ROADSIDE AND GARAGE.
Page 51
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A Page for Drivers, Mechanics and Foremen.
Repairing a Water-circulating Pump.
The sender of the following communication lbws been awarded the extra payment of -5s. this week: [22981 " (Bristol) writes :— `-` The attached sketch • shows a watercirculating pump and a meehod of .repairlug it. It had been in rather a cleapi: dated condition for some time, the corner marked (a) being missing. When, on one occasion, while traversing a piece of road which was in a particularly poor state of repair, two moreeearnere (b and c) broke off, the pump came adrift, and broke the connecting hose. At first glance it looked as though the pimp would either have to be replaced by a new one or be sent to the welders, either alternative being somewhat expensive. Eventually,
however, I made a home-made repair 'of it, as shown in the sketch, and as this was carried out three months ago, and has given no trouble since, it appears likely to be of a permanent nature.
"I procured a piece of steel plate 5-15 in. thick and slightly larger than the flange of the pump. On this plate I marked carefully the position of the four stud holes on the crankcase. I drilled it accordingly. I net laid the broken flange over the plate so that the cue remaining hole registered accordingly. I then marked out on the plate the shape of the broken flange, cut it out carefully, using the drill and hacksaw, and then riveted plate and flange together, using in. steel plate for
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An Emergency Magneto Repair,
. [22991 "B.D.T." (Patricroft) writes
The following little incident may be of use to some fellow-driver finding himself held up in similar circumstances. At the time when the particular trouble I have in eelnd occurred I was 30 miles from home, and it was half-past one in the morning. The trouble was a broken Magneto rocker-arm spring. "I commenced operations by removing the broken parts of the spring (by taking out the small round-headed setscrews). I then cut a small fiat wedge of rubber from the front tyro and pressed it between the back of the rocker-arm and the brass block which carries the spring." "Although -firmly pressed into place this wedge was sufficiently resilient to allow the points to break,, while naturally it caused them to spring back quite nicely. At, any rate, the engine started with' ease and ran beautifully for about five miles, when the wedge came out. f then cut another, and made this onw concave on one side, so that it slightly overlapped the rocker-arm on both sides. With this in place I was able to get home quite safely and without any further trouble."
A Radius Rod Repair.
• [23o01 W.G." (Cheshire) writes :— " I was recently driving a HalIford chein-driven lorry when one of the chains came off. I found that one of the straps of the eccentric adjusting device for the radius rod on that side,' had cracked across its centre. This caused the chain to be' slackened, and it was impossible to drive further tinder these conditions. "In order to effect a temporary.repair, I first of all removed the driving sprocket at that side and carefully examined the eccentric. The halves are held together by two long bolts and nuts, one across the top and one .exactly underneath. I loosened these belts 'arid tightened the chain adjustereoy a, small. extent. The difficulty vas to keep the adjuster in position, as under vibration and the pull of the chain it slackened back. Finally, I lashed the halves of the eccentric together with thick wire . wound round and round it and the front spring bracket, and tightened the wire with a pair of pliers. On the top of this wire I leounclsome stout cord. " The whole made quite a satisfattory job, and tenor replacing the bracket and chain I Was able to proceed on my journey."
Daimler Lubrication.
%[23011 " E.0 E." (Victoria Park) writes:—" The following describes a difficulty encountered with the lubrication of a Daimler engine and how we overcame it which may interest readers of your 'Roadside and Garage' page. Up to a few months ago I had frequently recurring trouble owing to lack of lubrication to the third and (mirth cylinders of my engine. The vehicle had been to a reputable firm of motor engineers for overhaul, but only a few weeks went by after its return before the same trouble again occurred. I decided to investigate matters for myself. I commenced by dropping the engine base until I could hold e tin of oil to the end of the suction pipe of the oil pump. I then started the engine and watched the course of the oil. I found that the leads to the main bearings and big-end troughs appeared to be in order, until, on racing the engine for a short time, I discovered that the supply of oil to the big-end troughs 'below the third and -fourth cylinders suddenly stopped. -This, apparently,
is what happened when .the engine was on the road aftee 5) .or 100 miles had been covered.
"I next 'disassembled the oil pump, which is of the .plunger type with a plunger to each individual lead. I took out, all the plungers and cleaned all the parts, but everything appeared to be in order. This, of course, was far from . satisfactory, as it was obvious that there was trouble.somewhere about the pump. and I had not located it. Looking around therpump, however, I discovered a. couple of screwed plugs in the back of the body. I removed these, and On turning the body sideways a lump of solidified dirt rolled out. This, apparently, was the cause of the evil, and had no doubt been moving about, blocking sometimes one and sometimes another opening to the, oil pipes. Moreover, when reassembled I noticed that the pump section pipe nearly touched the bottom of the sump. I, therefore, cut an inch off the pipe, leaving it clear of the dirty part of the oil bet still allowing it to penetrate to an ample depth in the supply of oil in the reservoir, so long as this was not allowed to get too low. As the lorry has 'since run 5,000 miles without trouble, I imagine I have discovered and rectified the cause."
A Simple Valve Spring Lifter.
[23021 " H.H." (Highgate) writes:— " It is quite easy to remove valves without using, any special tool for the purpose. All that is necessary is a loop of strong twine or chain, one end of which can be slippethover a nut or other pro jectien on the top of the cylinder, while tin other serves as a rest for a fileor .long screwdriver. In order to make sure that the file or screwdriver does not slip, it is sometimes advisable to wrau the twine or chain round it once."
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, October 15th, light you lamps at 5.37 in London, 5.37 in New. castle, 5.43 in Birmingham, 5.41 ito Edinburgh, 5.45 in Liverpool, 5.47 as Bristol, and 6.58 in Dublin.