Post: Basic car engine parts

The heart of an engine is the cylinder, where the piston moves up and down. Most lawn mowers have a single-cylinder engine, but cars often have multiple cylinders (four, six, and eight are common). In a multi-cylinder engine, the cylinders are usually arranged in three ways: inline, V-shaped, or flat (also called horizontally opposed or horizontally opposed).
The inline-four we mentioned at the beginning is an engine with four cylinders in a line, and different configurations have different advantages and disadvantages in terms of smoothness, manufacturing cost, appearance characteristics, etc., which determine that they are more suitable for certain models.
The cylinders are arranged in two rows, at a certain angle to each other.
Flat: The cylinders are arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the engine.
Let’s look at some key engine components in more detail.
The spark plug provides the spark, which ignites the air/fuel mixture so that combustion occurs. The spark must be generated at the right moment for it to work properly.
The intake and exhaust valves open at the right time to draw in air and fuel and expel exhaust gases. Note that during compression and combustion, both valves are closed, so that the combustion chamber is sealed.
The piston is a cylindrical piece of metal that moves up and down in the cylinder.
The piston rings provide a sliding seal between the outer edge of the piston and the inner edge of the cylinder. Piston rings serve two purposes:
They prevent the fuel/air mixture and exhaust gases in the combustion chamber from leaking into the oil pan during compression and combustion.
They prevent oil in the oil pan from leaking into the combustion zone, where it would burn and be lost.
Most cars that “burn oil” and have to add a quart of oil every 1,000 miles do so because the engine is old and the piston rings are not sealing properly. Many modern cars use more advanced piston ring materials. This is one reason why engines last longer and have longer oil change intervals.
The connecting rod connects the piston to the crankshaft and can rotate at both ends, so its angle can change as the piston moves and the crankshaft rotates.
The crankshaft converts the up-and-down motion of the piston into a circular motion, just like the crank on a toy doll.
The oil pan surrounds the crankshaft. It contains a certain amount of oil, which collects at the bottom of the oil pan (oil pan).