• RUNNING, UPKEEP AND• OVERHAUL.
Page 29
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Interesting Contributions from Maintenance Engineers, Drivers and Mechanics.
• Difficulty with an Axle Sleeve Overcome.
A LETTER from a correspondent,
" A.R.P.," of Harley, informs us that he recently had a breakdown to attend to in whiCh a wheel and axle shaft had withdrawn from the rear axle easing while the vehicle was. in widen, the cause being that the nut on the sleeve had not been properly secured, by means of its tabbed washer, so it had unscrewed and allowed the wheel and floating axle 'shaft to work out. As the vehicle had run some yards before the driver could stop, the floating axle had damaged the end of the tube by making it ben-mouthed at the top of the sleeve, the revolving axle having spun it open to the extent of *, in., thus making the end elliptical.
" A.11.1j." tells us that he thought of all the tips he has seen at times in this page dealing with . damaged threads on axle sleeves, but none a them exactly fitted this case, so he proceeded as follows :— Having a spare nut, he was able to put the old nut in a lathe and chase the thread out until the one end was kin, larger_than its original size, -taking care that he left a few of the threads the original diameter. This nut was forced on to the damaged thread by the aid of a very long spanner, then by alternately hammering the nut on the uppermost flat and giving it a sixth of a turn, he was able to contract tho end of the sleeve to its original diameter.
To Cure a Slipping Morris Fan Belt.
WE hear from " R.D.H.," of Luton, that he has been troubled with the water boiling in the radiator of his vehicle, which is an early type Morris ZIG-Cwt. van. On inspection he found all in order excepting that the fan belt had become slack through hating stretched, the belt being made of canvas and rubber. Not being 'able to shorten the belt he made a simple jockey pulley, details of which he gives. The pulley he used was made from a discarded Ford fan, from which he removed the blades and turned the boss into a suitable pulley in a lathe. He also; made a special pin with whieh to mount the pulley on a piece of flat steel, which he attached to two of the existing timing-cover bolts by means of the two slots shown in his sketch. A lubricator was fitted to the pin, which was drilled and tapped.
End-play on the Wheel Bearings of a Roller.
OLTR correspondent, "AV.I.H.," of Hammersmith, who is a steam driver, tells us that he was recently put to drive a petrol roller for tarmac. He soon found that there was something wrong with his roller as the driving chain was rubbing badly on the side of its sprocket wheel. An investigation showed that there was a considerable amount of end-play in the bearings of the roller. As the work in hand had to be finished by a certain date, there was no time for a general overhaul.. . As the end play was slightly more than in., he did not wisk to take it nit up on one side, as this might throw the roller out of its original central position, so be procured a piece of steel plate in. thick and cut from it pieces as shown in his sketches. These pieces he inserted, one on each side, with the result that he has had no further trouble from the chain rubbing.
Our informant agrees with
of Darwen, whose letter appeared in our issue of October 9th, when he says that it is a wonder that there are not more accidents due to the stripping of axle nuts.
An Improvised Cylinder Gasket.
IN cases where a gasket is employed in connection with a removable cylinder head it is well for a driver to haye spare one that can he used in case of damage during the operation of removing the head. One of our correspon
dents, " of St. Helier, Jersey, appears to have disregarded this precaution, so he found himself one day stranded with a blown gasket and no spare available. Being linable to proceed, he had to improvise one as hest he could, so procuring a sheet ,of liallite metallic jointing lie decided to cut it into the necessary shape, not, however, without grave doubts as to whether it would stand the heat and pressure without the usual copper edging. To his surprise, however, the job turned out a complete success, SO Successful that he ran for 700 miles, mostly at high speeds, without mishap of any Rind.
• We admire his resource in getting out of his trouble, but still are of the opinion that a spare gasket, costing so little compared with the value of a vehicle, would be the easiest way of overcoming the difficulty.
Getting Home with a Stripped Tyre.
THERE would appear to be no end to the ingenuity with which some drivers overcome difficulties which arise when driving. In the case of
" of Thornton Heath,. Surrey, he *ills us that while driving an A.E.C. lorry with 5 tons up he had the misfortune to have a front solid tyre strip completely from its baud. Being 40 miles from home and in a place where no tyre press was available, he had to improvise some rIleallS whereby the tyre could be temporarily held in its place. To get out of his difficulty he procured a 'piece of chain, the links of which were large enough to allow a. Fin. bolt to pass through. The chain was cut into four pieces just long enough to go around the tyre and be connected at their ends by Fin. Wits 3 ins. long. • The ends of the chain were 2 ins, apart, so that by tightening the bolts the chain was pulled tightly down into the tyre. He tells us that lie found that it was necessary to cut 2 ins. Off the end of the tyre to allow it to rent flat on its band.