From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Damper knock diagnosis and a near-side front damper failure with corrective actions.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 47\2\ Scan378 | |
| Date | 3rd November 1930 | |
| -3- HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux}1/MJ.3.11.30.Contd. of this made the knock from the off side so pronounced that had it been left on the owner would not have been satisfied. This case proved that it is impossible to locate the fault with bench inspection and tests, and that the knocks are caused by a very slight amount of wear in some part of the mechanism of the hydraulic hammering of the valves. These knocks, as I demonstrated to Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}, cannot be obtained on most of the roads round the works and can only be produced by the conditions of the roads in and around London caused by the heavy traffix. The top portion of Nightingale Road is the only place where they can be reproduced. This explains the reason why we could not locate knocks in the dampers which have been returned. This does not include all the damper knocks, as others are very definite and are the result of wear, that can be felt and definitely located to the gudgeon pin; also seizure of the pin, which can be located by one definite knock instead of a double knock. 137-XJ. Failure of near side front damper. This was a complaint of steering wobbles at 70 M.P.H. The near side front damper was found with the rocker lever broken near the neck of the gudgeon pin. The damper loads on this car had been increased to 120 high pressure and 100 lbs. low pressure. In view of the breakage I had the pressures decreased to 100 lbs. high and low pressures. | ||