HINTS ON MAINTENANCE.
Page 54
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How to Get the Best Out of a Vehicle, to Secure Reliability and o Avoid Trouble.
452, –Protecting Albion Brake Rods.
The hand-brake rods on some Albion vehicles are exposed to mud and Wet, and the fine threads employed soon become tight, both as regards those on the brass sleeve and on the steel rod.
A very simple method of keeping the dirt from these parts is to fit gaiters made of tin or other thin sheet metal. The rods should first be freed by using paraffin and running the threads down in the vice, after which they may be painted with a mixture of blacklead and oil.
Then cut four pieces of suitable size from the sheet metal to be employed and bend them round the threads, leaving enough of the metal projecting at the sides to enable fitting by means of 34-in. setscrews and wing nuts, drilling two holes for this purpose in each gaiter.
One benefit of these protectors is teat they can be removed very quickly when it is necessary to adjust the /rakes.
The gaiter required for the brass sleeve should have its setscrew hole about 1 in. from the • end, as this allows a short piece to be cut off the gaiter as the brass end is shortened by adjustment.
It may he found advisable to line the gaiters with pieces of felt, which may be kept moistened with oil.
453.—The Care of Peerless Brakes.
Trouble is often experienced with Peerless lorries through the hand brake failing to hold, and it will usually be found to be due to leakage of grease from the rear-wheel hubs into the brake drums. This may usually be remedied by fitting a new felt oil-retaining washer (P.N. 2,062), but in some cases it will be found that the oil-retaining nut (P.N. 2,061) has been damaged.
The felt washer fits into an annular recess in this gunmetal ring nut, and unless the nut is perfect the hub cannot remain grease-tight.
The axle sleeve (P.N. 2,052) should also be examined for damage and trued up if necessary. The leakage is, of course, aggravated by packing too much grease into the hubs—these need only be cleaned out and repacked about every 5,000 miles if a thick mixture of good-grade grease and oil be used.
e58 Where slipping is first experienced it may be thought that the brake lining fabric is worn out, but,, in the case of a wire-bonded asbestos lining, it may be worn to in. thick with perfect safety.
The original thickness of the linings should be 34in., but the brake rod turnbuckles (P.N. 2,646) have not a wide enough gap to allow for this amount of adjustment. When the ends of the brake rods meet in the turnbuckles the rods should be let right back again until the ends only just show through, and the adjustnient made by screwing the brake connecting rods (P.N. 2,650) further into the threaded elevis (P.N. 2,642) on the 'equalizer bar.
Still more adjustment may be obtained, if required, by screwing the rear conneetine', rods (P.N. 2,651) further into the threaded devises on the brake cam levers (P.N. 2,124 and 2,125).
Conversely, when fitting new brake linings it will be found that it is impossible to connect up the brake rods if they are screwed much more than 1-in into the devises.
The Peerless foot brake is of the band type, o erating on two split drums keyed to the jackshafts. 'ihese drums are bored out about .010 in. larger than the jackshafts, possibly to allow for expansion when hot, but this makes it very, difficult to keep them tight on the keys. As a conseCluence many of the owners of Peerless lorries instruct their drivers only to use the foot brake in case of emergency. The hub brake is so generously designed that it Will stand the extra work thus thrown upon it. The original Peerless foot brake drums are malleable steel castings, but there are many ex-W.D. lorries fitted with low-grade steel or iron drums, which, of course,bqrst very easily. This is another reason for avoiding the use of this brake unless absolutely necessary.
454.—How to Remove Safety Valves.
The removal of certain types of safety valves, such as those employed in the Foden, is sometimes a matter of considerable difficulty if the correct procedure be not followed.
The best method to employ is to use a pair of tweezers of the type which we illustrate. These can be made of A in. round spring steel tapered at the ends and turned in slightly to fit under the head of the valve.