Chapter: 3

Engine main Components and Sub-components

 Construction of engine

 Gasoline and diesel engine are similar in construction.

 Both have cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts and
bearings.
 The main difference between gasoline engine parts and diesel
engine parts is that the diesel parts are usually heavier and stronger.
 This is because the internal pressures are higher in diesel engines.
 Construction

Gasoline Engine Diesel Engine

 Characteristics
(a) Gasoline engine
 High speed and high power output; easy to operate; quiet
combustion; used widely for passenger cars, small trucks, and
uses gasoline fuel only.
 Characteristics
(b) Diesel engines
 Higher heat efficiency, better fuel efficiency and low speed performance than gasoline
engines; heavier than gasoline engines, low speed engine, higher torque and produces
more vibration and noise and uses only diesel fuel.
 Engine Parts and functions
 Engine components are categorized into two division, the engine
proper and the auxiliary system.
Engine Proper/Engine Main Components
 Engine proper houses and forms the mechanism responsible for creating
reciprocal and rotary motion in the engine.
 It composed of the cylinder block, cylinder head, piston, connecting rod,
crankshaft, flywheel, valve mechanism and oil pan.
 Cylinder block
 The cylinder block forms the frame of the engine.
 Generally, this is made of cast iron
 many are made of aluminium alloy.- in order to reduce weight as well
as improve cooling efficiency
 The block is one of the major components in an engine and houses the
main power producing components.
 It must exhibit high strength and durability because all the resultant
forces, pressures and heat from the combustion process are transferred
to the engine block.
Engine blocks comes in different designs:
1. In-line engines have the cylinders in-line. (Left)
2. V-engines separate the cylinders in two rows, sharing the same crankshaft
at the bottom, and the block has a V-shape. (Left)
3. Blocks are normally cast-iron and contain casts or drilling (Right) to
allow for the passage of coolants (1) and lubrication (2).
 Cylinder Liners
 Cylinder liners (or the cylinders) are made of a cast molybdenum alloy iron for extra
hardness.
 The internal surface of each liner is induction hardened,
 then honed in a cross-hatched pattern to aid oil control.
 O-rings are used to seal the bottom of the liner to the block coolant cavity.
 The rigid engine block allows these seals to remain seated and provides excellent liner
sealing.
 The function of the liners is to house and guide the pistons
 form the combustion chamber and move heat away from the pistons.
 Con…
 It is also possible to have cylinders machined directly into the block, called a parent
bore(1), instead of removable cylinder liners (2).
 Con…
 Wet liners have O-rings to seal the water jacket and prevent
coolant leakage (Left)
 Dry liners are often used to repair or ‘sleeve’ parent-bore
engines, should a cylinder fail or wear excessively. These liners
are called ‘dry’ because they fit against pre-existing cylinder
bore walls in the block (Right)
 Pistons
 The piston which transmits the force of combustion is made up of many parts:
 1. The crown, containing the combustion chamber
 2. The ring-grooves and lands that hold the piston rings
 3. Piston pin contains a pin that connects the piston to the connecting rod
 4. The retaining ring keeps the piston pin inside the pin bore
 5. Thrust skirt that carries side loads.
 Con…
 On the inside of the piston there is the under-crown area (1) and some
pistons contain oil cooling galleries inside the piston crown (2).
Pistons can be of various construction:
1. Cast aluminium crown with iron band for compression rings and a forged
aluminium skirt, electron beam welded (Figure left).
2. Composite, with a steel crown and forged aluminium skirt, bolted
together.
3. Two-piece articulated, comprising forged steel crown with pin bores and
bushes, and a separate cast aluminium skirt, held together by the wrist pin
(Figure right).
4. The single piece cast aluminium piston with an iron band that carries the
piston rings. This is the most common type (Figure, left).
 The functions of the pistons are to:
• Transmit the forces of combustion to the connecting rod and, consequently,
the crankshaft
 Seal the combustion chamber
 Transmit heat away from the combustion chamber, via the cylinder wall
and coolant.
 Two styles of pistons:
 Cylinder heads with pre-combustion chambers, use pistons that have a heat plug in
the crown (piston on the right)
 Direct injection pistons do not have a heat plug.
Pistons are critical to the design, life, and overall performance of an engine.
 Piston Rings
Each piston has two or more piston rings that fit into grooves on the
piston. They have three primary jobs:
 Seal the combustion chamber
 Control lubrication of the cylinder walls
 Cool the piston by transferring heat generated by combustion.
 There are two types of piston rings:
I. The compression rings seal the bottom of the combustion
chamber by preventing combustion gases from leaking past the
piston.
II. Oil rings that control the oil film on the walls of the cylinder
when the Piston moves up and down, to minimize wear on the
liner, piston and rings. The oil control ring has an expander
spring which helps control the oil film .
Cont…
CONNECTING ROD
 Connecting rod connect the piston to the crankshaft and
transmits combustion force to the crankshaft.
There are several parts to a connecting rod:
1. Rod-eye, gudgeon-end or small-end, that holds the piston pin bushing.
2. Piston pin bushing. Bushings are a type of bearing that distribute load and can be replaced
when worn.
3. Shank between small and big ends. It has an I-beam shape for strength and rigidity.
4. The crankshaft journal bore and cap are at the big end of the connecting rod. These surround
the crankshaft bearing journal and attach the connecting rod to the crankshaft.
5. Rod-bolts and nuts secure the rod and cap to the crankshaft. This is called the crank end or
big end of the connecting rod.
6. Connecting rod in big-end bearings are in the crank-end. The crankshaft turns inside the
