UNIIING, UPKEEP AND OVERHAUL,
Page 31
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Interestin4 Contributions from Maintenance Engineers, Drivers and Mechanics.
Some Den is Suggestions. THE driverwner of a 30-cwt. Dennis; " of Rochester, appears to have had some little troubles with his vehicle and to have overcome there by variou methods which he desires to pass on a others. These hints, he tells us, ap ly to 30-cwt. vehicles bearing numbers up to 50,000.
His first trou e appears to have been through valves s ieking up. This he attributes to a rin of carbon which forms under the head. To remedy this he enlarged the hole in the valve guide by boring it out f r half an inch down with a dr 1. We look upon this as a somewhat iubtful method, as the carbon might col ect in the enlarged portion of the hole.
Another trou le was an accumulation of sludge ar und the valve springs. This he cured b4 drilling a -kin. hole in the valve cove to act as a breather.
His next tron le was that he could
not; single-hand get his spare pneumatic tyre in or out of the cradle made for it, as it was n such a position that it required help handle it. To remedy this he made a s ide, by means of which he can draw the cradle out clear of the body, His sket h of the slide is not very clear, but ur artist has done the best he can wit. it. A slide of this kind would seem o be a very useful adjunct when a m has to change a tyre
when there is no I. elp at hand. •
A Tool for he Removal and Refitting of orris Clutches.
BY a coineideni we have received the same su,ggesti n from two correspon dents, " o Bootle, and a reader from Notts, who forgets to give, us his name. Both col pondeuts point out the difficulty the experience when removing the sp ings of .the MOrris clutches, both h ig had the pins fall down into the .asing, which, in each, case, entailed th removal of the gearbox to recover th dropped pin. To make a ve y difficult and ticklish job into an ea one, they have both made tools of t e same kind and so much alike that Be illustration will be suffieient to mak the suggestions clear. A piece of tub fixed to the end of a stem about 9 i s. long has slots cut in. 'wide and ab nt # in. deep. On the end of the rod is file handle to make it easy to manipu to. This is pressed against the spr Hg while the piu is being removed a while it is being reinserted.
An Expressio i of Appreciation.
wr, have receiv d a letter froth one of
our . readers and contributors,'
of Bee ton, Notts, who says that, from a m chanic's and driver's point of view, e considers the page which we devote o their suggestions to be one of the m st interesting in The Commercial Mot 4r. He suggests that young engineers hould be encouraged to read it and to study the hints given, so that, should they conic .up against any of the diffic lties mentioned, they may be able to ov rcome them by applying the remedies tbat others have foam' to be efficient. bor those who are for' tunate in the possession of a retentive memory, the information may be borne in min& but in instances where memory cannot be trusted we know of Cases where this page is cut out, preserved separately and kept with an index so that, should any uncommon trouble arise, suggestions can easily be looked up.
We have had numerous letters from time to time pointing out that designers and those responsible for the adoption of such designs in their manufactures should keep a close eye on this page, as no one can know better what may happen to a vehicle in actual working conditions than those who have to drive and maintain it.
Brake Drums on Sentinel Steam Wagons. FROM nrentford, a correspondent " W.E.W.," writes us that he has met with instances where independent brakes have been fitted to old-type S'en tinel wagons. The fitting of these brakes necessitated the cutting of a keyway in the axle. This keyway materially Weakens the 'axle, and he has had more than one case of an axle breaking at the spot where the keyway was cut. He points out that the need for such a keyway can be avoided by the fitting Of a conversion brake set 'which is supplied for these vehicles. These sets, although more costly than an improvised brake, can be bolted to the axle, so that there is no weakening by cutting keyways. rio appears to have found these conversion brakes to be satisfactory in every way.
Trouble with a Thornycroft Oil Pump.
WE hear from a mechanic who has charge of a J-tyrie Thornycroft, " VIT.," of Smithson, that a vehicle was brought in with a big-end melted out. As the vehicle was urgently required he had to do what was necessary with the least delay possible. An examination showed that the oil pump had ceased to drive. The drive of this pump is from the front end of the camshaft by means of a slot and a part which engages it. The engaging part appeared to be all in order, but the slot had worn away until it left a round hole, so that there was no drive. It would appear, how
ever, that there was still about in. of slot on each side that was not affected by the engaging part, so, having no time to procure a 'replacement part, " V.M." drilled a hole in the engaging part and inserted a piece of silver steel, protruding on each side so that it engaged in the remainder of the slot.
To Prevent Draughts in the Driving Cab.
FOR those who do not like a stuffy calY
with all openings closed, it is common to open the windscreen slightly at the bottom. This often results in the air which enters forming a draught by striking the roof and glancing from there towards the back of the driver's neck. Having found this very. unpleasant, a correspondent, " A.J.H.," of Rotherham, tells us that he has arranged a deflector which will divert the current of air in a downward direction in front -of the driver.
The diverter consists of a piece of thin metal bent as shown in his sketch and fixed to the wOodwork above the windscreen. He tells us that the wind'screen should be open about 2 ins.