If the engine is the heart of a car, the crankshaft is the heart of the engine. It is the primary moving part to which the pistons and connecting rods attach, which drives the transmission on one end and the camshaft and accessories on the other. To replace the crankshaft the transmission has to be … Read more
The camshaft position sensor does pretty much what its name implies – it senses the exact position of the rotating camshaft and it provides that data to the PCM. From there that information is used, along with data from the crankshaft position sensor, to manage ignition and injector timing. In addition to that, on modern … Read more
The knock sensor is an essential component of the engine management system, there to detect and manage spark knock. Spark knock is what happens when an air/fuel mixture ignites too early, or if the fuel is too low octane (which allows it to burn too quickly), or if the combustion is uneven leading to colliding … Read more
A universal joint or u-joint is a cross-shaped casting with short even-length arms, and cups with needle bearings fitted onto the end of each arm. It is packed with heavy grease for lubrication and often has a grease fitting to allow regular servicing. The bearing cups press into machined holes in the driveshaft and component … Read more
Every gas engine uses spark plugs to fire the air-fuel mixture, as the end-point in the ignition system. A spark plug screws into the cylinder head on each cylinder, and has a pair of contacts on it’s end. The ignition system coil sends a high voltage spark across the contacts at the appropriate time, which … Read more
The two main working parts of an engine are the engine block and the cylinder head. Oil and coolant passages run between the two, and the combustion chamber also lies in between. The cylinder head gasket seals the oil and coolant passages and the combustion chamber. The combustion chamber is defined by the pistons and … Read more
One of the characteristics of a cooling system is that it has to operate close to the boiling point of water. The cooling system uses a mixture of water and coolant designed to be resistant to boiling, but the system also operates under pressure to further raise the boiling point. To maintain the system under … Read more
An active secondary air injection system uses an electric or belt-driven pump to move air for injection into the exhaust stream. Most of the time, the system consists of a pump and a check valve. Other times, it consists of electrical controls such as relays and sensors, and connecting hoses and pipes. Usually, there is … Read more
As an engine runs and transfers power to the wheels it vibrates and twists forcefully. Every engine has an arrangement of strong mounts to hold it in place in the frame and to absorb vibration. Most of the time, the mounts are made of rubber held in a steel cage. Some use oil-filled or hydraulic … Read more
If your engine overheats or is in the red area on the temperature gauge, your cooling fan may not be working properly. Cooling fans are fairly easy to test as all you have to do is start your engine and turn the AC on. With the AC on both cooling fans, if your vehicle has … Read more