connecting rod bearings, which carry the load. The connecting rod transmits combustion force
to the crankshaft and transform up and down motion into rotary motion.
 CRANKSHAFT
 The crankshaft is a carbon steel forging that is totally hardened.
The construction of a crankshaft includes the following:
 1. Connecting rod bearing journals
 2. Counterweights
 3. Main bearing journal
 4. Web.
 The connecting rod bearing journals determine the position of the Con…
pistons and when each piston comes to top dead center.
 Some connecting rod bearing journals have lightening holes to reduce
the weight of, and help balance the crankshaft (figure)
 The crankshaft has drilled oil holes to get oil from the main bearing
journals to the connecting rod journals and bearings.
 Counterweights are used to help balance the crankshaft and reduce
vibration when the engine is running.
Thrust Bearing Surface
 A main thrust bearing surface is located at one of the main bearing
journals. The crankshaft webs on either side of this main bearing journal
have wide ground surfaces that limit the crankshafts back and forth
movement, called endplay.
Main Bearing Shells
 There are two halves to each main bearing, called shells (see
Figure).
 The lower half shell fits into the main bearing cap and the upper
half shell fits into the main bearing bore in the block.
 The upper halves have an oil hole and usually a slot so lubricating
oil is continuously fed into the oil hole in the main journal.
 FLYWHEEL ASSEMBLY
This assembly is the link between the engine and the load.
It performs three tasks:
1. It stores energy for momentum between power strokes.
2. It minimizes torsional or rotational oscillations of the crankshaft.
3. It transmits power to a machine, torque converter, other load or transmission devices.
The flywheel consists of:
1. Flywheel
2. Ring gear, which is located around the flywheel, is used for starting the engine
3. Flywheel housing.
 CAMSHAFT
 The camshaft is driven by a gear train coming from the crankshaft.
 The camshaft is made of a special alloy steel that is drop forged and
hardened for reliability and durability.
 The camshaft controls the intake and exhaust valve opening and
closing and in some applications, controls fuel injection.
 The camshaft gets its name from the egg-shaped lobes or cams.
 CAMSHAFT
The distance from the base circle diameter to the top of the nose
is called lift and it determines how far the valves are opened.
Every lobe is made up of:
1. Base circle
2. Ramps
3. Nose .
 PUSHRODS AND VALVE LIFTER
Valve train components in Figure are as follows:
1. Camshaft lobe
2. Valve lifter or cam follower
3. Pushrod
4. Rocker arm.
Push rods are steel tubes or rods with seats at both ends.
valve lifter or cam follower rests on each camshaft lobe .
the camshaft lobe is turns the lifter follows the shape of
the cam.
valve lifter transmits the motion of camshaft to the push
rod which transmits that motion to the rocker arm to open
and close the valve.
CYLINDER HEAD ASSEMBLY
The cylinder head assembly includes the following
components:
1. Cylinder head 7. Valves
2. Valve cover 8. Rocker Arms
3. Bridges
4. Valve spring assemblies
5. Valve guides
6. Valve seat inserts
 Cylinder Head
 separate casting which seals the top of the engine block.
 holds the valves, injector or pre-combustion chamber (where used) in place,
as well as water passages, valve train and fuel system components.
 The cylinder head is seated to the engine block with a gasket , a spacer plate
and bolts or studs.
Valve Covers
 The Valve Covers (Rocker Covers) fit on valve cover bases (rocker
boxes) that are fastened to the top of the cylinder head.
 Many engines have more than one valve cover. The valve train
components are under the valve covers.
 Rocker Arms
A Rocker Arm consists of:
1.Adjusting screw - to adjust valve ‘lash’.
2. Lock nut - to lock the screw in place after setting the lash.
3. Wear seat, - a hardened insert to provide long wear life.
4. Rocker shaft bushing - that provides a bearing between rocker arm and shaft.
These link the camshaft or valve train to the valves and change the rotary motion of the
camshaft into reciprocating motion in the valves.
Valves
Each valve consists of:
1. Keeper grooves, where keepers (sometimes called collets) grip the
valve stem to hold the spring on.
2. Valve stem, that rides in the valve guides.
3. Valve fillet that joins the head to the stem.
4. Valve sealing face that has a hard facing to reduce wear and seals
the combustion chamber.
5. Valve head Valves control flow of air and exhaust gases through
the combustion chamber.
Valve Spring Assembly
 Valve springs keep the valves closed. They fit over the valve and are held in place
by a keeper (or collets) (1) and either a retainer (2) or rotator.
 Each valve has a rotator, which moves the valve face 3° relative to the valve seat
insert during each valve actuation. This assures uniform wear for longer valve life
and helps prevent burnt valves.
 Valve Seat Inserts
 To completely seal the combustion chamber, every valve has a
seat insert when the valve closes the valve head contacts the valve
seat insert.
 When the valve seat inserts become worn or damaged, they are
replaceable.
 Intake inserts are a stainless steel alloy and the exhaust inserts are
a nickel base alloy.
Valve Guides
 Valves move up and down inside valve guides, which are
mounted in the cylinder head.
 Valve guides keep valves moving in a straight line and help carry
heat away from the valve.
 The valves, valve seat inserts and valve guides experience the
most wear because of the high combustion temperatures and
pressures.
GEAR TRAIN ASSEMBLY
The gear train assembly is a series of gears that transfers power from the
crankshaft to other major components of the engine.
The gear train synchronizes all the combustion-related components in the engine,
(crankshaft, camshaft and fuel injection pump) so they work together during each
stroke of the combustion cycle.
A typical gear train has the following components:
1. Crankshaft gear
2. Idler gear
3. Camshaft gear
4. Fuel injection pump gear
5. Oil pump gear
6. Water pump gear
7. Air compressor gear.
The End of this
chapter