MAKING BEST USE OF THE FORD.
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Valuable Advice on Every Phase of Ford Transport, which will appeal to the Owner, Driver, and Repairer.
402.—Testing Connecting Rods.
When overhauling the engine it is sometimes found that the connecting rods are slightly bent—for what reason' it is often difficult to say. In most cases it is probably the result of bad fitting when the engine was previously over• hauled. In any case, it is essential that the rods should be straightened before reassembly, and a good way of testing them is to use a lathe in the manner illustrated, the rod being placed, with the cap removed, on the lathe bed and the alignment of the piston compared with that of the face plate. The rod can then easily be set until the piston is dead true with the face plate.
This is a simple method, and one which can almost always be employed, as a lathe is one of the most common objects in a repair shop.
403.—How a Fan Belt can be Kept in Position.
For some reason, slight misalignment or wear in the bearings, etc., it is sometimea difficult to keep the fan belt on its pulleys, and it will occasionally jurnli them and thus put the fan temporarily out of action. The trouble may not be noticed until overheating occurs. It is one of the most difficult troubles to cure in the ordinary course. The belt will often remain quite securely on the pulleys until the engine is suddenly accelerated, when it will slip off.
To Prevent this occurring, a retainer can easily be fitted. This should consist of a strip of mild steel, 6 ins. long, I-in, wide and 1.1--in. thick, with j-in. diameter hole drilled close to one end, Thr• strip should be bent into a TT shape with one arm of the TJ longer than the other, this being the drilled end. The plate can easily be fitted by removing the nut of the fan spindle, fitting the retainer over the spindle and replacing the nut. The end which prevents the belt from leaving the pulley should rea& to within a short distance of the pulley— to slightly below its inner flange.
This device will, of course, only serve its purpose if the tendency of the belt to fly off be not too pronounced •, that is to say, it will be useless if the belt continually endeavours to leave the pulley, in which case proper alignment of the pulleys must be considered, and perhaps a new belt fitted.
404.—Silencing the Tappets.
After a considerable amount of wear the clearance between the tappets and valve stems becomes too great. This results in noise and loss of power. 'Special adjusters are not always available, in which event it is possible to stretch the valve stems slightly by tapping the ends with a hammer. This should, of course, be done very carefully, for the etems must not be bent. A final adjustment can be made with a fine file, employing a suitable feeler to gauge the clearance. Incidentally, the clearance should also be tested with the engine hot, for it may vary owing to the expanSiOlt of the metal.
405.—Lubricating Big-ends.
One of our readers was not satisfied with the method of lubricating the bigends on his Ford, and he points out that in the original design the only way in which the splashed oil could obtain access to the surfaces of the big-end bearings was along the small grooves formed between the white-metal linings in the connecting rod and cap.
To provide a better method of allowing the oil to spread over the bearing surfaces, our contributor drilled a i'in. hole through the connecting-rod half of the big-end and right through the white metal, the drilling being done at a slight angle, so that the hole in the white metal was central. This half of the bearing was then grooved in the manner illustrated, and a single groove cut in the white metal of the cap to drain off the excess oil. This proved quite satisfactory, and has obviated some trouble which was occurring previously.
406.—A Satisfactory Gasket.
Powdered graphite and ordinary orange shellac, if properly mixed to the consistency of putty, form a sealing gasket which will not only resist the heat, but will also retain pressure. The mixture is thus useful for sealing small cracks in the water system and various other places where slight leakages may occur. If used to seal fine crevices, it should be made fairly thin and worked into place with a putty knife.
407.—Some Unusual Troubles.
In a 1924 van with starter and lighting, the generator failed to charge the battery. The ammeter and cut-out were replaced, but this did not cure the trouble, whilst the brushes were examined and found to be in order.
It was noted that the face of the commutator was oily, and on cleaning it the generator commenced to charge and continued to do so for that day, but ceased to do so after a short run the next morning, and again oil was found on the commutator. Finally, the cause was traced to an extension spout on the combined breather and filler hole. It was found that when the engine was nearly cold the oily vapour would not rise to the height of the extension piece, but filtered through the body of the generator and so settled on the accumulator. The extension spout was removed and the generator thoroughly cleaned, since when no further trouble has occurred.
In the same vehicle, after starting the engine and switching from battery to magneto, the engine stopped. This occurred several times. The large terminal on the transmission cover was removed and cleaned and the magneto tested with the engine running on the battery, and it was found to be giving plenty of current. Finally, the switch was dismantled and it was found that the switch arm did not make contact at the side marked "magneto." The vehicle was driven home on battery ignition and a new switch fitted.