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 central lubrication system of demonstration car 91-XJ, detailing an issue with insufficient oiling of the rear springs in hot climates.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 27\1\ Scan364 | |
| Date | 9th October 1930 | |
| RECEIVED 27 OCT 1930 A3806. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Derby By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Derby Bombay, NRC{N. R. Chandler}10/G9.10.30. The following remarks on the central lubrication system of our demonstration car, 91-XJ may possibly be of interest to you and I am sure it will be appreciated that any suggestion made in this memo is purely in the nature of a suggestion and not of a criticism, as of course I fully realise that the Experimental Dept. have had long experience with the central lubrication system. This car was received by us in the middle of July and has now just completed 1000 miles of demonstration work. It has been driven almost exclusively by me and with the exception of one run to Poona and back, it has always been short trips about Bombay. I have made a point of depressing the lubricator pedal once almost every time the car is taken out and have from time to time carefully watched the points to which lubrication is applied, and it is very gratifying to find that, with one exception, all the points appear to bear evidence of adequate lubrication without anyone point being over-lubricated, that is to say, there is nowhere from which an excess of oil exudes. The one exception to which I refer is the rear springs. The plates do not appear to be getting sufficient oil and at nearly 1000 miles they started to squeak very badly. I therefore had the gaiters opened and before doing anything else, jacked up the car, opened the leaves and satisfied myself that oil was actually finding its way to the hole in the top plate on pressing the pedal. I should say that very nearly one drop appeared to find its way between the plates each time the pedal is pressed but in spite of this the felt strips on the underside of the springs were almost bone dry. I therefore had these saturated in engine oil and the plates also smeared with engine oil which was entirely effective in removing the squeaks. I have noticed before in cars without central lubrication that the heat of this country appears to dry up the felt strips in springs in a very much shorter time than I had experienced in England. I therefore wonder if it would be advisable in hot climates to fit one Enot lubricator | ||