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).
Fuel gauge, front axle, and steering column performance and maintenance.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 101\2\ scan0049 | |
| Date | 20th July 1936 guessed | |
| ( 9 ) circuit, so that the fuel warning lamp remained on until the fault was rectified. The petrol gauge has worked satisfactorily, the needle remaining steady and the reading accurate to the nearest gallon. The warning lamp is also satisfactory, lighting intermittently when the level falls to 3-4 gallons, until only one gallon is left when it lights continually. FRONT AXLE LOP G.56392. Complete to above LOP - Standard Production. A new front axle was fitted at 10,146 miles. The axle controls, whenremoved from the old axle, were found to be much too free at the lower bearings where they are attached to the axle. These were tightened up since when front brake thumps have been completely absent. STEERING COLUMN & BOX. LOP F.61081 C TYPE NS.{Norman Scott}4446-9 Complete to above LOP & Scheme, Marles Type incorporating:- F.60968 Steering Wheel .700 lead cam F.60995. F.87852 Cam-Roller. Timken Bearing 31 C & 32 EX. HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}4711 Stiffened Rocker Shaft. F.61083 Rocker Shafts. F.61084 Pend.Lever 9.437" centres. F.60837/8 Support Brackets. F.84885 Ball end Pins. The steering has been worse for joggles than those experienced in England. They can be reduced to a tolerable minimum if speed is kept well down on bad roads, but even then a single kick of large magnitude will be felt over deep isolated bumps. The steering is good on winding roads and corners, but it needs continued correcting to maintain a straight course. This feature is very much worse when the car is fully loaded, and is not at all pleasant. Loss of oil has been negligible, but box is always moist round joints between the two halves. The steering box was dismantled and examined at 10,146 miles. There was no pre-loading between the cam and roller, there being about .05" free movement at the end of the pendulum lever with the steering in central position. The cam-roller was loose enough on its ball bearings to rattle. The nut on the splined bolt carrying the cam-roller was only finger tight. This was tightened and the cam-roller was then found to be rough on the balls in some positions, otherwise quite free. There was .020" clearance on the distance piece between the races. At 17,700 miles, the steering showed signs of jamming on right lock. The box was dismantled at 18,273 miles and one ball bearing was found to be broken in half. All the cam-roller ball races were pitted to some extent, and the fork which carries them was strained. This was probably caused by the jamming of the broken ball. | ||