C A R B A S IC S

FO R B U D D IN G A U TO M O B ILE EN G IN EER S

ByUtkarsh
Kushwah
UPES

Introduction
Welcome to Car Basics! Here you will embark on
great adventure i.e. learning all about the basics
of the major system that power your car.

The information in this report will give you the

most fundamental working knowledge about
yours car
Engine
Fuel System
Exhaust System
Cooling System
Drivetrain
Suspension
Electrical System
Body Brakes
Heat /AC
Oil

Your Cars Engine

There are three main components that make up a
combustion engine:
1. Piston
2. Crankshaft
3. Valvetrain

These three components work in concert to pump

air and fuel and turn your wheel. Lets look at each
on in a little more detail.

1.Piston
Your average car engine will have 4,6 or 8 pistons. You can think
of piston as similar to plungers moving up and down within
their cylinders. On the top side of the piston is the combustion
chamber, where fuel and air are mixed together before being
ignited.
On the other side of the piston is the crankcase, which is full of
oil. Your air and fuel are kept separate from the oil by O-Ring
style rubber seals

2. Crankshaft
The crankshaft is connected to piston by a rod. As the
piston moves up and down, the crankshaft rotates and converts the
up and the down motion into rotatory motion. In other words, it helps
turn the wheels.

3. Valvetrain
The valvetrain is made up of valves, rocker arms,
pushrods, lifters and the
cam shaft. The job of the valvetrain is to let the air and fuel in and
out of the engine at the appropriate time. This is accomplished by
synchronizing the cam shaft to the crankshaft with a belt or a chain.

How it all works

The average car today uses what is known as a 4-stroke or 4
cycle engine. What this means is that there are four separate
events that happen in your engine as it runs:
1. Intake stroke
2. Compression stroke
3. Power stroke
4. Exhaust stroke

1. Intake stroke
An intake valve is opened by the camshaft, and
the piston moves down inside the cylinder creating a vacuum
which sucks air and fuel into the combustion chamber.

2. Compression stroke
The intake valve closes as the piston moves up
the cylinder. This creates a seal that allows the air and fuel to be
compressed.

3. Power stroke
As the piston nears the top of the cylinder, the
spark plug fires and ignites the compressed air and fuel. The
force of ignition drives the piston back down into the cylinder
again, turning the crankshaft..

4. Exhaust stroke
Once the piston reaches the bottom of the
cylinder again, the exhaust valves opens. Leftover air and gas
are sent out to the exhaust system.

Your Cars Fuel System

If any part of your fuel system breaks down, your
engine will not. Therefore it is very important to keep your
fuel system well-maintained and address any problem that
come up soon as possible.

Lets look at the parts:

1. Fuel tank
2. Fuel pump
3. Fuel filter
4. Fuel injectors (newer cars)
5. Carbonator (older cars)

1. Fuel Tank
Pretty self-explanatory! The fuel tank is where your
cars fuel is stored. Inside the tank is a sending unit which tells
your gas gauge how much fuel is left in the tank.

2. Fuel Pump
On newer model cars, the fuel pump is usually
installed inside the fuel tank. On older model cars, the fuel pump
may be attached to the engine or on the frame rail between the
tank and engine.

3. Fuel Filter
Fuel filters may be located before or after the fuel
pump (and in some cars, there are two fuel filters one before
the pump, and one after). Intake valves tend to get clogged and
fuel filters serve to clean this build up out of the gasoline.

4. Fuel Injectors
Fuel injection is used in the majority foreign and
domestic cars produced after 1986. The fuel injector is a small,
electric valve. The opening and closing of this valve is controlled
by a computer.

5. Carburetor
On older model cars, a carburetor is used to help
mix air and fuel. Its a very inefficient process , and carburetors
are notorious for breaking down. This is why most manufactures
switched to fuel injection.

