EQUIPMENT THAT IS ESSENTIA OR THE HAULIER'S GARAGE
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Dealing with a Problem which is Now Confronting Many Operators who are Anticipating Extensions of Business, and the Corresponding Need for Keeping Vehicles Always in Service
IN my article in last week's issue, I expressed the opinion that an increasing number of fleet-owning haulage contractors is making provision for carrying out repair and maintenance operations on their vehicles. The tendency, /I find,is to provide for most repairs that are likely to be needed. with the exception of crankshaft grinding.
It is out of place for me to comment, in these articles, on the wisdom of sucn a proceeding, but I can, fairly, draw attention to the fact that where there is, within easy distance, a good commercial-motor agent, who sets out properly to cater for the needs of users of such vehicles. that tendency is not so noticeable. In such circumstances, I find that the operator is content to make provision for rendering what I might call first-aid to his machines, leaving the bulk of the work to the efficient local agent.
I _hope 1 may he allowed to state' that, in my opinion, that policy is fair as well as, in the long run, economic. If it were the genefal rule that motor agents made efficient provision. for servicing and repairing commercial vehicles then the tendency for operators to execute their own repairs would not be so prevalent.
However, in these articles I deal, so far as possible, with facts. Even if I do theorize occasionally,, my reasoning is, nevertheless, based on facts—on the experience of hauliers who willingly tell me what they know, although they are perfectly well aware that I am going •to pass the information on and thus, possibly, benefit their competitors. I am going to deal with this problem of equipping a garage in that way, by telling what I have seen in various premises all over the country,
The Reason that a Lathe Is Included in the Equipment
Now, curiously enough, notwithstanding the degree of standardization that has been reached in motor-vehicle construction and the ease with which, in normal times, spares can be obtained—oversize and undersize, as well as standard—the most usual piece of equipment is a lathe. It is not, as a:matter of fact, installed for the making of replacement parts, or at least its use for that purpose is rare, but for a variety of trimming and truing operations, such as skimming ridges from the interior of brake drums, testing the alignment of clutch centres within flywheels, and truing up axle shafts and propeller shafts; jobs like -that seem to necessitate the use of a lathe. Moreover, the purpose indicates, to some extent, the specification of the machine: it must be of not less than 6-in, centres, have a gap bed (to accommodate brake drums and flywheels) and be of such length as to swing a propeller shaft.
For the rest, I propose to take the various items in what I might term the build-up order, dealing with them in the sequence that might he expected if an operator who is expanding his fleet bought his equipment as he went along.
Tyre inflation is his first consideration. Many operators make do with a portable electric plant which can be run to the vehicle, plugged into the mains, and used in that
way. Those who take the long view, however, and foresee that they will shortly be adding to their equipment, prefer a larger machine, usually of the stationary type with receiver, and automatically controlled as to its stopping and starting. The use of this type involves piping the premises and arranging for a number of points from which air can be tapped for tyre inflation and other purposes.
-It is these " other purposes " which justify the extra expenditure involved in this more ambitious layout of air-compressor plant. -Moreover, the next item in the schedule of equipment is one which demands a supply of compressed air for its operation. I have in mind a highpressure greasing and oiling plant. Here again, of course, the question of bow far to go crops up. If the fleet comprises eight or 10 vehicles or more, or, is likely soon to reach those dimensions, the greasing equipment should include a hoist powerful enough to lift the largest machine in the fleet. Compressed air will, again, be needed for this hoist, Plant for'Keeping the Battery up to Its Job
The next piese of etsuipmeet to call for the operator's attention is thii required for battery charging. Batteries do run down, do what you will, and a run-down battery can be a source of much trouble and, what is infinitely worse, result in considerable delay. The need for a wellcharged battery is especially urgent if oilers be used, for the oil engine needs a quick turn-over, for which a battery that is " well up " is essential.
Next—and usually this is quite early in his experience— the operator finds his attention turned to what may be described as the seemingly minor items on the chassis, such as the sparking plugs of petrol vehicles and, to a lesser degree, injectors in the case of oil-engined vehicles. • There are, to-day, few garages without one of those compact and useful machines for cleaning and testing.sparking plugs. I have found that the most popular type is that which 13rovides for the sparking plugs being tested under pressaire. The measure of the utility of this piece of apparatus is soon apparent—especially to-day, having in mind the effect of leaded petrol—in the much-improved performance of an engine after its sparking plugs have been properly treated. Moreover, as better performance means more economic operation, the advantages derived from having a proper sparking-plug cleaner and tester on the premises hardly needs emphasis.
Injectors do not need, attention so often as sparking plugs, but when they do, nothing short of proper equipment for testing will enable the operator to deal with them efficiently. As I have seen it, this apparatus consists of a hand-pump carrying a small reservoir for oil fuel, a pressure gauge, and a connection for the injector. The apparatus' is, preferably, mounted inside a metal cupboard fitted with tray and drainage arrangements to carry off the fuel which is spread about while the injectors are being tested. There appears to be no other way of dealing with injectors, chiefly for the reason that the important point is to check the pressure at which the spray emerges. Most engine makers specify that pressure and a fairly rigid adherence to that recommendation is advisable.
