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).
Letter from T.B. Andre & Co Ltd. concerning wear issues and proposed solutions for Hartford Shock Absorbers.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 51\4\ Scan055 | |
| Date | 26th June 1922 | |
| COPY. From T.B. Andre & Co Ltd., 5 Dering Street, New Bond Street, London W.1. 26th. June 1922. Messrs. Rolls-Royce Ltd., Nightingale Rd., Derby. Dear Sirs, RE HARTFORD SHOCK ABSORBERS. For the attention of Mr. E.W.Hives. With reference to the writer's recent visit and conversation with you and your Assistants regarding the wear of the wood bushes on some of the Shock Absorbers after being in use for 2,000/3,000 miles, we believe that this was possibly produced, and the wear aggravated, by a certain amount of side play on the pin, owing to the absence of the Belleville type spring washer which we use on our standard assembly to hold the universal joint and wood washers in position on the swivel pin. With regard to your suggestion that we should use a larger pin and bush, we are going into this matter very carefully and are now making some experiments with another type of oilless bush having a larger bearing surface, and we will send you, as soon as possible, a set of Shock Absorbers fitted with these new bushes for you to test, which we could supply in future should you have any further trouble in this direction, but we think you will find the complaints you have received will be very few and far between, as we have had absolutely no trouble in this direction before. On the majority of other makes of cars the amount of spring movement is considerably less than that shown on your drawing, and it is quite possible that this extra amount of spring movement, which causes the Shock Absorbers to work through rather a large angle, may cause abnormal wear on the bushes which otherwise would not take place under ordinary conditions. You can rely on us doing everything that may be necessary to put matters right, and we are quite prepared to extend our guarantee to cover any guarantee you may give with your cars to your customers and we will replace, free of charge, any parts that may be either defective or show signs of undue wear. We also wish to confirm that the writer left with you a pair of single arm type 104 Hartford Shock Absorbers for trial on the front axle of your cars and we shall be very glad to have your report on their action as soon as you have had these fitted and tested. contd:- | ||