Engines: An Overview
- What is it?
- How does the engine work?
- Problem Solving
What is it?
The engine is the heart of your ride. It?s made up of many different components that work together to produce enough power to move your vehicle.
A typical engine is made up of three main sections, a Cylinder Head, A Block and the Gearbox (also known as transmission). Each section contains many, many parts that altogether make the engine run. Please see the sub categories for more detail on each section.
How does the engine work?
The engine works from a series of strokes known as revs. These revs are formed on the pistons of the engine moving upwards and downwards within a cylinder. The engine forms power from the pistons compressing a mixture of air and fuel to form a spark within the engine. This mixture must pass in and pass out of the engine which is done via the valves in the cylinder head. These valves are timed to open and close with split second timing using a Camshaft and Timing Belt. The belt is attached to the camshaft on one end and the crankshaft on the other end. The crankshaft controls the turning flow of the pistons and therefore can justify when to open and close the valves.
Problem Solving:
An engine needs air and fuel to run which is controlled by your fuelling system. It also needs water to keep the block cool during running, this I controlled by your heating or coolant system.
Along with that your engine needs oil to keep all its components well greased and lubricated to work perfectly, without sufficient, clean oil you will experience running problems.
The internals of the engine is compressed and sealed to prevent any of these fluids to be mixed. If they are mixed this causes many, many more problems and can be fatal to your engine is some cases.
So then that?s the basics sorted, shall we get a little more technical?
The Block
A run down on what the block is and how it works.
Cylinder Head
The lowdown on how the Cylinder Head works and what it does
The Pistons
A full run down of how the pistons work and what they do
Crankshaft
a guide to the crankshaft and how it works.
Camshaft
A guide about how the camshaft works and ultimately what it does
Valves
Everything you need to know about an engine's valves
Timing System
Everything you need to know about the timing of an engine