Your Cars Exhaust System

Your exhaust system carries away the gasses created by
engine combustion. The whole system consist of five
components:
1. Exhausted Manifold
2. Oxygen Sensor
3. Catalytic Converter
4. Muffler
5. Exhaust Pipe

1. Exhaust Manifold
The exhaust manifold attaches to the cylinder head,
taking the exhaust from each piston, and routing it through one
pipe.

2. Oxygen Sensor
A component of fuel-injection system, the oxygen
sensor monitors the level of oxygen present in the exhaust and
makes adjustment to fuel input in order to maximize fuel
economy. An oxygen sensor is usually mounted near the exhaust
manifold.

3.Catalytic Converter
The catalytic converter acts somewhat like a filter in that
its job is to convert harmful byproducts of the process into less harmful
ones. Namely, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are converted to
water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Your catalytic converter should be located between your
exhaust manifold and muffler.

4.Muffler
The muffler muffles the sound of your engines
combustion and exhaust process. Sound is reduced by bouncing the
exhaust against internal baffles to reduce its energy.

5.Exhaust Pipe
Once your gas has turned to vapor within the exhaust
system, it is carried out of your car through the exhaust pipe.

Your Cars Engine-Cooling System

As you can imagine, your cars engine gets super hot while
running. Normal operating temperature for the average fuel
burning engine is around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but
temperatures may go up as high as 4,000 degrees F. during the
combustion process.
A cooling system is necessary for a couple of reason:
1. To prevent temperature high enough to melt engine parts.
2. To stabilize engine temperature at the most efficient level

regardless of environmental conditions.

3. While some heat is carried away by the exhaust system. Its

not enough to protect the pistons and cylinders.

Most automobiles use what is known as a liquid-cooling

system. In other words, a liquid coolant is circulated to absorb
and carry away heat from the engine.
This liquid is then sent o the radiator, where it is re-cooled
again and sent back out for another pass through the engine.

Lets look at the parts involved in the cooling system:

1. Hoses
2. Fan Belt
3. Radiator
4. Water Pump

1. Hoses
Hoses are used to carry the liquid coolant.

2.

Fan Belt

A Fan belt is used to drive the water pump, which

circulates the coolant through the system.

3.

Radiator
The radiator cools your coolant.

4.

Water Pump

The water pump, which is driven by your engine via

fan belt, is responsible for pushing the coolant to circulate

Your cars Drive Train

The drive train (also sometimes referred to as the power point)
serves two functions:
1. Drive power from the engine to the drive wheel.
2. Vary the amount of torque.

We use the expression drive wheel to refer to the

actual driven wheels of a vehicle. For instance, an
automobile with 2-wheel drive is designed to power 2 drive
wheels (either the two front wheels or the back wheels),
while the remaining wheels on the vehicle roll out but do
not actually power the car forward.
There are two sets of gears in the drive train:
3. Transmission
4. Differential

Transmission
The transmission is used to adjust gear ratio. This is
similar to (but more complex than) the gear-switching of a
bicycle. Automotive transmission require multiple ratio
gearboxes to maintain the same engine RPMs at different
speeds.

Differential
The differential is used to help the wheels turn at
different speeds.
Now , we can break the transmission down even further because
there are 2 types of transmission you are probably familiar with:
1.. Manual
2. Automatic.

Manual Transmission
Manual transmission usually have 4 or 5 speeds.
Most use manual clutches, but there are a few models out there
that actually use an electric clutch with a manual stick shift.
Manual transmissions require the driver to shift the gears.

Automatic Transmissions
Automatic transmissions typically use 3 forward
gears. Each gear is intended to balance speed and torque for the
current driving conditions (starting, acceleration, driving up hill,
etc).
In automatic transmissions, though, is that the gearshifting process is controlled by oil pressure. A shift valve,
controlled by oil pressure, is employed to shift the gears to meet
the immediate driving conditions.
Your AXLE may be located at the either the front or

Your Cars Suspension System

Suspension in this case refers to the front and rear
springs that suspend your cars weight. Todays suspension
system may be constructed from a variety of spring types,
shapes and sizes, such as:
Leaf springs
Coil springs
Air springs
Torsion springs

Also include in the suspension system: shocks, struts and

sway bars.

