For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
Page 27
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TEN SHILLINGS is paid to the sender of any letter which We publish bn this page, and an EXTRA. FIVE SHILLINGS to the sender of the one which we select as being the best each week. All notes are edited before being published. Mention your employer's name, in confidence, as evidence of good faith. Address, D., M. and F., "The Commercial Motor," 7-15, Bosebery Avenue, London, E.C. 1.
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, July 10th, light your •lamps'at 9.43 in London, 10.23 in-Edinburgh, 10.10 in Newcastle, 10.5 in Liverpool, 9.55 in Birmingham, 9.58 in Bristol, and 10.48 in Dublin.
Reinforcing a Rear .Axle.
The sender of the following eoninizinioation has been awarded the extra payment of hi. this week.
[2,108] " H.M." (West Bromwj,c1i) writes :—"There are many light vans on the road which are merely touring-car chassis, converted for commercial use by the simple process of being fitted with a van or other business type of body. If lightly loaded and taken great care of these vehicles can be made to give satisfactory service.. When they do give trouble, there is no particular part which is likely to go first. 1,
In a case which came to my notice the other day it was the axle case which broke through.
"I do not propose to deal in this letter with, the method of' effecting the repair. There was nothing out of the way in it, and, in any ease, it is no job for an amateur welder to repair an intricate casting such as an axle case. There was one point which occurred to me in connection with the job. The axle had no tie-rod fitted, and I thought. that it was so simple a matter to fit one that it would be a good thing, in the case of all such. chassis, if drivers or ineaaniceill charge of the vehicles would' arrange to supply the deficiency if and when it occurred.
"A bracket is necessary, as shown at D in the sketch [which we have had redrawn.—ED.] to fit over the flanges of the axle ease. It can be held in place by a long bolt, which should be substituted for one of those holding the two halves of the axle together. There is generally enough room on the ribs of the spring bracket to allow of holes being drilled through them to accommodate the tie-rod, which should be of in. bar. If there is not enough room for this, a piece should be welded on to the rib for the purpose. In some cases, where there are no such ribs, wroughtiron clips will have to be made to fit over the axle case, as near to the spring seats as poasible. If so fitted, it will be found advantageous to weld the clips to the axle rather than to depend on the gripping power of the bolts, as the strain put upon them by the tie-rod is much greater than might be supposed by anyone not acquainted with, the theory of the subject.
"Finally, a word of warning in regard to such tierods in general. They are no use unless they are taut, and this applies to those which are actually fitted by the makers and allowed for in the design of the car, as well as the extemporized ones fitted afterwards. It is, therefore,. essential not only to tighten
them up well when fitting them, but also to give an occasional eye to them as time goes on, to make sure that they are not slacking back, as they are very prone to do, in consequence of the vibration to whien they are subject." •
An Extemporized Contact Breaker Spring.
[2,1o9] " S.W.J." (Ipswich) writes : —"When out the other day with a fully-loaded 3 ton wagon, my engine suddenly stopped. Aftel a little investigation I discovered that the spring of the contact breaker of my magneto had broken in no fewer than three places. Of course, I had not got a spare with me, and, as usual, there was no garage or store where I could have expected to buy such a. thing, for several miles. In the course of a hunt through my tool-box, I found a Lodge sparking plug box. I cut a. strip off this the same width and length as the spring, punched a hole near each end with a wire nail, and secured it to the. contact breaker in place of the broken spring. It answered so well that I was able not only to deliver my load, but to run on to the next garage, where I bought a new spring."
Hints for "Peerless" Drivers.
L2,110] " A. V. T." (Wakefield) writes : —"The following three hints are intended to be of use to the drivers of a well-knownAmerican chassis—the Peerless:—
" 1. This make of lorry is sometimes difficult to
• start in damp weather. After some time and no little trouble I discovered that this a as due to moisture condensing on the dash during the night, trickling down behind the coil, and settling on the terminals. When this occurs, the only effective cure is to take off the coil and thoroughly dry it, preferably by allovving•it to remain near a fire or stove for a few minutes. When replacing it, tack a piece of waterproof cloth over the coil, and you will have no further 'trouble
• from this cause.
"2. It is. worth knowing that the grease cup of the brake cam lever will not properly lubricate both faces of the lever and carn unless the brake is first placed in the off position. "3. Scoring of the foot brake drum is occasionally caused by the adjustment rod catching the brake as it revolves. The simple way of obviating this is to bend the rod upwards so that it clears the drum."
Unusual Engine Trouble.
[2,111] "J.F." (Strathdon) writes —"I had a strange experience the other day with a Milnes-Daimler lorry. The engine lost power to such an extent that lb would hardly start the lorry, with a load, on an incline, even with the first speed engaged. I took down and examined all the paria which might have been thought to be responsible. for the trouble, in cluding the magneto, carlot '
iretter valves, petrol pipe and tank, without diseo-vring anything to be wrong. Finally, I turned my attention to the exhaust pipe. In this type of lorry there is a hot-air sleeve for the carburetter fitted on the exhaust pipe. The sleeve terminates at one of the exhaust pipe flanges, and both pipe and sleeve are cast together. On taking down this pipe I discovered that a small piece of the exhaust pipe, inside the sleeve and close up to the flange, had broken off, so that there was direct communication between the interior of the exhaust pipe and that of the, sleeve. In consequence, the engine, instead of drawing hot, but fresh, air, was sucking the exhaust gases from the pipe into the induction manifold."