Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1923, Page 59

Widespread. Ignorance Exists On Changing Oil in Auto Misleading Advice and Current Prac- tices of Garage Mechanics Cause Much Trouble to Car Owners. Without question of doubt automo- bile owners greater mistakes in the process of changing oil than in any other task in car care, simply because the job does not appear to call for any headwork. If the owner does the work him- self he considers the rough spots conquered when he has put back the drain plug without ruining clothes or rapping his thinking ap- paratus on a stray obstruction of the cha It he engages the gar- age man to do the his share of the pro accomplished when he has satisfied himself that the old oil is out and the new fn. As a matter of fact, under such conditions the job is worse than half done, it is very badly done. » Unreliable Advice. The car owner who has watched the oil-changing job dozens of times, or who has dome it himself, will doubtless be surpr 1 to learn t under no conditions should kerosene e run through the oiling system and that it is dangerous to turn the er gine over with the starter as a means of draining off the last drop of old oil. His surprise will bes dicate the enormous amount of fa advice which has n offered word of mouth and print on this im portant subje The purpose of th to startle him into rushin pme equally costly extreme in his method of changing oil, but to show him the facts and thus lead him to see for hi elf what folly it is to follow the accepted, but untrue, rules oil changing now in vogue. ‘When to Change Oil. arting with the matter of when to change oils, there is an important point to t ed. Most drive have a fec re courting trouble when they n i excess of 500 miles s This is be they have d to attend to the oil every 500 miles, with 1,000 as the positiv limit. The average car owner, there- a his oiling ght up to e dan which may malki a 1,000, o the ure guide ger up to be contra $ age on the dash should be th to the facts i the cas The instruction book for each make of car will show the owner just about how ch pressure this gauge should under normal condi- tions, yarring loose bear- ings, 1 in the oil system or stopps ny decrease in the amount of pr re when the engine is run- ning normally indicates a thinning out of the lubricant in the crank- If this_situation grows more noticeable it is a cue to change the oil, regardl her the car has_run only or 700, When the the rule 1 the mil, riods of oil change he all brands aand grad altke, that acts the all weather conditions, cons s not varying use of the car; is_untru It th show that, and that oil vary with all of which engine is mnot choked too much, if pistons and rings are tight fitting, if temperature conditions are normal and the car is not run at a high speed nor forced to climb many Lills there is no good reason wh supply of good-oil, with periodic ad ditions as required, should not T o see the new Cadillac is to expect great things; to drive and ride in it is to have those expectations splendidly realized. ; his | job he considers | | | 1 - inecessary to add so_much oil in last tween —_— | which 1 j engine { splashing a good 1,000 miles or a bit over the limit without any possibility of in- Juring the motor. On the other hand, many a car s just had its engine over- hauled, with bearings tight and car- buretor not just properly adjusted, could profit by an ofl change after 50 or 100 miles of testing. How Owner Might Profit. And many an owner who buys his oil carelessly might profitably drain off a new supply of ofl the rnlnulel he buys it. If conditions, therefore, warrant a change of oil, the next point is to know how to do the job without in- venting other ways for the engine to ruin itself. Most motorists, and a large number of so-called mechanics, will step on the starter when the oil seems to have been fully drained. Thefr idea is to force every drop of the old oil out of the system by turning the over under power other than its own. There i8 no danger of in- juring the engine while this process is going on, but In draining the sys- tem dry the pump and the oll dips for the connecting-rod bearings are emptied. The oil which the motorist pours into the oil filler pipe runs down to the_oil pan or “sump.” For it to reath the pump and the dips the engine must be operated. The owner who dathes out of the garage in the {belief that he is “oil safe,” therefore | stands 2 good chance of burning out a couple of bearings before he knows it: I When Pump is Dry." As a matter of fact, if the pump is run dry it must,be primed, a bothersome job in most cases. When motor has been taken down this always done before it is run again. that, but the ofl dips are filled with fresh ofl before the crank- case is attached. Obviously, the motorist who drains out every rop of oil is acting con- trary to common sense. If he feels that the old oil is in very bad condi- tion, and that he must attempt to remove it, the proper course is to insert the drain plug for a moment, pour in two quarts of fresh oil, run the engine a little, and then remove the drain plug again. The pump's portion of the old oil will naturally mix with the new, so that a large percentage of the undesirable oil is drained off without draining dry the pump and the oil dips. Kerosene should never be used un- less the engine is to be taken down, and then gasoline is preferable. time motorist lets the man “clean ‘er out” with erosene he might better order his fresh oil mixed with a quart of kero- ene. The oil dips and the pump use at least a quart of lubficant, and the result is that kerosene simply takes the place of the oil which should be left in the system. Picture the connecting: tips | up straight kerdsene to cylinder wall: the piston pins and the connecting-rod bearings, as the driver races the engine upon completion of this illogical job, and | some idea of the possible damage to the engine is seen. A great many car owners are fooled the oil indicator and /by the mount of oil which is drained off.