Engine Components

Structural parts:

1. Cylinder head
2. Cylinder block
3. Cylinder liner
4. Sump
5. Vibration isolators

Moving parts:

1. Piston
2. Connecting rod
3. Piston ring
4. Crankshaft
5. Camshaft
6. Pushrod
7. Rocker arm
8. Bearing
Cylinder head:

The cylinder head (or cylinder cover) is bolted to the top of the engine block and forms a gas
tight seal over the end of each cylinder. The head may be cast as a separate head to cover each
cylinder as is usual with the larger engines or in the case of smaller
smaller engines a single casting
covering all cylinders. A number of engine parts that are essential to engine operation may be
found in or attached to the cylinder head. The cylinder head will house intake and exhaust
valves, valve guides,
uides, and valve seats. The cylinder head will also carry the valve rocker arm
assembly, fuel injection valves, heater plugs, the cover for the rocker gear as well as providing
for the flow of:- cooling water to essential areas of the head, air supply for
combustion and discharged exhaust gases.
The design and material of a cylinder head must be such that it can withstand the rapid changes
of temperature and pressure that take place in the combustion space and the mechanical stress
that results from the head being bolted securely to the block. Cylinder heads are made of heat
resistant alloy cast iron or aluminum alloy. The cylinder head is designed to transfer heat by
conduction to the fins and then from the fins to the
the air by convection. The exhaust side of the
head has the most fins as it runs the hottest. The head also may incorporate a drain line fitting to
allow excess oil to return to the crankcase.
crankcase

Cylinder Block:
The main structure of an engine (excluding any moving parts) typically consists of the cylinders,
coolant passages, oil galleries, crankcase and cylinder head(s). Modern
odern engines, however, often
combine many of these elements into a single component, in order to reduce production costs
costs.

A cylinder block is the structure which contains the cylinder, plus any cylinder sleeves and
coolant passages. In the earliest decades of internal combustion engine development, cylind
cylinders
were usually cast individually, so cylinder blocks were usually produced individually for each
cylinder. Following that, engines began to combine two or three cylinders into a single cylinder

block, with an engine combining several of these cylinder blocks

Engine blocks are normally cast from either a cast iron or an aluminium alloy
alloy. The aluminium
block is much lighter in weight, and has better heat transfer to the coolant, but iron blocks retain
some advantages and continue to be used by some manufacturers.
Cylinder liner:

The barrel or bore in which an engine piston moves back and forth may be machined from the
cylinder block, or it may be a separate pressed in sleeve or liner. It has the disadvantage of not
being replaceable. When excessive wear occurs in a block of this type, the cylinder must be re
bored. Reconditioning of this type cannot be repeated indefinitely and, in time, the entire block
must be replaced. For this reason, most diesel engines are constructed with replaceable cylinder
liners.
The material of a liner must withstand the extreme heat and pressure developed within the
combustion space at the top of the cylinder and, at the same time, must permit
permit the piston and its
sealing rings to move with a minimum of friction. Close-grained
Close grained cast iron is the material most
commonly
y used for liner construction.

Cylinder liners may be divided into two general classifications or types- dry or wet.

Sump: The sump is the engine oil reservoir and it may also have a strainer fitted through which
the oil must pass before entering the oil pump. The sump will be fitted with an oil drain
attachment either for bottom discharge or out through the side for greater accessibility. The
fitting of the gaskets between the sump and the block must be done with great care. The engine
sump
mp is usually manufactured from steel but in some cases
ases they may be cast
iron although these are extremely heavy and not seen often these days.
Dry sump and wet sump:

The main difference between dry and wet sump is that the wet sump system stores oil in a
reservoir inside the engine. After the oil is circulated through the engine, it is returned to this
crankcase based reservoir. A dry sump engine pumps the oil from the engine’s crankcase to an
external tank that stores the oil.

The dry sump system uses a scavenge pump, some external tubing, and an external tank to store
the oil. Other than these differences, the systems use similar types of components.

Vibration isolators:

Vibration isolators are designed to absorb the forces of relatively minor vibrations that are
common to operating diesel engines. Such vibrations are referred to as high frequency, low-
amplitude vibrations, and they result from an unbalanced condition created by the motion of
operating engine parts. Isolators can be equipped with coil springs or flexible pads to absorb the
energy of engine vibrations. An isolator reacts in the same manner, whether it is of the spring
type or the flexible pad type.
Some typical examples are mounting pads for the engine found between the mounting frame of
the engine and the main frame. These may be just a simple rubber block with a bolt through the
middle or more often and more effective special vibro blocks molded to steel plates on each side
and the steel plates are designed to bolt, one to the base and the other to the engine mount. There
is no bolting between engine and frame. Another vibration isolator is the mounting for the
radiator to the frame. In this case however the mounts provide a double duty. They also serve to
protect the radiator against any distortion from movement of the frame.