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Show LIFE OF AUTOMOBILE SP18S EfflOEO BY WW HEM The leaves of an automobile spring are intended to slide upon one another when the car is in motion. Many carj owners allow the springs to get dirt', to go without lubrication and to be- J come very rusty. The leaves become' so dirty that insead of sliding on each other, they work almost as if they were ono solid piece of steel. Then,! when the car strikes a hole or a bump , in the road the springs are compressed ' and instead of each leaf working as a separate unit, the lower leaves of a rusty spring are held fast to 'the1 upper leaves. The reaction from tho i .compression of such a spring is many! j times greater than the reaction of a i clean, well-lubricated spring where the leaves are allowed to slip on one another as they should. The first step towards a remedy is to keep mud and dirt and all foreign matter away from the springs. This can be done, effectivly by covering! them with boot3. Some supply stores j j carry overs to fit a good range of I sizes of springs, but if you can't buy ithem already made you should be able ! to make them yourself, sewing them ! together of leather or a good grade I of leather 'substitute, advises .Motor ! Life Magazine,. The advantage of the latter material is that it is much icheaper than leather, and being waterproof, water-proof, it will keep dirt and moisture away from tho springs. It isn't a very big job to make suitable spring covers, specially if you can get some of the members oE the family interested inter-ested to the point that they will sew tho covers together on the sewing machine. ma-chine. Since the lubrication on springs f protected in this way win remain in place a very long time and will not gather grit and dirt, the slight expense and trouble which the making and fitting fit-ting of the boots will entail will be well worth tho effort. |