| Noting that he drained off Jjust as| ch oil as he originally put into| the cngine, not counting periodic ad- ditions, one owner decided that his| engine was remarkably economical on oil and decided that it wasn't] be- | is a com-| i | the changings. This CADILLA Standard of the World Open Evenings The Washington Cadillac Company Rudolph Jose, President 1138-40 Connecticut Ave. Fr. 3900-3901-3902 T. W. Barrett, Associate Dealer 24th and M Sts. = =, 2 = mon mistake, resulting from fallure | to consider the quality of the cold| oil drained off. In this one case at ENTERING DRIVEWAY. | least 50 per cent of the solution was/| | raw gasoline. |Should Back and Then Go Straight The oil level indicator is deceiving. | Just because it registers full is no| Forward. | Teason to assume the engine has, How do you £o about turning off enough oll. The pres: auge will | ;i 3 el ol o metlier the au ‘wolution | the main street into a narrow private Snihs srunkeaue or danger. | driveway? Do you start to turn in,| Learn to read it. find you can't make {t, back out There would be a decided change | again and then make a second at- In the method of changing oil if|tempt? And find that the second at more car owners would consider the | tempt leads you to run over a corner facts and question the truth of the|of the lawn or bump a gate post?| words of wisdom so freely offered | Most drivers do the job in somewhat them. this sort of fashion, but it isn't neces- | | sary to make such'a muddle of it. The right way is to drive up past the driveway, then cut the wheels | and_ back to the other side of the | road. When you steer and drive for- ward again it will be a simple matter | to enter the narrow driveway gwith- out trying to do calisthenics with the car. g is oil (Copyright, 1923.) Strictly Modern. In a recent play in which horse rac- ing and steeplechase incidents occu- pled the center of attention the only | horse that appeared was a sparkling, | new automobile. . = Y THE NOISY" PARTY THAT. \ INVITES ITSELF TO JOIN YOU IN THE NICE QUIET UTTLE CAMP YOU'D PICKED OUT FOR OVER SUNDAY —, - DARKEST MOMENTS. Missing the last ferry. A blowout in a thunder shower. A reminder that a payment is due on the car when you are just starting off on a trip. TRAILING IN TRAFFIC. Motorist Should Not Follow Ex- pensive Cars. Here is a Mint for the man who Being told you're in wrong on a drives in trafiic one-way street. Don't trail behind expensive cars. Waiting for the mechanic to figure _ The best of drivers find themselves the charges. ramming into _the rears of other cars or_clpping off rear fenders. It's in- evitable in traflic such as we know it today. | But there is no use running the risk of bumping a ten-thousand-dollar- gold-plated-palace-on-wheels ywhen | there are thousands of dilapidated busses to stick behind. | The owner or driver of an expen- urance that he stands very little | give car is much more Hkely to raise ance of going wrong. It is quite|a rumpus if you hit his property, be- a contrast to the situation a fewTcause a slight scratch looks like the cears ago, when one had to be | dickens. Some drivers of flivvers, or ‘motor” wise to be a successful |near flivvers, are likely to mistake a ar picker. ' bump for pep in the motor. MOST ALL CARS GOOD. Never before in tlie history of the automobile have there been 50 many good on the market and so few “lemons.” This means much to the prospective car buyer because it is e John Smith and His Car BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL John Smith is a character whorh is not selfish; rather he is a motoring martyr, a chap wi every motorist should welcome. He ing and glad to have exploited, in an interesting way, his experiences for the benefit of the ather 10,000,000 or more members of the motor clan. No 13—So This Is Ameriea! 1 After covering the first seventy-five | miles of our trip Smith decided tha! it would be a good idea to stop a while. In addition, he proceeded to | kill two birdd with one stone by buying some gas and a quart of oil. | “A fine place to rest!” I complained. “A garage for scenery, fumes of gaso- | line foriozone, the roarigg of a motor | truck engine fé™ the music of na- ture! We. should have rested back in that beautiful historic village we just raced through.” Z “Those places don’'t interest me™ Smith confessed. “I want action “Then you have been missing a lot | of what you like,” 1 replied. -“One town we passed through nufac- | tures more paper than any other place in the country. Another boasts of | the greatest cement factory in the world. - I think you could save a lot | of hotel bills by these. One can learn | a lot from secing the towns at close range.” . Smith Talks Foolishly. “That's all right for sightsee Smith said. “Touring is different. “When you have finished this trip | you will be convinced that th pleasure and experience in touring is sightseeing. If your idea 1 to burn the road you could save a lot of hotel bills by traveling 1,000 miles | on a speedway.” By this time buying his suppl proceed again. ‘Wait a minute,” I said. you declded to-ssgp here you icked out about as uninferesting a place any, but have you noticed the posts at the crossroads over there “Aren't’we on the right road? “Of course we are,” I replied. 