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..
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,and will make suitable remuneration for any published. What we desire are the results of practice. 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.
190. — Lengthening the Life of the Brake on the Ton Truck.
Examination of the hand-brake shoes of the Ford ton truck shows that in nearly every case the wear on the lining is confined to the forward half of the shoes, i.e., those parts nearest the operating cams. It would be uneconomical to reline these shoes with half of the existing fabric on each almost as good as new, and our accompanying illustration shows how more equal wear can be obtained over the whole surface of the fabric. The brake-shoe fulcrum pins on this vehicle consist of 1-in. hexagon-headed bolts, which screw into the axle casings and are locked by castle nuts and splitpins on the inner sides of the brake supporting arms. packing-piece can be made for each bolt from a piece of tube with a length of ins., an outside diameter of about in. and a bore of I in. These pieces of tube should be filed to a shape somewhat resembling a double-faced cam. Each piece of tube can now be slipped over its respective bolt before the latter is refitted, the tube being held meanwhile with the thickened portions above and below the bolt when the latteria screwed tightly home. The pressure between the underside of the bead and the axle casing will lock the device firmly in the required position. If the brakes have previously been kept well adjusted, it will be necessary to slacken them off slightly when refitting the shoes in order to allow for the wider setting of these shoes at their rear ends. The normal method of adjustment is by rotation of the screwed forks at the forward ends of the operating rods, but if much adjustment is required other means are available, as there are two slotted faces on the brake camshaft which jmpart the motion from the operating lever to the shaft itself, and these should be so set as to allow of the lever leaning well back towards the axle casing when in the off position. As no compensating device is utilized, it is essential that the•brakes be set to give an equal retarding effect with each wheel. The connecting pins immediately beneath the Iland lever and cross-shaft should be removed one at a time, the travel of the hand lever noted, and adjustment so made that the same travel of the lever is required for each brake, acting independently, before the two are finally coupled up.
191.—What to do when Towing a Vehicle. It sometimes happens that a Ford vehicle has to be towed in as the result of a breakdown In such cases care should be taken to see that the transmission rear bearing (part No. 3,369) is kept thoroughly well, lubricated.
If the engine can be turned, this lubrication may be effected by occasionally letting in the clutch, which gives the oil in the sump a chance of reaching the bearing. In cases, however, where the engine cannot be turned, such as where there is a broken crankshaft or piston, the transmission inspection plate should be taken off and oil injected frequently with an oil gun. This precaution is very necessary where a damaged Ford has to be towed several miles, as excessive heat, generated through lack of lubrication for this bearing, has caused warping of the clutch mechanism, destroyed the temper of the plates and spring, and, incidentally, melted the metal from the bearing.
192.—Preventing the Breakage. of Exhaust Manifold Clamp Studs. Occasionally, when tightening up a nut of the exhaust manifold too great a pressure is applied, and a stud may be broken. If-a sufficient length is left protruding, this portion may be removed by means of a pair of footprints or a Stilson wrench. When, however, only the screwed end is left in the cylinder casting, it must be drilled out, care being exercised not to allow the drillings to get into the water jacket. When fitting a new stud it will be foinid advisable to turn down the body to a diameter equal to that at the bottom of the thread. This distributes the stress more evenly over the whole length of the stud, which will then stand a greater tension and give more elasticity than if there are abrupt changes in the strength at different points.
193.—Removing Foreign Matter from the Gearcase. We recently published details of a method for removing foreign matter from a gearcase, but this only applied to a piece made of iron or steel which could be attracted by a magnet. One of our readers has sent us a method which may be adopted for extracting almost anything which cannot be fished out by means of a wire. In such cases, success may often be achieved by rolling up and wedging a piece of cloth tightly between the flywheel and the gearcase at the near side, then turning the engine slowly by means of the starting handle, of, better still, get someone else to turn it while you watch for the cloth coming up at the other side, when it will most probably be found that it has brought the offending foreign matter within reach.
The flywheel should not be forced round, and if it feels jammed (as these is very little room between the magnets and the bottom of the gearcase). push the cloth in at the off side and turn the engine in the opposite direction, either by the flywheel Itself or by turning the rear wheels backwards, as, of course, the starting handle cannot be used in this direction. If the cloth be soaked with petrol or paraffin, and the case drained of oil, all sediment can be wiped away from the bottom of the case in this manner.