To-day, there are few operators amongst those who make provision for carrying out their own servicing operations, who ate content to carry out top overhauls without the aid of modern equipment. By top overhauls I mean valve grinding as well as cleaning thp interior of the cylinder head and top of the pistons. I do not include the removal of the pistons. .
No one expects a mechanic to grind-in by hand all the valves of a six-cylindered engine, quite apart from the fact that it is rarely possible to overlook truing up the valves and, sometimes, the seatings.
I find that most operators have available one or other of what are called engine kits, as supplied by various equipment makers and which include the tools essential to rapid and efficient performance of the above-mentioned operations. A machine for truing and setting valve faces is usually bought at the same time as the engine kit, so that the operator can deal with the work efficiently without recourse to outside aid.
Additions to the List when Repairs are to be Undertaken
The foregoing items comprise all the equipment which may be said to be advisable if the operator intends to content himself with doing his own tanning repairs, leaving rhajor operations to motor agents, and this I have found • is definitely a stage in the equipment of a garage at which most operators stop and think. If, upon due consideration, they decide to go farther and to make provision for repairs as 'well, then they usually find it desirable to make extensive additions to the above Est.
There is, indeed, a connecting link between the two stages and that is the provision of equipment for testing and repairing electrical components. I have found considerable differences between operators as to what is deemed to be desirable under this heading. At one extreme there is simply the provision of a bench, with adjustable centres mounted on it to take the armatures of dynamos and starters. A battery beneath the bench provides the necessary current. An essential item is a milli-voltmeter and with this apparatus armature coils can be tested for continuity, or short circuits, with comparative ease.
At the other end of the scale is such a machine as that which I saw in the premises of T. Goy and Sons (Hauliers), ltd., of Scunthorpe It is called the " OctTpus " electrical tester, and its cost, I believe, runs well into three figures: it can be used for a most comprehensive testing • of engines.
This machine may be described as a selfcontained plant for measuring engine efficiency and diagnosing faults, including those of ignition and electrical components. Information as to the condition of valves, valve gear, valve timing, piston rings, cylinders, gaskets and exhaust system can be obtained. A section of every part of the ignition system can be analysed, also that of the complete electrical system, including battery, starter, dynamo, voltage regulator, cut-out, and even the lamps and electrical accessories, If complete chassis overhauls are to be carried out the first essential is means for cleaning the chassis parts. In this connection, find that there are few operators nowadays who are content with the old paraffin-type cleaner. Most of them have installed chemical cleaners of one kind or another. The advantage of chemical degreasing is that as a chassis is being dismantled all the components can be put into a gauze container and handed to a labourer. Subsequently, there is nothing more to do but immerse the whole lot in the tank, leave the parts for a few minutes while the chemicals act, later brushing off the residue, leaving all the parts dry, clean, and ready for inspection, which, of course, is the next job.
When the engine Is down it is usually found that the crankshaft needs regrinding and the first job is to send that away to have the work done. New bearings are needed for the crankcase and for the boring of these a boring jig is, nowadays, always used. Big-end bearings are usually bought in the required undersize to fit the reground crankpins and special equipment is not needed for these. In most workshops there is, however, a connecting-rod aligning jig and this most operators seem to regard as necessary.
The Value of the Self-contained Cylinder-boring Tool
Cylinder reboring is a class of work which, at one time: was always put out. The advent of the self-contained type of cylinder-boring tool—the kind which is electrically driven and is clamped to the face of the cylinder block while it operates—has changed all that, and there is hardly a garage in which repair work is done where one of these tools is ' not available.
One piece of garage equipment which has such a variety of uses that it would need a catalogue to specify them, is a substantial power press, preferably one of about 50 tons capacity. Amongst many other jobs, this can be used for straightening shafts, and for operations of a similar character.
As it is rare in the case of a fleet of a dozen vehicles or so for there to be a time when one or other of the engines is not undergoing repair, and as an engine stand is so useful and withall so inexpensive. I should say that this piece of equipment must be included.
It is seldom that, in an operator's repair shop, I have found examples of the more elaborate equipment for refacing brakes, and work of that kind. Replacement shoes already faced are preferred when this is necessary and even if they cannot be obtained, it is usually possible to obtain facings which need little treatment.
Nor do I recollect having seen, in what I might term ordinary garage premises, any elaborate means for brake testing. Rightly or wrongly most hauliers appear to deem it sufficient if they can take the vehicle on the road to test its brakes and that is not so dangerous is some people might have us believe In the foregoing I have made no mention of what I might term the obvious, that is to say, the provision of jacks, lifting equipment, small tools, and so on. It may, perhaps, be wise to end this article by referring to the fact that in those garages where Most work is done, each mechanic is provided with a complete and comprehensive kit, with spanners, etc., which is properly cased and has a lock and key, so that the man can be made responsible for the care of those tools and has no need to run to the stores every time he needs a particular size oi spanner. That is the
efficient way to deal with the question of spanners, because it saves the time lost by mechanics or their apprentices in locating them.
S.T.R.