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Show Cam Slipping May Cause Overheating of Engine Among the causes of automobile engine en-gine overheating Is this obscure but important im-portant one : It sometimes happens that the cam In the breaker box on the shaft of the distributor slips out of place, due to a worn or broken key. This will cause Improper timing, known generally as a "late spark." That being be-ing the case, the result will be quite similar to driving with a retarded spark. The only difference will be found In the difficulty with which this trouble is located, as It generally takes an experienced mechanic to find this subtle, Insidious enemy of the motorist. motor-ist. But the driver of the car will usually be able to tell Just when the spark Is "late," by feeling a loss of "pep" in his engine. Should he notice this defect and find that throwing the spark forward does not remedy the condition, then he can be pretty sure the trouble is in the breaker box. Remember that there are 7,800 sparks a minute In the average six-cylinder six-cylinder car, and it is hard enough to keep the engine cool with a temperature tempera-ture of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit around the cylinder walls while everything every-thing is running smoothly, without adding add-ing to the burden of the cooling system. sys-tem. To the average motorist, the surest protection is to watch carefully the heat indicator on the radiator cap and, when he cannot easily diagnose the cause of a sudden rise in the mercury, mer-cury, to consult a good mechanic. |