3ut when 1 travel I always read all the signposts just to see where the other | road leads to. It gives me a better idea of the layout of the country, all of which may be a big help to me some day if I happen to lose my way. The sign over there points the way to ' All Inn, one of the greatest resorts in this part of the country. er b there?” ith had “When ‘Well, now you can say you've been near it.” Cows Not for Smith. Whereupon Smith complained that | I was harping on nature. He saif | that being born and bred in the coun- | try, he wouldn't 2 corner to see : much less ta way to watch a tractor at work in the fields. If he was going to develop his power of observation he wanted |3 to practice on practical things. 1 therefore made the bargain with him that every time I saw anything worth looking at I would stop, and if he | didn’t_agree that it was worth stop- ping for I would buy him a gallon of gas. About two miles farther on I stop- per and pointed to a quarry. “That's where we get our best granite,” T said. “You have probably | seen many larger quarries, but you have never before seen one where they find such fine quality. Did you ever notice how they cut it?f Smith watched the men working. | about cranked up his motor “The next time you remember than I owe you & gain buy g allgn bout 2 mile beyond this we turn- ed into the main street of a small but rather attractive town. I drove slowly in order to give Smith a chance to look about. When we reached the highway again asked him what he had seen of in- terest, ees Nothing of Importance. Nothing,” was his reply. “A his- toric church, a new movie house, a couple of ‘chickens’ and a peach of a good looking car standing in front of a garage. But nothing of impor- tanc “If you had been wearing your ob- servation glasses” 1 argued, “you would have noticed the large number of cars standing in front of the bank. If you had observed the people around them you would have real- ized that those rs belong to farm- ers. You have perhaps heard a lot motorizing the farmer, bu there were the facts back in thajp town If you had wanted to see themy One of the stores had a clever wing dow display. The Street lamps hafi flowers on them. I saw some ve oddly dressed people, too. They probably belong to some religious cult. nith lookad at me inquiringly. re you by any chance inferring I owe you another gallon he asked at length. think you're going to buy my s.for the whole trip,” I laughed If you keep on showing me inter- things I'll not begrudge it,” ed. “Why, man, this is Americ I never thought of it be- fore. I am seeing the country, meet ing its people and learning its way Next.week: “The First Detour.” (Copyright, 1923, by the Service.) Ullman Feature Pros and Cons fto Leaving Car Clear in Garage. Car owmers are often heard argu- ing the pros and cons of lecking the car when leaving it in a public garage. If a moto: in case of locked. I t wants his car saved he should not leave it doesn’'t want to have it used b age loiterers, and per- haps stolen, he must lock it. These are the alternatives offered to the motarist. No wonder he's puzzled But her: suggestion Which in- variably answers the purpose when putting the cdr up for the night in a public garage If the garage attendant is watch- ing, make a pretense of locking the car, but don’t actually lock it. Fur- thermore, don't invite misuse of your car by advising the attendant that you are not locking it because of the possibility of fire. Time enough for him or any one else around the garage to find that out when there's some legitimate reason to move the car. 1 MARMON * Clhe lowest priced car 1o operate and main- tain now becomes the lowest in_first cost in its quality class . Five Disc Wheels and Nash Self-Mounting Carrier, $25 additional A Special Exhibit of - The NEW Nash Carriole -All this week we’re making a spe- new Nash Carriole. No car in the Nash line has ever And the price of this new model has not been raised a dollar. The richly distinctive body was created by craftsmen famed abroad as well as here. Jt is toned a beautiful, lustrous, maroon and black. Expensive appointments and equipmentsstrike youreyeatonce. A new, massively-rugged, tubular cross-member renders the frame even more rigid. It’s a finer, better car and a far greater value than any other in its field. See it today. FOURS and SIXES ? Prices Not Models range from $915 Advanced : to $2190, f. 0. b. factory . HURLEY MOTOR COMPANY 1522 14th Street,N. W. North 6462 Open Evenings and Smlday Tl Reduced %o 52785 Phaeton f. 0. b. factory .Gommmmuddwond 4 Wheel Br. (€S Optional Equipment At Moderate Additional Cost;” People have judged the Marmon by its ap- pearance, its performance—and by the kind of people who own Marmons. From that standpoint they have unconsciously classified it “around $5,000.” For the past year, how- ever, the real facts about Marmon value have become so apparent and Marmon success has been so marked that it is now possible to pro- duce a still finer Marmon at a still lower price., Show Room Will Remain Open During This Week T. V. T. Motors Corporation Sales and Service—1909 M Street Telephones—Main 7767, 7768