MOTORING WORLD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 17, 17 December 1932, Page 10

MOTORING WORLD

NOTES. Lubrication of the cylinder walls of a cold engine does not take place until after about 500 revolutions. In the first eight months of this year approximately 1,120.000 cars were produced in tiro United States. This compares with 2,022,000 in the corresponding period of 1031. Tho world consumption of petroleum products during 1031 is estimated at 47,006,000,000 gallons, and petrol, gns and fuel oils represent about 83 per cent, of the total consumption. All motor cycle riders who cover a lap of Brooklands track at 100 miles an hour are entitled to a gold star presented by tho B. M.-C. It. Club. The first gold star was won by tho late H. Le Vack in 1922. Motorists on a coastal rood in England were recently he'd up by a swarm of ilies. There were many species among the swarm. They came apparently from tho sea, and by tho time night fell they had mostly disappeared. Revenue collected in the United States of America last year from taxes on petrol totalled moro than £130,000,000. To combat the noise in Berlin streets the police have issued a new decree under which motor drivers who unnecessarily sound their horns will be fined. When cleaning heavily-carboned-up exhaust pipes a simple instrument can he found in a fairly long piece of old chain, which, when pulled backward

and forward through the pipe, knocks off the carbon, which can then readily be shaken out. CAUSES OF MISFIRING. If the engine misfires under load, or at idling speed, there are a number of items which may he causing the trouble. The most common ailments are improperly adjusted timing, poor compression, fouled or cracked spark plugs, ignition leaks due to poor connections, leulcing manifold giuiket. sediment or water in fuel line, leaking cylinder head gasket, weak or shorted coil, foruigu particles in distributor. RELEASING SLUGGISH CLUTCHES While the most frequent fault encountered in the clutch mechanism of a car is the tendency for the clutch to j slip, the reverse condition occasionally j occurs, especially in curs fitted with 1 cork type clutches running in oil. The clutch "plates do not separate when the j clutch pedal is depressed, and in conse- 1 quence difficulty is experienced in en- • gaging the first gear to start the car 1 from rest. The defect, of course, is \ one wb ch should receive skilled atten- . tion w'itliout delay, but pending adjust- ! meat the owner of the car should not attempt to engage the spinning gears j by’ tho application of brute force to the gear lever. A • sticking clutch can i generally bo released by first adjusting .' the engine to the slowest possible idling I speed, and then by suddenly opening i tho throttle so that tho engine is rapid- j ly accelerated. This burst of speed ■ on the crankshaft and driving plate will generally release it from the driven

plate, and allow the gears to he engaged without clashing. HINTS FOR OWNER-DRIVERS. Tlie owner-driver who docs his own overhauling may well give heed to tho. following points: See that the contact breaker points are set to the right gap, and that they are clean dressed, so that their faces bear even on one another when tho points are closed. If the spark plugs are senile, discard them and distal a now set. Test the storage battery with ,a hydrometer, taking the reading of each cell before topping it up with distil,cd water. If one ceil gives an indication of a state of discharge which is notably lower than that of the others, the storage battery should bo given a steady bench charge, and if one or more cells do not then register adequate charge, the battery should bo examined by an expert. ! When checking the wheels and steering ! first of all jack up both front wheels and spin each to ascertain if it is run- ; ning true. Then, by trying to rock ; each wheel in tho vertical plane, grasp- : ing it at an upper and lower spoke, i find out if there is any excessive play i at the king-pins or the wheel bearings. ! Give attention to ail the .steering con- ! nections, and if the car has developed ■ symptoms of wheel wobble not due to looseness of the steering or wrong inflation of the front tyres, get your j garage man to test the toe-in of the ! front wheels, and also the tilt of the : front axle, which may have altered j because of the gradual settling of the i front springs. The insertion of wedges ' of suitable size between the springs and ! the front axle will often cure wheel wobble and restore the proper tilt or castor setting to the front axle.