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FORD VAN POINTERS.

2nd January 1919, Page 18
2nd January 1919
Page 18
Page 19
Page 18, 2nd January 1919 — FORD VAN POINTERS.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By R. T. Nicholson (Author of "The Book of the Ford ").

THE ARMISTICE having drawn the teeth of the Hun, one result is that we can once more get methylated spirit and glycerine—which are said to be on sale at the usual sh,ops. That, in turn, means that we can keep the screen glass bright and clear. Equal quantities of methylated spirit and glycerine make the beat glass cleaner and polisher that I know. Apply a small quantity of the mixture with a clean non-fluffy rag : rub well till the smear has all disappeared: then polish with another clean soft rag.

53. —Cleaning the Screen.

The beauty of this mixturois that it not only cleans and polishes, but helps to keep the glass clear in rain, and so give you a good look-out ahead. Rain-drops do not so readily settle on glass so treated. One ap plication will last for quite a time. So long as there is any trace of glycerine on the glass, you will only find it necessary to wipe over it with a clean, dry, non-fluffy rag, Do not apply this mixture to your paintwork with the idea of beautifying that. It will smear and veil t he paint.

o38 This is not a beauty specialist's column, and I do not know whether I ought to advise you about toilet matters. Still, it is comforting to have a ready means of cleaning the _hands when they get filthy in doing some roadside repair or changing tyre covers.

54.—Cleaning the Hands.

Petrol is a poor hand-cleaner : it ,seems to drive the dirt in. Paraffin is better, but it is not nice smelling. Some of the special hand soaps sold for motorists' use are rasping, gritty stuff. Now that methylated spirit and glycerine are again on sale, try my prescription :— . Take soft soap, lb., and warm it up in a jar standing in hot water, till it flows like treacle. Stir in then 2 drachms (i.e., 1 oz.) of glycerine. ' Take the jar away from the fire or gas, and stir in pint methylated spirit, and 2 drachms of ether. Keep in a wellstoppered bottle, e.g., a metal-polish can that has a screw stopper. I know nothing like this mixture for simply licking grime off, and it does not hurt the hands in any way. You can even wash your face with it. Pour a, teaspoonful into the palm of one hand, rub the two hands together hard, not forgetting the nails, for which a brush may be used, then sluice off— with hot water if you can get it, though cold water will do well enough.

55.—What About the Compression?

Compression does not matter nearly so much as many people suppose. Of course, the pistons ought to be a pretty good fit in the cylinders, and the valves ought to seat well and truly ; but loss of power is far more often due to other causes than to loss of compression. (Good compression, of course, means that the cylinders hold the gas well.) To test your compression, pull up the starting handle slowly, so that you feel resistance four times_ The resistance should be about equal all four times. If it is not about equal all four times, you know that one cylinder has lost some of" its compression, and it is time to give the mechanic a job at the first convenient opportunity.

ft is no good testing compression when the engine is cold, as the sticking of the pistons in the gummed oil is likely to mislead you. Switch off, and test when warm.

56.—Setting the Points of the Front Plug.

If you are troubled with misfiring in the front cylinder, due to the points of its plug getting oiled up, try the effect of setting the points of the plug a little farther apart. The correct gap for the other three plugs is 1-32 in. That is also the correct gap for the front plug, unless there is trouble with its getting foul with oil. The front cylinder is rather likely to get more than its share of oil in the Ford engine. The way to alter the gap in a plug is generally to bend the central rod (or pole) away from the other— away, that is, from the piece that projects from the side. If you try bending the piece that projects from the side, you are quite likely to break it off ; and then the plug is done for.

57.—Petrol Pipe Pack Nut.

My advice to you is to leave your carburetter, and its connections, severely stione, and not to remove them. It is not once in a lifetime that the Holley carburetter, standard on the Ford, needs attention or adjustment. Any work that is needed in it is generally in the nature of pretty fine "dickering," and should be left to the skilled mechanic.

But, sometime or another, you may have to remove the nut which connects up the petrol feed pipe with your carburetter—the petrol pipe pack-nut. You may have to remove it, for instance, if you get dirt in your petrol pipe (though that trouble should never arise if you keep your petrol line clean) as recommended in a previous pointer).

If you do ever slacken that nut back, you may quite overlook one important detail when replacing it—" a little bit of string." The nut in question is a hollow nut. (See illustration.) It is meant to carry a string packing in its interior, this string packing being squeezed so tight

on to the pipe as the n-ut turns on to the carburetter, that there can be no leakage of petrol there. When the nut is removed, the string may fall away, and may not be noticed. Even if it be noticed, it is quite natural to think that that bit of string got there by accident, and that it cannot have any business there anyway. As a matter of fact, unless the string is there, and properly there, you will never get a petroltight joint.

Suppose, however, you know that the string ought to be there, you may have some trouble in getting it into position. It is very unmanageable unless you know how to set to work. Betteeuse. a new piece of string, about 5 ins. long. It should not be thin twine, but the kind of stuff

used for tying up substantial parcels. Unravel it first, so that its strands lie more or less loose. Soap it,. or seccotine it, well, so that it will stick to anything it is laid against. Then, having pushed the hollow mit a few inches back along the pipe, and towards the tank, wind the string .round and round the pipe in an even spiral—not letting the turns cross one another. The string should be wound with the top turns coming towards you—the way which will not come natural: it should be wound on in the same direction as you will later turn the nut on. The soap, or secootine, will now keep the string inposition round the pipe, and it would not remain in position unless you had used soap or eeccotine, but would be for ever unwinding and making you lose your

temper. Now bring the nut back towards the cartraretter. As you do so, you will pick up the string spiral in the inside of the nut. Screw the nut, with the string inside, on to the threaded portion of the carburetter. (If your piece of string is too long, you will not be able to get the nut on to the first thread, and will have to cut the string down an inch or so.) Continue to screw the nut home until further turning resists you strongly. Do not use brute force. As you are turning the nut home, you are jamming the string hard an the pipe inside, and if you use brute force you may smash things up. You only want to get the nut just tight enough, and the string jammed just hard enough, to prevent petrol leakage at the point. You can test later—when you have turned the petrol on—and tighten further, if there is leakage. If not, leave well alone. The string packing will swell when the petrol begins to flow, and so tend so make itself leak-tight. Do not overdo., therefore. I warn you that it is quite easy to get that packnut cross-threaded on the carburetter. Make sure that it takes -up the first turn or two easily. If there is much resistance then (always supposing that the string is not too long), you have probably got the threads crossed. Then you will do damage if you go on turning. There is an exactly similar string packing at the other end of the petrol pipe—where it connects up with the sediment bulb. That packing wants treating in exactly the same way if you ever slacken off the nut there.

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