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).
The performance and issues encountered with tappets, starter motor, clutch, gearbox, and transmission propeller shaft.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 114\4\ scan0151 | |
| Date | 5th May 1937 | |
| -2- The self adjusting tappets behaved well, but on one occasion a tappet became noisy. This was due to oil sludge having collected on the tappet filter and so restricting the feed. After this had been cleaned no further trouble occurred. On five occasions the starter motor failed to mesh with the flywheel ring. It was evident that the armature had moved and had just touched the flywheel, but although it continued to spin, it would not go right home and properly mesh. On these occasions the car was pushed by natives, and the engine started by that means. Apart from these few times it gave no trouble, and during the last four thousand miles worked without fail. During the run through Uganda the car reached a height of 9000 ft, but owing to having fitted weaker jets before the car started, the carburation was fairly good and did not run excessively rich, and at the same time gave us a consumption varying between 10 - 11 m.p.g. at lower altitudes of 1500 ft. The consumption on high ground varied between 8 - 9 m.p.g. The higher ground had more effect on the slow running bleed which required continued adjustment and again required adjusting when the car reached a lower level. CLUTCH AND GEARBOX The clutch gave no troubles and was smooth and free from slip. Although at times, more especially when driving off a ferry onto a steep bank, it was necessary to make a very slow take-off with the engine running fairly fast, which naturally heated up the clutch linings considerably, but they did not seem to suffer to any extent and the clutch maintained its effectiveness throughout the run. The gearbox was also free from trouble. The 2nd. and 3rd. synchromesh mechanism worked well, but required careful handling. A very quick change, as was sometimes necessary when the car ran onto an unexpected piece of soft sand, would occasionally result in a crash, but on the average it was light and easy to operate. No oil was added during the whole mileage. TRANSMISSION PROPELLER SHAFT. For the first 3000 miles no trouble was experienced, although tremendous strain was frequently thrown on this unit. The fact that on two occasions the engine was actually knocking in 1st. gear, gives some idea of the power that the propeller shaft had to transmit. After 3000 miles it was found that the Enots lubricating nipple on the rear mechanics joint had broken off due to the shaft having hit the body floorboards on full bump. This allowed oil to escape under centrifugal force. Later the Enots nipple on the forward mechanical joint also broke off allowing the same thing | ||