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4 ALBERT L.CLOUGH.. *'Spotting" A Weak Cylinder 4 Preliminary To Securing Bmooth Operation And Marvimum Power IF ONE HAS OR CAN RIG UP a eylinder cut-out, with a separate switeh for short-circuiting each spark plug individually, a very satis. fuetory idea can be obtained by its use as to the contribution being made by each cylinder to the total engine power, Rigging Up For Test In making such a test, the engine--a six, for instance which fires 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 4--has its plugs connected to the switches and is set idling. Cylinders are then cut out, one by ome, by closing their switches (speed being maintained by progressively opening the hand throttle) until the engine is running at a fair speed on two cylinders only, for instance 1 and 2. This speed is carefully noted. : Running Cylinders By Pairs With the throttle setting unchanged, by opening and closing the required switches, the engine is then run om other successive com- binations of two cylinders each and the speed produced by each of them is observed. If the pairs of cylinders allowed to fire are, for example, 1-2, 2-3, 3-1, 4-6, 5-4 and 6-5, each cylinder will be included in two combinations and usnally those two combinations which pro- duce the lowest speeds, will both be found to include the same cylin. der, which can be properly regarded as the weakest of the six. Other grouping can be made use of to obtain further information as to the relative activity of other cylinders. Operating Oylinders Singly It 1s usually possible, instead of idling an engine on pairs of cylinders, to eut out all but one and let it run on one cylinder only, changing from it to each of the others successively, by opening one switch and closing another, alterations in speed being noted and conclusions as to relative power being formed. : 3 The Weak Cylinder The Leaky One Ordinarily a "weak sister" among the cylinders will be found to be one which retains its charges imperfectly and could have been picked out by a compression test made by hand-cranking, but inequalities in charge distribution, the presence of air leaks and certain ignition shortcomings are also brought to light by the method above described. MAY BE CARBURETOR TROUBLE wa od miles. Are you sure your dash ad. Justment is set to give a rich enough mixture? ---------- KEEPING A OAR POLISHED Locating The Elusive: *'Miss" Determining Which Cylinders Fail To Pire WHEN LACK OF POVER and jerky eugine action indicate that one or more cylinders are failing to fire, firing only part of the time or giving very weak impulses, the first procedure is to idemify which ones are at fault. Cutting Out Cylinders Individually The accepted means of determining this is by short-circuiting the spark-plug of each cylinder in turn, while the engine is briskly idling, thus cutting off the ignition of the cylinders successively apd tem- porarily making their firing impossible. If, while a certain cylinder is thus cut out, the engine slows down noticeably, it indicates that it was firing before its plug was shorted, but if no slackening of spzed results, it may be inferred that it was not firing previously or at east not adding perceptibly to the power developed. The Screwdriver Test A spark-plug can most readily be short-circuited 'by touching a screwdriver blade simultaneously to the head of the plug and the engine block, holding it by the wood of its handle only, so as to avoid any shock. With two screwdrivers--one in each hand---cylinders can be cut out by pairs, various combinations can be made and more dependable information gathered, because the engine 'can then be run with somewhat larger throttle opening, without racing, and loaded conditions be somewhat more closely approximated. A More Refined Method A very useful substitute for this rather crude screwdriver method is found in the cylinder cut-out--a device which anyone can readily make. It consists of a board on which are mounted six small single- pole Kkiifte-switches. One terminal of each of these is connected to a wire, the end of which is connected to. the engine block while a separate wire from the other terminal of each switch can be clipped to the head of {ts respective plug. When a switch is closed its plug fs shorted and vice versa. Cylinders can thus be cut out in any number and in all possible combinations and left inactive as long as desired. With most of the cylinders cut out the remainder can be run with considerable throttle opening and working conditions some- what reproduced. ' had Limitations Of The Screwdriver Test ' By the single screwdriver method any cylinder which does not fire at all or fires very weakly can usually be picked out, although not infrequently such a cylinder may fire regularly and fairly powerfully when under heavy load, but for discriminating cylinders that are D. J. H. writes: The engine of my four-cylinder car loses power almost completely on hills and "spits" frequently, as though it were not getting gas. It also misses when I try to make it' pick up speed, after slowing down and in changing from second speed to high. It runs normally on level going and I am sure the plugs are clean and good. What is the mat- ter? Answer: Possibly the fuel strainer in the carburetor needs cleaning, but it may be that the carburetor is giving trouble. The carburetor of this engine depends for its action upon a piston, moved 4p and down by suction in a vertical cylinder, and if this piston becomes rough, it is likely to stick and interfere with the quality of the mixture, so that the engine will bardly run on it. 