Your Cars Electrical System

The electrical system in todays cars are complex, and
there are dozens of things that can go wrong at any times with
the major devices as well as auxiliary devices such as radios,
chargers, defrosters, power windows and so on.
The Big Three things that you need to pay attention to are:
1. The Battery
2. The Starter Motor
3. The Alternator

The Battery
Your battery stores power to start your car, as well
as run all the secondary devices like radios and clocks.

The starter Motor

The starter motor is a DC solenoid used to start the
cars engine.

The Alternator
The alternator manages current to keep your car
charged while running (it is powered by the engine), and to
restore charge to the battery.

Your Cars Body

In old days, car bodys were almost entirely metal. These days,
however, most car bodies are composite of fiberglass and
plastic around a metal frame.
Common body problem may include:
1. Rust In this case, were talking about rust from the inside

out. This is a bigger problem with older model cars.

2. Accidents Repairs can get pricey on newer model cars

due to their construction. A metal bumper, for example, can

be banged back into some cases. Plastic bumpers,
however, usually have to be replaced in full.
3. Paint UV rays from the sun can damage paint over time.

Scratches and dings from rocks, hail or other debris can

create chips in the paint leading to further deterioration.

Your Cars Brakes System

If you have a newer model car or truck, it is likely that you have
disc brakes on all braking wheels, rather than drums. Older
models braking system typically employ disc brakes on the
front wheels and drum brakes on the back wheels.

Why disk brakes?

Disc brakes are lighter and perform better than
drums in terms of wear and tear. This is because the disc
brakes are gripped on either side by the brake pads, similar to
the brakes on a cycle. The wear form the heat and friction is
distributed evenly.

A standard brake system consist of 4 main

components:
1.. Disc and or drums and rotors

2. Friction pads
3. Master cylinder and brake cylinders
4. Brake Fluid
The master cylinder connects to your brake pedal via a push
rod. This push rod is then connected to each brakes cylinder by
steel brake lines and the rubber hoses that carry the hydraulic
brake fluid. Pressure applied to the brake pedal activates the
master cylinder pistons which pump brake fluid through the
system.

Your Cars Heat and AC

The first thing to note is that your heating and AC system is
designed to:
1. Add heat to the inside environment, or
2. Remove heat from the inside environment

In other words, the cooling of your AC is not achieved

by creating cold, but by removing heat and moisture
from the air until the desired temperature is achieved.

Your Cars heating and AC system consist of the

following:
1. Heater core or secondary radiator
2. Compressor
3. Evaporator
4. Condenser
5. Fan
6. Hoses
7. Liquid refrigerant (Freon, usually R-12 or R-134)
In order to heat your car, the system circulates air around the
heater core then return it back into the interior of the vehicle.
Simple enough, right?
The AC system is more elaborate. It starts with the evaporator,
which receives the air pulled from the interior of the car via a
fan. Meanwhile, your compressor is moving refrigerant through a
condenser and back to the evaporator.

Your Cars Oil

Oil lubricates the moving parts of your engine, protecting them
from the wear of friction and high temperatures.
What is important here , though, is nit any of the parts of the
system but itself. The biggest thing you can do to extend the
life of your vehicle is to have the oil changed on regular basis.
Most manufactures recommend you get an oil changed every 2
to 3 months or every 2,000 to 3,000 miles.
It is vitally important that you use the correct grade and
viscosity of oil for your driving conditions. Very cold driving
conditions require a thinner viscosity ( the thinner the oil, the
faster it heats up) while very hot conditions may require multigrade or higher viscosity oil

Reference

Car Basics for Beginners. Everything Youve

Always Wanted to Ask Your Mechanic.
Retrieved January 26, 2010, from
http://automobile.for-beginners-only.com

Prepared by:
Utkarsh Kushwah
B-Tech (Automotive
Design)
2009-13
University of
Petroleum & Energy