MAKING BEST USE OF THE FORD.
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 series of hints concerning the Ford light chassis and ton truck wherever they are employed for commercial purposes, we endeavour to deal with the subject from every view-point, so that the advice given will appeal to the owner, driver, maintenance engineer or mechanic.
We shall welcome for inclusion among the hints those which have proved of value to individual users.
Readers are recommended to obtain the original "Book of the Ford," which constitutes a complete manual dealing with the Ford car, the van and the truck. 2s. 9d. post free from the offices of this journal.
235.—Be Prepared for that Broken Axle.
When you pack your toolbox, you feel secure against practically every difficulty that a long four will bring out, excepting a broken axle shaft.
Mostly the replacement of a live rear axle shaft is looked upon as a job which cannot he made at the roadside and the repair man is not usually willing to admit of any other solution.
We illustrate and describe a new method of.repairing broken axle shafts, of the live type, which modifies, if not removes, the dread of this accident which is felt by drivers in the case of vehicles departing from the regions of service stations and garages. An axle shaft weighs about twelve pounds, is of a length which can be stored in the tool compartment, and is a moderately priced spare which the Ford owner can invest in to advantage. Assuming an axle be broken, the repair part is ready for the occasion and the procedure will be a matter which does not require a special hoist or tools other than those in the toolbox.
The first part of the work is to lift the body weight, which is best done by blocking under the running board, using the jack to lift the weight. The blocking must be so high that the axle will be about level and the spring pressure removed from the left side axle housing.
_ It is necessary to remove this half of the axle housing, because the ring drive gear can be taken out from this side, and along with this the axle shafts and differential gears complete. To • take off the axle housing, the brake rod and spring end are disconnected, which leaves the connecting bolts between the two sections of the axle housing encasing the differential. These bolts are readily removed. Connecting the drive shaft housing to the axle housifigs are six stud bolts. The three which hold the section (left side) must be freed, and the manner of doing this is first to remove the wire which locks all six studs and then to take off one of the nuts from the opposite side and use this as a lock nut, screwing it down over the retaining nut on the stud, and with a wrench on the locked nut back out the three studs successively.
When the disconnections are made, the left-side housing can be slipped off and the axle and gear assembly complete can be slid out of the right housing. It is then possible to make any replacement, even including the small drive pinion or the bearings for this end of the drive shaft.
• The procedure for reassembling is the reverse of that described. No gaskets or packing& are used, and the main care in •replacing the parts is to have .the, abutting surfaces of the housing clean, so that these will fit close and not leak grease_
236.—Saving the Timer Wires.
One of the maintenance items on a Ford is the timer wires. These often have a.very short life, owing to the heat, water droppingfrom some connection, or accidental wear through toueliing the fan belt. Consequently, the insulation becomes defective, and shorting occurs.
When this happens it is not always necessary to scrap them, as often they can be taken off and reversed, so that the ends which were previously attached to the coil terminals, and are usually good condition, are then attached to the timer. • The worn, bared ends can be lapped with insulating tape and attached to the coil terminals, where there is less metal to which shorting can take place.
237.—Entering Ford Pistons into the Cylinders.
The Ford cylinder block is not provided with piston ring leads. Consequently, the entering of a piston into the block is sometimes a difficult matter and often results in jammed fingers.
A simple device which will greatly assist the opera tion can be made from a piece of plate or a forged ring machined to an outside diameter of, say, ins, and bored 3,1 ins, sliding fit on the skirt of the piston. The bore should then be tapered, as shown in the illustration, and if this be laid over each cylinder orifice in turn, the piston rings are gradually compressed by the taper and enter quite easily.
It will also be found that the device is practically self-centring, so that the connecting rod can be held with the left hand in order to lead the big-end on to the crankshaft while the piston head is tapped lightly with the shaft of a hammer