Page:Ford manual 1919.djvu/41

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The wheels should be jacked up periodically and tested, not only for smoothness of running, but for side play as well. If in spinning a front wheel a sharp click occurs now and then and the wheel is momentarily checked, it is probable that there is a chipped or split ball in the bearing which should be removed, otherwise it may necessitate the removal of the entire bearing. A wheel in perfect adjustment should, after spinning, come to rest with the tire valve directly below the hub. Undue wear of the hub bearings is usually caused by lack of lubrication and excessive friction, due to the adjusting cone being screwed up too tight. It is a good plan to clean the bearings frequently and keep the hub well filled with grease.

Front wheels: Take off hub cap, remove cotter pin and unscrew castle nut and spindle washer. The adjustable bearing cone can then be taken out and the wheel removed. Care should be taken to see that the cones and lock nuts are replaced on the same spindle from which they were removed, otherwise there is a liability of stripping the threads which are left on the left spindle and right on the opposite as you stand facing the car. Rear wheels: They should not be removed unless absolutely necessary—in which case proceed as above, then with a wheel puller remove the wheel from the tapered shaft to which it is locked with a key. In replacing rear wheels be sure that nut on axle shaft is as tight as possible and cotter pin in place. The hub caps of the rear wheels should be removed occasionally and the lock nuts which hold the hub in place tightened up. If these nuts are allowed to work loose, the resulting play on the hub key may eventually twist off the axle shaft.

It will be observed that the front wheels are "dished;" that is, the spokes ore given a slight outward flare to enable them to meet side stresses with less rigid resistance—while the spokes of the rear wheels are straight. The front wheels are also placed at an angle—that is to say, the distance between the tops of the front wheels is about three inches greater than between the bottoms. This is to give perfect steering qualities and to save wear on the tires when turning corners. The front wheels should not, however, "toe-in" at the front—at least not more than a quarter of an inch. Lines drawn along the outside of the wheels when the latter are straight in a forward position should be parallel. All wheels should always be kept in proper alignment, otherwise steering will be difficult and tire wear greatly increased. Adjustment can be made by turning, the yoke at the left end of the spindle connecting rod, to draw the wheels into a parallel position.

Whenever it is necessary to install roller bearing cups, either in changing over from ball bearings to roller bearings or in replacing worn cups, the work should be done by a Dealer or Garage which has the necessary equipment for this work. In order to avoid excessive wear of the bearings it is essential that the cups be fitted absolutely true and this is practically impossible without the use of special equipment.