TO DRIVERS OF LIGHT VANS.
Page 27
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.Ford Hints and Tips from Our Driver and Mechanic Readers.
THE ENGINE lugs of Ford vans occasionally break, and when this happens on a vehicle which is far, from home the driver is often in a fix. " I have had the trouble myself," writes "J.T.," of Gateshead, "'and was able to get over it by the use of a temporary sheet-steel lug. So successful was this repair that I have nosy arranged that all. the Ford drivel's who are employed in the garage of which I have charge, shall carry such a sheet-steel lug as a, spare, ready for use whenever this trouble is experienced. As the spare lug does not cost, all told, more than half a crown, and as it does not take more than half an hour to erect, it may fairly be said to be a thing which every Ford user should
have by him. I am, therefore, sending you a rough sketch of the lug in the belief that you will find it worthy of inclusion in your page of hints and tips for drivers and mechanics."
So writes " J.T.," and as we are in entire agreement with him, the sketch duly appears on this page, and we are awarding the 15s. prize to him.
The device is so simple that very little explanation of the sketch seems to be required_ It may be of interest to state that all the tools which are required for the complete job of removing the broken leg and replacing it by this sheet-metal one, are a jack and a 5-16-in. spanner. Remove, as a preliminary, the broken piece of lug, and also the two corner bolts of the gearcase. Then jack up the engine sufficiently to enable the new lug
to be inserted. All the existing bolts, already on the chassis, will do again. Nothing new is required beyond the lug
itself. Incidentally, our correspondent remarks that he has had one of these lugs in use on a car for over twelve months, .and has not suffered any inconvenience as the result.
" R.P.," of Huddersfield, evidently finds some of his troubles vicariously, to
Jude by the following experience, concerning which he has written to us.
He was taxi-driving at the time, and a fellow driver on the same rank on one occasion could not take a fare on account of difficulty in getting his engine to start. Our correspondent, commenced his active association .with this affair by taking the fare himself. On his return to the rank, about an hour and a half later, he found the colleague still in the same predicament. Even with the assistance of yet another of the fraternity he had not been able to persuade Lizzie to start. He writes "My valuable aid was then, of course, duly proffered, and graciously accepted. I set to work first, of all to examine the plugs, and discovered that, so far as ordinary optical evidence could be accepted, they were entirely as they should be. 1 then tested the ability of the ignition to carry out its proper duties, by placing one of the cable terminals near use engine. No visible result. Clearly the fault lay there.
" I next removed the car magneto cable from the post on the flywheel cover, and then took off the post itself. From under the post I removed a substantial pad of foreign matter, and on replacing the post, and testing the ignition again, by turning the engine by hand and holding a screwdriver between terminal and cover, I had the satisfaction of observ
ing a good fat spark. Replacing the cable and giving the engine a turn, I discovered that I had not yet finished, for no response came from the engine. I then found that the coils were not 'buzzing,' and on examination the platinum tips on the tremblers proved to be very badly pitted, and were sticking.
" With the aid of a fine file and a small spanner, which I always carry with me, I took off each trembler blade in turn, carefully smoothing the contact points of each and replacing them. On completing this part of the work, the starting handle was manipulated again in the usual manner, whereupon the engine readily started." • Our familiar correspondent "A.M.D.," of Lanark. sends the following useful tip to Ford drivers. It sometimes happens, as he says, that the sediment bulb, which is inserted in the petrol pipe line between the tank and the tap, becomes too full for convenience. If a suitable plug for insertion in its place be not available, an unpleasant, not to say rather expensive, shower-bath of motor
spirit results when the bulb is removed for cleaning. Now, it is not generally known, he believes, that the thread of the ordinary Ford sparking plug is the same as that of this bulb, so that a safeguard against any of this waste is always to band The proper procedure, therefore, in the event of the bulb having to be removed, is: first stop up the small airvent in the filler cap of "the tank ; put the spare petrol tin, with a substantial wide-mouthed funnel into its spout, underneath the tank, so that any spirit which does get away will be caught and returned to the can. Then remove the bulb, and replace it with a sparking plug. If the driver be in the least handy this can be done with hardly any loss of fuel. •
Another driver, " F.W.L.," of Carlisle, experienced a. mysterious tapping on a Ford car. All the big-ends were tightened up, and the tapping disappeared for a time, but made its appearance again in a couple of days. In urder
to discover the cause " F.W.L." removed the inspection plate, but replaced the screws which hold the facing strip in place, as shown in the accompanying sketch. He slipped a piece of paper between the edge of the strip and the rearmost crank, as shown, and then, turning the engine, found that the crank, as it turned, was actually making contact with the strip. Gentle application of a file to the strip at the critical place entirely removed the trouble.
The fault was apparently caused, in the first place, by the back bearing cap having worn, thus allowing the crankshaft to float sufficiently to permit it to foul the strip.