FORD HINTS AND TIPS.
Page 15
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Valuable Advice on Every Phase of Ford Transport, which will Appeal to the Owner, Driver and Repairer.
IN THIS NEW series of Hints and Tips concerning the Ford light chassis and ton truck, wherever they are employed for commercial purposes, we propose to deal with the subject from every viewpaint, so that the advice given will appeal to the owner, driver, maintenance engineer, or mechanic. Valuable sources of information will be tapped for this purpose, and it should be understood that the information given will all be derived from those with a practical and intimate knowledge of the subject. Where a particular accessory has proved of value, from the point of view of time saving or mechanical efficiency, we shall be pleased to illustrate and describe it, but it must be remembered that the utility Ford is 'usually more or legs standard, and the owners do not favour the fitting of accessories which are not indispensable.
We shall welcome for inclusion amongst the hints those which have proved of value to individual users, and will make suitable remuneration for any published. What. we desire are the results of practice, arid not so-called improvements, which are but theoretical.
I.—Preventing the Front Plug from Oiling Up.
No one likes paving more than is necessary for any article, particularly if that article, in excess, is apt to . prove a nuisance. The owner of aFord van is not an • . exception to this rule, and he strongly objects to purchasing 'expensive lubricating oil, much of which appears to be employed in oiling up the sparking plug of the front cylinder, a little habit which is sometimes indulged in by the ton truck more than by the 7-cwt.
van. .
A_ certain amount of good can be achieved by strictly regulating the quantity of oil permitted in the base, but there is then always the danger of starving the engine, and the cure may be worse than the disease.
The trouble is more usual in the ton truck, the back of which being rather high, the engine is tilted slightly forwards and the oil runs to the front end. The best way to prevent this oiling up is so to alter the front piston that it always tends to scrape the oil . off the walls and force it back into the crankcase. This desirable object can be attained by chamfering off the lower edge of the scraper ring groove in the manner
shown in one of " the illustrations.
Another way of Fig. 1.— The obtaining the standard Ford same result is to commutator reduce the dinwill wear well meter of the --_---. if properly at. piston below the -;• tended to, and scavenger ring by p it should be a, very sin a 1.1 oiled at least amount and then once daily. to chamfer the inner edge so that the metal is about 1-64 in. wide at the bottom of the piston skirt. Care must be taken that t h e
chamfering i a done on the inner edge so that a chisel effect is obtained, the oil being practically sliced off the walls. This method is also illustrated in the inset showing the piston skirt in section.
2.—Increasing the Life of the Commutator.
While on the subject of lubrication we must emphasize the extreme importance of attending daily, if not even more often, to the oiling of the commutator roller. This little attention occupies
only a ehort time and is soon repaid, for the life of the commutator will be quite three-fold that Of a similar component which is often neglected for long periods. ln this connection the Ford user should remember the advice of a well-known Scotsman, " Little and often5 rather than a lot occasionally."
3.—Stop those Bands from Chattering.
We seem to have struck an oil gusher, for here is another use for this valuable fluid. Driveritoften experience trouble owing to chattering. This is a most Objectionable complaint both in people and in Fords, and is apt to become worse rather than better if it does not receive attention. Fortunately, it can be cured more easily in the Ford than in the individual, for it is only necessary thoroughly to soak the new linings in oil before they are fitted to,the bands. On second thoughts, such a procedure might also effect a cure in the other case, but we are afraid that it would be rather too drastic.
• If unoiled transmission bands are used directly after fitting, a bard cake or skin quickly forms upon the surface, and this becomes harder and harder with continuous use, whereas, if soaked in oil, the formation of this skin is prevented.
4.—A Cause of Brake Failure.
Asudden failure of the hand brake, either partial Or complete, if occurring on the 7-cwt. Ford, may be due to one or other of the brake shoes breaking in half. This is a fault which practically never occurs
i in the larger type, but is not unknown n the smaller one.
5.—Why Crankcase Arms Sometimes Break.
The subject of breakages is a melancholy one, but, having started, we may as well carry on still further. In certain Fords considerable trouble hae been experienced with the breaking of crankcase arms. Now, the Ford is a very willing beast of burden, but we should remember the old adage of the camel and the last straw. It will be found in most instances that such breakages are due to carrying too heavy loads on vehicles which are equipped with solid tyres on the back wheels. The second cause is mal alignment of theafranie, and this should be carefully examined if trouble is experienced.