IDEAS FOR MANY MAKES.
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Schemes Adopted by Our Driver and Mechanic Readers for Improving Their Vehicles or Carrying Out Temporary Repairs.
MHIS week we give a selection of ideas, each applicable in general to one make of vehicle. Other readers may find the advice given can be put to good use by them and in one or two cases the suggestions can be developed for other makes of vehicle.
Many wheels are equipped with War-. land dual rims for which fixing tools are provided, each having a star-shaped sleeve with four projections. This may be grasped with the hand or by means of a handle supplied by the makers. "N.P.," of Halifax, has designed a special handle which he claims is preferable to the standard one. The material required is mild-steel rod a in. in diameter, which is doubled up so that it has a long loop at one end. The loop is 5 ins, long inside and is curved to Et round the body of the star-shaped sleeve. This design gives good leverage and if made properly there is no fear of the tool slipping off the nut ; no pressure is required to keep it in position when working.
DRIVERS of Daimler lorries will be
interested in the tip given by " W.M.," of Newcastle-on-Tyne. Cracked sleeves and the knocks which are sometimes heard on these vehicles immediately after starting up, can be obviated by filling with oil the two priming taps on the induction pipe before starting from cold. This procedure is to fill up the cups on the taps, open them and turn the engine over a few times, thus sucking the oil through the taps and carrying it on to the sleeves, which are apt to become dry after standing overnight. This operation should be carried out twice.
IN those cases where the original car buretter of a Peerless lorry has been replaced by another, difficulty may be found in getting an accelerator pedal which will give a sufficient range -of movement, as the old one is only capable of dealing with the carburetter for which it was designed. "E.A.J.," of Portway, suggests a design which can be used with other carburetters.
The pedal is made out of a strip of metal 1 ft. long, 1 in. wide and # in. thick. It is bent to the shape of a U, one leg being nearly the length of the other. A hole is drilled in the strip at the base of the long leg and this aecommodates the pivot, which consists of a long bolt passing through the steering box in place of one of the original bolts. The new one should be an inch longer and carry a distance piece. The long leg of the pedal should be drilled to take the control rod and the end of a pull-off spring.
AN interesting temporary repair to a Thornycroft fan is described by "B.T.L.," Cardiff. In his charge was a J-type Thornycroft lorry, and the whole fan shaft, on which was mounted the water impeller, worked out until the blades of the fan touched the radiator, also breaking the fan belt. At the time in question "B.T.L." was unable to dismantle the assembly and devised the following temporary repair.
A piece of wood was cut, 1 ft. 11 ins. long, 2 ins, wide and 1/ ins. thick. This was fitted between the horizontal flanges of the radiator block and in a vertical line with the spindle of the fan. On this wood strip was fixed a piece of fin, sheet brass cut out in the form of a triangle, each side being 1 ins. long. The three corners were bent over and the triangle was then hammered hard
into the wood; a point was next marked on it in relation to the centre of the fan boss and the triangle was drilled with a countersink.
When the fan was removed, a Fin. hole was next drilled in the boas and a tight fitting piece of brass riveted into the aperture. The forward end of this brass plug was next countersunk and the fan replaced. Between the brass triangle and the fan was placed a fin. steel ball.
IN the case in question, the defective oil pump to which reference is made was fitted to a,TyIor engine, but similar pumps are used by many makers and the repair here described may be used in other instances.
Trouble with the oil supply was experienced by LP., of Chesterfield, and he eventually traced the defect to the oil pump. Owing to a blow-hole in the bearing of a pinion, the surface had become weak and allowed the pinion to wear its way into the pump body to a depth of 3-32 in., also wearing away the
pinion spindle. To remedy these defects, the spindle was first turned down in a lathe and a bush made to bring it up to standard size. To rectify the pump body, the inside was tinned and the worn parts heavily coated with white metal, thus filling up the hollows. The inside of the body was machined up, thus restoring it to its original condition as, of course, this type of pump depends for ita efficiency upon the small working clearance between pinions and casing.
MUCH clutch trouble with a Metal lurgique chassis was experienced by " W.E.W.," of Shefford. The clutch slipped or failed to engage at all. He dismantled the clutch and found the faces were very irregular, one side being burred. The faces were filed up as truly as possible, frequent tests being made to see that the mating surfaces registered properly. For test purposes thick black paint was used on the inside and chalk on the outside member. When this work was completed, it was found that the shaft was out of truth, and this had to be restored to good condition before assembly. The chief point in this experience is that an untrue shaft should be suspected when clutch trouble arises.
RAPID wear in the clutch stop of an
A.E.C. vehicle is the subject of a hint by " T.F.A.," of Watford. He finds that the spring behind the stop is rather weak and in consequence the driver is tempted to adjust it too closely so that the clutch will stop spinning without an undue wait. To remedy this state of affairs he tightened the nut behind the spring to such an extent that the stop stood a in. to in. away from the drum, which gave an adequate clearance, at the same. time making the stop work efficiently.
[Will this reader kindly let us have his full name, which he omitted to put with his letter ?—En.]