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RUNNING, UPKEEP AND OVERHAUL.

16th October 1928
Page 31
Page 31, 16th October 1928 — RUNNING, UPKEEP AND OVERHAUL.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Interesting Contributions from Maintenance Engineers, Drivers and Mechanics.

Making Starling Easier.

THAT the interest in methods which tend to make starting easier is not dead we can judge by the letters" we still receive on the subject. Many of these letters go over ground which has already been covered by our correspondents, but "1L.," of Balham strikes a somewhat new note when he points out that many engines which, when new, would start quite easily, as they get older become more and more difficult to start. This he attributes in many cases to wear that has taken place in the stems of the inlet valves and in their guides, thus allowing air to enter the cylinders and so weaken the mixture.

It is easy to fit new valves, but not so easy to fit new guides. A more economical plan, he suggests, is td provide some means by which the entry of air can be prevented, even with worn valves and guides. The method he has found to be effective is to make a tube of thin metal which will just fit on the guide between it and its spring and to form a flange extending outwards. The lower end of this tube he cuts into notches and bends them inwards. The 2pace between the lower end of the tube and the end of the guide he fills with graphited asbestos string, ound around the stem. If the tube he slightly longer than the distance between the guide and the cotter washer, a slight bumping will take place at each rise of the valve—this will have a beneficial effect as it prevents the vvhole affair from falling down. He tells us that this arrangement .has increased the life of his inlet valves as well as making starting easier.

Still More About Broken Petrol Pipes.

WHILST our designers and scientific

professors are busily ein research work in connection with things that are more or less of little importance, the very dangerous and annoying occurrence of a broken petrol pipe, .which so frequently happens, appears to have entirely escaped their notice so far as any determined effort goes towards designing anything better than the usual copper pipe and union. That such pipes do break frequently, we have abundant evidence in the form of letters we so frequently receive from drivers who tell us how they have managed to make a temporary repair on the road.

Some time back we devoted a whole page to suggestions from -laintenance engineers who had by various means materially reduced the breakages of such pipes. We feel that the subject is worthy of special attention, as a broken petrol pipe might cause a very serious fire, to say nothing of delays and loss.

One of our correspondents, "C. H.," of Walsall, appears to have had so many breakages that he made a practice of carrying a piece of rubber tubing that could be fitted over the petrol pipe so that he could run home, but on one occasion he found himself without his

rubber pipe when a break occurred. He was, however, equal to the emergency, as by removing the cork from his tea curt and boring a hole through it with his penknife so that it made a tight fit over the pipe, he was able to make a temporary joint, as shown in his sketch.

Both the rubber pipe and the cork may be useful when the break occurs in the part of the pipe which is clear of the union, but our experience of such breakages is that they usually occur near the union, often at the brazing.

Securing Rear Wheels to their Axles.

WE have from time to time had letters from correspondents complaining of axle nuts stripping and rear wheels coming adrift, but in no case have we had the frequency and danger of this trouble pointed out so plainly as in a letter from "J. W. S.," of Damen, who is a fitter in charge of a fleet cf ex-R.A.F.-type vehicles which are fitted with double-reduction gears.

He tells us that the coming adrift of rear wheels has lately become so frequent that he has found it necessary to make a speeial appliance to deal with such occurrences. We can hardly follow him when he says that in his case the wheels are only held in position by the axle shaft, which may snap at any moment, as most wheels are held in place by nuts on the end of the sleeves. Whatever the cause may be, however, we know that wheels may come adrift, as the number of letters we receive on the subject and suggestions for dealing with stripped nuts etc. prove.

J. W. S." points out what may, and in some cases does, happen when a wheel loses the means for retaining it in place, as such things frequently happen when on a steep hill.

The first thing the driver notices is that his transmission fails, then if the wheel works farther off the brakes fail, the transmission brake' if there be one, becomes useless and, later, the wheel brakes may fail through the drum coming off its shoes; this for a moment leaves the vehicle at the mercy of the hill, as the side brakes both fail if they be compensated. The next thing is that the wheel comes off altogether and goes bowling down the hill on its own, where it may do very serious damage as well as leaving the vehicle stranded.

Our contributor appears to have had so many accidents of this kind happen that he has made a special appliance which enables him to tow home disabled vehicles, providing that the driver can stop in time before the wheel actually comes off its support.

It is true that the stripping of axle nuts may be, in most cases, due to neglect in allowing too much side play in a hub, but such neglect should be anticipated by designers, as employers have to take drivers and mechanics as they find them. Realizing the danger of such an necident, we will shortly review the whole subject of the securing of re,ir wheels.

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