “Simply Trusting Every Day.” A total of 233,463 visitors saw this year's Motor Show at Earl’s Court. This figure compares with an attend-

ance of 241,844 last year. Solicitor; “The constable says the road was dry.” Motorist: “It was where he was standing. He'd got a great helmet At last America seems to be adopting the sunshine roof so long familiar on British cars. It is an optional extra on many new models. There was a big demand for British cars by dealers from overseas who visited the recent London Show. One ] company reported booking orders for over 20 different countries. At Kettering recently the clerk to the court said: “When we give Corby people time to pay a fine they have a strange way of disappearing.” What’s so strange about it? While the rest of the world reports Increases in the use of cars, Japan is urging the' return to bicycles for the duration of the war. The Foreign Minister is reported to go to all Government meetings on two wheels. HOMER SADDLE 1234 1 2 PROGRESS WITH TUNNEL DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME By the middle of March the bottom heading tunnel which is being driven through the Homer Saddle in preparation for the full-sized tunnel, which is to be undertaken later, will have been pierced for half the total distance. This information was given in an interview by the district public works engineer, Mr P. Keller. About a month ago some difficulty was experienced by the contractors for the heading tunnel as a result of an unexpected inflow of water being tapped, but this has now been overcome by the installation of additional pumping equipment. Mr Keller said | to-day that the pumps were now deal- ! ing adequately with the water. There j had been only one very pronounced in- ! flow of about 10,000 gallons an hour, but it was now well in hand and no j water was reaching the working face, j The tunnel face is now 7 driven to | approximately 25 J chains from the j eastern portal, and when another five j chains have been driven the heading tunnel will he half-way through the total length of 4000 ft. Even when the heading, which is 12ft by 9ft, is completed, however, there will remain the larger task of excavating to the- full tunnel dimensions of 24ft by 20ft. The object of pushing forward with the smaller | tunnel is to facilitate the haulage of j spoil and the drainage associated with ! the work on the full-sized tunnel.