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).
Oil supply failures to the pivot pins on two Bentley chassis, discussing fractured pipe lines and rust issues.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 27a\1\ Scan228 | |
| Date | 30th January 1935 | |
| To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Derby Attention Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} [Handwritten top left]: Sub [Handwritten top middle]: x4013 Bowering [Logo top middle] Levallois Sr/VA4/ET.30.I.35 Re: CHASSIS B.179.AE - Mr. François EDMOND-BLANC With reference to your Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}6/KW.21.I.35, the cause of the failure of the oil supply to the pivot pins on two BENTLEY cars which we attended to, was failure of the pipe lines. In this respect we attended to the above chassis and also to chassis B.165.AE (Mr. de Landa), as follows. CHASSIS B.165.AE de Landa - The cause of the oil failure to the front axle lubrication scheme on this car was that the pipe line, as fitted underneath the gaiter of the front off-side spring, had fractured. Apart from this, several of the pipe lines were found to contain a certain amount of foreign matter which caused an obstruction. We discovered the above when changing over the front axle to the strengthened type axle. We had great difficulty in removing the pivot pins owing to same having seized in the bores of the axles. After the removal of the pins and bushes, these were found to be completely rusted up and therefore had to be repaired. CHASSIS B.179.AE - Mr. F.{Mr Friese} Edmond-Blanc - The cause of failure of the oil supply on this car was also a broken pipe near the foot pedal mechanism. Upon dismantling the front axle and pivot pins etc., which was necessary as the result of an accident, we found that a certain amount of rust had formed on the bushes of the pivot pin, causing premature wear. We also found that rust had collected around the G.100689 oil feed tube, which would have almost prevented any oil reaching the bottom bush. We quite agree with you that the cause of rust was short-age of oil and that rust would not have formed if there had been a constant supply of oil to the pivot pins. We are inclined, however, to think that if the oil feed tube were made of a rust resisting material and in the event of a failure of the oil supply to the pivot pins or the front axle generally, there would be a much lesser risk of rust or corrosion setting up. As an example, supposing that on a car, we discovered a broken oil pipe in connection with the oil feed to the front axle, if we repaired it and made sure that all air was excluded and that the oil arrived all right to the axle end, we should not be in a position to know whether rust or corrosion had already taken place between the oil feed tube, and the interior of the pivot pins, without dismantling. Concerning the third paragraph of your memo, this is having our attention and we will drop you a line in a day or two. Sr/VA.vb [Signature in red ink] | ||