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Show TO LUBRICATE CAR j Proper Action of Auto Mechanism Depends on Oiling System. WHEN TO USE GREASE "fngenious Methods of Circulation Circu-lation and Forced Feed Are Revealed. It has been aptly said that the Importance Im-portance of lubrication to the proper operation op-eration and continued existence of the reotor car cannot be overemphasized. One who follows the developments in the automobile auto-mobile field misht be tempted to think the present generation of car owners had teen thoroughly educated in this, but then he finds one making some mistake In lubrication that shows that many car owners still do not know the real meaning mean-ing of the subject. For several years past no wise motorist motor-ist has used grease as a lubricant for his transmission, yet many car owners who ought to know better still employ this heavier lubricant in this location. Grease cannot flow to the bearing- surfaces, sur-faces, and in. the transmission the gears cut a clean path through the grease when it is cold and run practically unlubricated thereafter. In addition, grease nas the unfortunate characteristic of carrying dirt Mil foreign matter that it may pick up. It has distinct drawbacks as a lubricant lubri-cant in any location, especially in cold weather, when it ought never to be used. In winter the grease is almost certain to become packed against the walls of any case tn which it is used, while the gears operate entirely dry. When grease is used in cups it has the characteristic fl getting hard so that the cup cannot be turned down properly, and vetyjiftle lubrication gets to the bearing aa-jT for which it is intended. Wick Oil Systems. k On practically all. cars of any but the lost recent vintage grease cups are fitted jvarious locations. If the owner de-slreSNv1 de-slreSNv1 substitute oil as a lubricant for the gvrfflso, lie has practically to replenish re-plenish the cups every day. In many cases this would be worth the increased labor. On the other hand, it may be possible to replace the grease cups with large oil cups having gradual feed. Some of the newer car models have been designed de-signed with central lubricating points and with wick oiling devices, which require re-quire replenishment only once or twice a season. At any rate, the substitution of ull for grease for almost any lubrication service will be a benefit to the parts affected. af-fected. Naturally, different parts of the mechanism require different lubricants; that is to say, different grades of oil. For the gears, the transmission, differential differ-ential and rear axle, a heavy oil will be the most satisfactory lubricant. Other narts will do better on a cylinder oil. For the average car, two grades of oil will pretty well take care of all the lubrication needs. The past year or so has seen a number of extremely ingenious oil cups offered 10 the motoring public, some of them embodying em-bodying a gradual feed, achieved by means of constricted passages that allow the oil to leak out only by degrees. Others employ what is known as the wick feed, In which the oil is carried up In a wick and fed gradually to the part needing lubrication. lu-brication. For such places as the shackle t'olta of the spiings, the cross shafts of 'he brakes, the universal joints, in some 'ypes, this makes a very satisfactory arrangement. ar-rangement. It has always heon the custom to lubricate lubri-cate universal joints by means of grease or graphite, because there is great difficulty diffi-culty In keeping oil in the joint. This part moves with great rapidity when the mechanism is In operation and needs the most effective lubrication. Recently it has been found possible to lubricate the imtversals by means of oil fed through wicks. In many cases this change would have to be the result of altered design. - which the manufacturer is loth to do Nhcrause of the cost. Modern Way. Wifeed has tho double advantage of heing economical, as well as efficient. In operation the oil travels up the wick by capillary attraction, just as It does up a lamp wick, and is discharged upon the surface requiring lubrication. IThe oil spreads Itself over the whole surface, and really this method is the next best thing to having tho parts run in oil. The wick 011 cup does not require frequent filling and another advantage of the system Is that dirt or foreign matter, even if it is present In the oil, cannot make Its way 10 the bearing surface. The question of obtaining adequate lubrication lu-brication is one to which engineers have elven and are giving almost constant . thought Some of them have even attempted at-tempted the negative solution of the problem prob-lem by employing bushings made of wood or of metal that does not require lubrication. lubri-cation. In most of these latter there is a certain proportion of graphite, which Is intended to act as a lubricant, just as the Foapstone griddles our grandmothers used to have would bake cakes without the application of outside grease. These lu-brlcantleas lu-brlcantleas bearings serve very well for certain parts of tho car's mechanism, but where, there is intense movement they are scarcely up to the work. However, at 'hat they are probablv better than grease l"ups, especially those that are never turned down by a careless owner. Manv engineers believe that eventually K shall have a car that embodies a single sin-gle lubrication system, feeding all parts of the mechanism. In that case all the owner would have to do would be to till UP a single central reservoir. In fact, a l'ar approaching that Ideal was exhibited at the shows a couple of years ago. In he meantime, the owner who desires to 'reat his car with all possible tenderness tender-ness and get out of It all the mileage and Jni i thlU there 's In It, will substitute 011 lubricants for gronse, even at the expense ex-pense of Installing new cups of the gradual grad-ual or wick feed type. The change will ho worth while. |