5 Main Parts of a Car Engine
What do these parts do? How does an engine actually work? Under that (sometimes) beautiful engine cover lies some amazing technology. Modern car engines are capable of some amazing feats. Let’s take a peek behind the scenes and look at some of the most common parts found in the engine bay of today’s vehicles.
1) Engine Block
The engine block is the backbone of your car’s engine. It provides the housing that houses the pistons, crankshaft, and sometimes camshafts.
Most vehicles on the road today have either 4, 6, or 8 cylinders. Inline engines, as you might expect, have the cylinders arranged in a row. Other engine configurations include in-line or in-line engines, boxer engines, boxer engines, W engines, and even the Wankel engine (a rotary engine) made famous by Mazda.
2) Pistons
Pistons transfer the energy generated during the combustion cycle to the crankshaft. Simply put, this energy transfer effectively powers your vehicle. Pistons contain piston rings that provide proper sealing and oil control. This means that in an engine running at 2500 rpm, the pistons go up and down 5000 times per minute.
3) Crankshaft
The
4) Camshaft
These
5) Cylinder Head