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).
Rattles and exhaust blows from main silencer unions on 40-50 HP cars, suggesting material and design improvements.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 38\4\ Scan128 | |
| Date | 2nd May 1924 | |
| N-W. EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} Technical - 40-50 H.P. re Main Silencer Unions. We have had an epidemic lately of complaints about rattles and exhaust blows from the main silencer unions, several customers, in fact, blaming the exhaust cut-out when it has proved to be the main silencer union at fault. We find that although the union nut is apparently quite tight, the spherical washer is still loose in the joint. When dealing with this, when we are lucky, we can just slack off the rear silencer suspension and tighten the union, but in many cases we find it impossible to tighten the nut without first dismantling same and easing the thread etc. as these, of course, naturally get into a very bad condition. In some cases we have spent many hours in even trying to undo this union. We are wondering if you have come across the same difficulties, and we would suggest as a possible cure that it would be an advantage to make the main silencer union nut of gun metal. Of course, this would then have to be stouter, but we think that it would remain in good condition and be much easier to tighten or undo when occasion demands. Is it a fact that new cars are frequently turned out with a C & A washer as well as a spherical washer, because if so we consider this is bad practice as we frequently find when these unions are dismantled that if there is a spherical washer it has collapsed and thereby caused the above mentioned trouble. (coll Washer?) At the same time we frequently find the falnge of the silencer pipe is broken, and we think this is also probably due to the union itself becoming slack. We shall be glad to have your remarks. Br.{T. E. Bellringer - Repair Manager} The above trouble is peculiar to post-war cars, probably due to hotter exhaust. | ||