DICTIONARY OF AUTOMOTIVE TERMS - "Wo"

W/o

Abbreviation for without, as in excellent condition, w/o body damage.

Wobble

Side to side movement -- usually unwanted. Also called lateral runout.

Also See
Caster wobble
Wheel wobble

Wobble extension bar

A special extension with a unique male end that enables the user to drive the socket up to 15° from vertical

Wobble plate

See
Swash plate

Wobble plate-swash plate

Type of compressor designed to compress gas, with piston motion parallel to crankshaft. Often used in automobile air conditioning systems.

Wood alcohol

See
Methanol.

Wood chisel

Wood chisel

A tool for cutting or carving soft material like wood or plastic.

Woodie

1. A shooting brake.
2. A wood-bodied vehicle, especially Station wagons of the '30s and 40s.

Woodill

A vehicle brand of which the 1952-58 Wildfire models are Milestone cars.

Wood mallet

A hammer with a wooden head

Woodruff key

Woodruff key

A half-moon shaped piece of metal used to secure something to a shaft which has a notch cut in the shaft to accommodate the key.

Wood screw

Wood screw

A tapered shaft fastener with wide spiral threads like a sheet metal screw and a variety of head shapes. Used to secure wood or plastic. Wood screws have a smooth shank that allows the screw to pull the two pieces of wood together for a tight joint. Wood screws also taper along the threaded portion optimizing the screws holding power in wood.

Woody

A station wagon with wood sides. It was made popular by the surf-board crowd

Work

Production of an effect by exertion of a force. Energy is needed to do work and work is measured in Joules. Also see Chrome work

Work capacity

The maximum ability to perform. See Energy.

Work ceiling

See
Joiner work ceiling

Working cycle

A recurring sequence of events in the combustion process, e.g., a four-stroke cycle

Working cylinder

The inner cylinder of a double-tube shock absorber

Working pressure

See
Allowable working pressure

Work week

See
Standard work week

World Trade Organization

(WTO) Created by the Uruguay Round and successor to the GATT, this new organization began operations on January 1, 1995.

Worm

A short, rotating shaft on which a helical groove has been cut, as in a gear arrangement in which such a shaft meshes with a toothed wheel.

Also See
Ball worm
Recirculating ball worm and nut

Worm-and-lever steering

See
Cam-and-lever steering

Worm and nut

See
Ball worm and nut
Recirculating ball worm and nut

Worm-and-nut steering

A steering system in which rotation of the worm causes a nut, which encloses it, to move up or down, thus turning the rocker shaft

Worm-and-peg steering

See
Cam-and-lever steering

Worm and roller

A type of Steering gear using a Worm gear on the Steering shaft. A Roller on one end of the Cross shaft engages the worm.

Worm and roller gearbox

Worm and roller gearbox

A gearing system used with parallelogram steering linkage. Threads on the worm gear engage the threads of the roller. Both ends of the worm gear are supported by ball bearings to reduce friction. When the steering wheel is turned, the roller moves along the worm gear, swiveling the Pitman shaft (arm).

Worm-and-roller steering

See
Cam-and-roller steering

Worm and sector

A type of Steering gear using a Worm gear engaging a sector (a portion of a gear) on the Cross shaft.

Worm-and-sector steering

A type of steering system in which rotation of the worm moves a V-shaped section of a toothed wheel at the top of the rocker shaft

Worm and taper pin

A type of Steering gear using a Worm gear on the Steering shaft. The end of the Cross shaft engages the worm via a taper pin.

Worm gear

A coarse, spiral shaped gear cut on a shaft. It is used to engage with and drive another gear or portion of a gear. As used in the steering Gearbox, it often engages the Cross shaft via a Roller or by a tapered pin.

Worm wheel

A gearwheel driven by a worm

Worry

To bend something like a wire or a bar back and forth with the intention of breaking it apart.

Worthiness

See
Sea worthiness

WOT

Acronym for Wide open throttle

WOTV

Acronym for Wide-Open Throttle Valve (Ford)

Wound

See
Progressively wound valve spring

Wound valve

See
Progressively wound valve spring

Wound valve spring

See
Progressively wound valve spring

Wow

See
Bow wow