'This piston should be highly polished with metal polish and the same treat. ment accorded to the walls of the eylinder, once each one thousand 8. J. 8. writes:' What is the bes! way in which to keep a car pol- ished? Is it advisable to rub It down after a run and how should this be done? Answer: Lack of space pre- vents a full answer to these ques- tions, but among the main points are these: Remove mud and dust gently by means of a slow hose stream and by sopping with a clean water-soaked sponge. Don't use soap except tO remove greasy matter. After all dirt has been re- moved, dry the finish with a clean, wet chamois skin, rubbing very gently. Never rub the finish unless it is perfectly clean. A very little approved body polish can be oc- casionally used. Excessively fre- quent washing and polishing fs more destructive than preservative to the finish, according to our ex- perience, and rubbing a down after each run "whather it needs it or not" is not only of doubtful benefit, but absorbs more time and energy than it is practicable for the ordinary user to expend. slightly weak this method does not suffice. MAIN BEARING ADJUSTMENT A. T, writes: 1 have replaced the burned-out center main bear- ing of my engine with a new one and at the same time, I tight- ened the other main bearings, since when the starter will not crank the engine,""and I can hardly turn it over by means of the crank or a Jacked-up rear wheel. Do you think bearing adjustments are too tight? Answer: They are tighter than they should be, some of them at least. In adjusting bearings, the caps of all but the one being op- erated on should be loosened and the tightness of that should be ad- Ject, justed, by the use of proper shims, until it just fails to cause binding of the shaft, when its cap is fully tightened. Then its cap should be loosened and the next bearing ad- Justed similarly and so on with the others. This will leave the shaft free, when all bearing caps are finally tightened. We should advise you to go over these adjustments again, following the above pro- cedure, but it is possible that, by having your car towed a short dis- tance at a time, with the lubricating system working perfectly, the bear. ings may be safely loosened up so that the engine can be cranked and can safely be run under its own power, -~ ------ ASKS HOW TO REPAINT Answer to B. P. H.: It is impos- sible to glve you instructions for re- painting your car in the very lim- ited space afforded by our question and answer columns, but we in. tend printing an article on this sub. in the near future. In the meantime, we suggest that you will probably find in the public library of your city one or more books, relative to coach and automobile painting, which will give you the information you require far more in detail than would any article suitable for publichtion here. Questions of general interest to the motorist will 'be answered by Mr, Clough in this column, space permitting. If an immedicte answer. is enclose self-addressed, stamped envelope, Ya a J Tickled to Death - | Took That Trip" kt a= a couple of weeks ago | went up to Toronto and took a P rough the big factory where Goodyear been thro Ever h a tire facto, » » » take my advice and go! About the first question *What are the real facts about about?" And they showed me somethi every car owner within ear-shot of Ki "Su - ed by SR and Goodyear' " "Supertwist is very springy in fact, it stretches instead of Tires are made. ry? Well, when you get the chance I popped at the people up there was: thin "Supertwist" we hear so much that I want to broadcast to ton. t is a new Cord Fabric discover- the tire hits a bump. "Tires made with Supertwist are giving the mileage tires ever gave. average they're not a" t } a8 "" way other Pay & tires do." used in no other tires but and 1) t t hy," breaking when And and breaking the | 5 mys 'Every Goodyear Cord Tire is made of Supertwist and--at i our prices it costs not one red cent more to geta Goodyear (and ) than to 5 ie \ - dollars 3 i 4 NEW PRODUCTION RECORDS i REACHED BY OVERLAND i With unfilled orders on hand cov- ering every model in the complete line, Willys-Overland ended the first year's quarter on March 81st, with the highest record of shipments ever attained at the Toronto factory. E. R. Paige, general sales mana- ger, in discussing this situation, says: "In addition to the tremen- dous demand for Overland and Wil- lys-Knight 4-cylinder models -- the new Overland Six 'is meeting with i the greatest public approval ever 'given a new Willyg-Overland model. | "Construction of the new Over- "land Six has been carefully worked out to give the highest degree of service. The ability of the car to perform under every possible con- dition of road and weather, has been thoroughly proved, after ' months of exhaustive. tests. "Mountains have been climbed-- 'seas of mud traversed--deserts : crossed--snow-storms and blinding rains encountered in hard and re- lentless test trips which carried this car from coast to coast within the | past year, | '""The new Overland Six was buflt to. meet the requirements of that | large body of motor car owners who | have longed for the smooth opera- tion of a reliable 6-cylinder car at an unusually low price. It is a | combination of distinctive appear- ance, great comfort and power at a ;cost mot beyond the means of the | average person. "Production schedules have been { materially increased in an endeavor to meet April shipping requirements. Use Using the emergency brake fre- quently has always been the surest | method of learning how to use it in {an emergency, but where the emer- 429 Brock Thoroughbreds are judged by their pedi- gree. Every Reo p duced since 1904 has been famous for reliability. Boyd's Garage Ltd, te, to warrant driving in the midst of those who have previously learned how to get the best results from their driving. EFFICIENT GAS STATIONS UNKNOWN IN GERMANY Berlin, April 17.--American way- side gasoline 'stations soon will be found along German highways, and it probably will not be long before the free air sign will also appear. Gasoline today fis served from shops in the clumsiest sort of way, but the increase in motor traffic is turning German 'eyes toward the quick and' economical methods so generally used in the United States, and trade journals are showing many pictures of model stations along American highways. As a re- sult a German firm has bought a number of American gasoline service station pumps, and will install them. LONDON OOMPLAINED OF OLD OF GENTLE STREAMS OF TRAFFIC London, April 18.--London had its trafic problems 'hundreds of years before the automobile was ever thought of. Old books set forth that, in the beginning of the 17th century, trafic troubles were so acute that a contemporary author wrote an article on the subject en- titled: "Coach and Sedan, Pleasant- ly Disputing for Peace and Prece- dence." ; : a Incidentally, London was then dee scribed as a city of "fogge and rote ten mostes," suffering from trafe congestion like "mutton pies in a cooke's oven." its on it rarely. calls Dopse BROTHERS COMMERCIAL CAR A passenger car under repair may simply mean inconvenience. A work car under repair means costly loss of time. Te Sige money With reasonable care Dodge Brothers workmanship and insarance the oe \ i