LIGHT VAN TROUBLES.
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Our Driver and Mechanic Readers Contribute Some Useful Hints for Overcoming Little Troubles Encountered with Ford Vans.
LF.1.‘TERS FROM drivers of light vans do not take up their proportionate share of our mail bag. Even the Ford serves us but poorly as a Source of interesting matter for this page. Possibly correspondents -fear to find themselves in competition with. "R.T.N." and refrain on that account. However that may be, we have a few this week which deal specifically with little troubles which have occurred in _connection, with Ford vans.
' The first, although interesting, can hardly be laid atthe door of the vehicle, but is chiefly attributable to forgetfulness on the partof its driver, who, apparently, had left at home, or had lost, the lever belonging to his rim. expander told contractor.
His vehicle was a ton truck, mounted • on pneumatic tyres, and on the particular occasion when he was out without this necessaly lever he had two successive punctures in the tyre of a rear Wheel. When the first occurred the spare was requisitioned. The second naturally found him without any such help, acid he had, therefore, to remove a cover from a rim. It was when the necessity for this became apparent that he discovered the inadequacy of his tyremanipulating equipment. He got over the difficulty, however, in rather an ingenious manner, as illustrated by the accompanying sketch, and we have decided to award to him the 15s prize this week.
The punctured tyre and rim were laid • fiat on the floor in the middle of a doorlway. Two short pieces of plank were (then utilized, as shown in the sketch, to hold the rim at one side, while a jack, -similarly located at the other side.of the rim, was used to contract it. When, by the aid of the jack, sufficient contraction was effected, a wooden wedge bee tween the overlapping edges of the rim prevented it from springing back when the jack was removed.
The tyre repaired and replaced. the rim was still further contracted while the wedge was removed, and then expanded by means of the jack which was located inside the rim, with wooden packings at each end.
This correspondent, " RR.," of Oldham, continues :—" Finding that this method of manipulating the rim did not damage it in any way, I adopted the same expedient after reaching 'home in order to effect repairs to the other tyre. On this occasion, however, I secured the contracted rim by using two .claws from the proper but incomplete" rim expander, securing them together at the right distance apart by the use of a shott length of chain and two bolts and nuts, a-s indicated in the second figure of the sketch.
" As a result of th;'s experience, I have arrived at the conclusion that his easier and less harmful to the rim to•manipulate it in this way than to use the usual tools."
Another useful hint comes from " T.W.H.R. " of South Wales. " Itsometimes happens," he_ says, "that drivers of Ford vans experience broken -rear hubs and stripped keyways. In the event of such an occurrence, the following -contrivance is frequently of use in enabling the driver to get ttome or to the nearest garage, a,s the case may be.
" Carry on the car a. piece of iron _plate 12 ins. long, 3 ins. wide, and I in. thick. in the centre cut a hexagon hole of the right size to fit over the nut at, the end of the axle. Prepare two U bolts ain. diameter and 6 ins, long, as shown in the sketch, and drill the plate near the ends to accommodate these. In the case of such an accident AS I have described, fit the hexagon hole in the plate over the nut on the shaft and clip the plate to the spokes of
the wheel, thus providing a satisfactory means of driving-the vehicle.
"One word of warning is necessaryi.e., be careful, when tightening the nuts on the U bolts, to do so evenly and gradually, otherwise there is a risk of breaking a spoke." " S.C.W.," of High Wycombe, experienced trouble with the Ford he was driving on hills due to lubrication of the front cylinder, which, in such eircumstances, was apparently starved of oil. After going so far as to have this cylinder rebored and a new piston fitted, it was decided to try to discover some means of ensuring a special supply of oil to that cylinder. Eventually an ordin
ary sight feed lubricator was fitted as shown and a copper pine coupled it to the wall of the cylinder. This device has now been in use for a couple of years, and has given every satisfaction. The engine was taken down for overhaul about a month ago, and this cylinder was found to be in perfect condition. The hint, therefore, may be of Use to others who are experiencing the same trouble. The method of " E.B.," of Woking, of starting a refractory Ford engine win not be of much use to the man who only possesses one of these vehicles, It is rather reminiscent of the means adopted' in India to persuade a stubborn elephant to work. He is chained, between two others and_dragged to it. " E.B:" tells us that he had a Ford which' was very erratic when called upon to start on cold mornings, and eventually he found the easiest way out of the difficulty was to run another van alongside and make a connection between the two main terminals of the ignition system, completing the circuit with a spanner, bridging the ,two footboards. The engine of the second was then started, and subsequently that of number one never failed to start with the first eranking.