Professional Documents
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mechanical,
lubrication &
cooling system
units & components
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Engine mechanical, lubrication and cooling systems are essential to the operation
of every motorcycle. This chapter will help you develop an understanding of the
construction and operation of these systems. It will also cover procedures you can
use when removing, replacing and testing engine mechanical systems for correct
function and operation. This chapter provides you with knowledge that will help
you with both theory and practical assessments. It will help you plan a safe and
systematic approach to engine mechanical, lubrication and cooling systems inspection
and maintenance.
This chapter covers:
• Engine mechanical system operation • How to check, replace and test motorcycle
• Engine lubrication system operation engine mechanical, lubrication and cooling
system units and components
• Engine cooling systems operation
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4 Motorcycle engine mechanical, lubrication & cooling system units & components
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Action
exercise will help start your hands-on
training and improve your abilities. Practise: Identify the engine layouts of the bikes in your workshop.
Explore: Do some research and find at least one manufacturer that uses each of the
engine layouts listed in Table 4.1.
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Remember: as with any skill that you
Replacing the engine oil and filter wish to develop, the more you practise,
Figure 4.1 A modern motorcycle engine
the better you will become. Table 4.1 Engine types and configurations
A customer has left their motorcycle at your workshop
for an intermediate service. You have been asked to Engine type Configuration and features
change the engine oil and filter. Now turn to page 369–70 in this book and Inline • The pistons are arranged in a line next to each other.
check your answers against the checklist
• Are there any health and safety risks involved with and any safety information given for this • This is the most common design.
this activity? • It takes up a great deal of space because of the length of the cylinder block
• Make a list of personal protective equipment (PPE),
vehicle protective equipment (VPE), tools and
equipment that you might need.
Safe Working
• Always protect your skin from contact with waste
engine oil. Waste engine oil can cause dermatitis or
Safe Environment
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task. Following the technical skills steps and
observing all necessary health and safety
precautions, practise changing the engine oil
and filter on a motorcycle in your workshop.
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Level 2 Motorcycle Maintenance & Repair 4 Motorcycle engine mechanical, lubrication & cooling system units & components
Did you know? The advantages of liquid-cooled systems are: Pressure has a direct effect on the boiling point of water:
! Safe working
During the manufacture of They provide more even cooling of engine components. • If the pressure is lowered, the boiling point is lowered.
cylinder blocks and heads, holes If the cooling system pressure is
They run much more quietly than air-cooled engines. • If the pressure is increased, the boiling point is raised. suddenly released by opening
are left in the castings to help
remove sand from the water Some disadvantages of liquid-cooled systems are: To raise the boiling point of the cooling system, it can be the radiator cap, the coolant
jackets. (The sand is used in the can boil. It will then gush out of
✗ Water boils at 100°C, and when it boils it changes to steam. pressurised by sealing it with a radiator cap, also called a the system and can cause burns
moulding process.) Small metal
Once the water has changed to steam, it no longer acts as an pressure cap. As the coolant warms up, it tries to expand, but it and scalding. Never open the
caps called ‘core plugs’ are used
to block off the holes left in the efficient coolant. has nowhere to go (because the radiator cap is sealing the system), radiator cap when the engine
cooling system. Although not so pressure increases. This pressure increase raises the boiling is hot. Once it is cool, open the
✗ The cooling system will be complicated, with extra components cap slowly.
part of the design process, these point of the liquid coolant in the system.
core plugs have been known such as radiators, water pumps and thermostats. Because of
to fall out during the freezing this, there is more to maintain and more to go wrong.
of a cooling system. This can
help relieve pressure and save
Radiator and radiator cap
Pressure valve
engines from damage caused The liquid coolant absorbs heat from the engine mechanical
Key terms
by ice. components. This heat energy is transferred into the surrounding
Pressure cap/radiator cap – a
air using a radiator. Vacuum valve
spring-loaded cap designed to
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A radiator is a series of metal tubes, surrounded by cooling fins raise the pressure in the cooling
Figure 4.33 Cooling system pressure cap, with relief valve open
(thin pieces of corrugated metal designed to increase the surface system, and therefore the
boiling point of the coolant.
area). The radiator is mounted away from the engine, in a position
that allows airflow to pass over it and dissipate heat to the To make sure that the pressure does not continue increasing past Vacuum – a pressure that is
lower than atmospheric pressure.
surrounding air. safe limits, the radiator cap contains a spring-loaded valve. When
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Figure 4.32 A core plug
(sometimes called a welch plug)
The pipework in the centre of the radiator zigzags backwards and a preset pressure is reached, the valve releases, allowing some Thermostat – a temperature
coolant to escape into an overflow expansion tank. control valve, which regulates
forwards. This means that the coolant passing through it is in system temperature.
Key terms contact with the air for the longest time possible, which makes it As the system cools down, pressure falls. As some of the coolant
efficient at getting rid of the heat. has been allowed to escape past the radiator cap, this pressure
Radiator – a unit designed
to transfer heat energy to the • If the pipework is mounted top to bottom (up and down), the fall would create a vacuum, making the cooling system hoses
surrounding air.
radiator core is known as upright. collapse. To overcome this, the radiator cap is fitted with another
valve that works in the opposite direction. As cooling system
Dissipate – spread out in many
directions (usually associated
with the movement of heat
to air).
NEW TECH
Curved radiators
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• If the pipework is mounted side to side, the radiator core is
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Level 2 Motorcycle Maintenance & Repair 4 Motorcycle engine mechanical, lubrication & cooling system units & components
Key term Testing the strength of coolant or antifreeze • If piston rings are the cause of oil smoke, this will usually be
most noticeable during acceleration.
Specific gravity – the density To make sure that the system has the correct strength of coolant
of a liquid when compared or antifreeze mixture, you can use a hydrometer to check the • If lubrication oil is leaking past the valve stem seals, oil smoke
to water.
specific gravity. will usually be most noticeable on start up, or after the engine
has been left idling for a short time.
Using a hydrometer to test the strength of coolant/antifreeze
Remember that a two-stroke engine uses total loss lubrication,
Checklist burning its own engine oil. This means that it is normal to see
PPE & VPE Tools and equipment Source information blue smoke coming from the exhaust of a two-stroke.
• Steel toe-capped boots • Cooling system hydrometer • Cooling system technical data
Damage to the cylinder walls
• Overalls • Antifreeze mixture instructions
Overheating or lack of lubrication can lead to the cylinder walls
• Latex or nitrile gloves • Job card
being damaged. If this happens, you will often find scoring on the
piston thrust side of the cylinder. The thrust side of the cylinder is
1. Allow the engine to cool. 3. Select a hydrometer for the type of 6. While you are carrying out the
the one that the piston presses against as it moves downwards on
coolant in the system. Two main types of hydrometer test, this is also a good
its power stroke. The throw of the crankshaft will force the piston
! Safe working
coolant are used: monoethylene glycol
and polypropylene glycol. Each coolant
time to assess the condition of the
coolant. (Check it to see if it is dirty or to one side and this is where the greatest amount of wear and
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You must always allow the engine type has a different hydrometer and will contaminated.) damage might occur.
provide antifreeze protection. Figure 4.39 A damaged engine cylinder
to cool before removing the radiator
pressure cap. If you remove the Incorrect valve clearance
radiator cap while the engine is hot, 7. If the coolant is below the standard Because of expansion due to heat, inlet and exhaust valves require Key terms
4. Insert the hydrometer into the coolant
a sudden drop in pressure may cause required, you should drain it, flush the
and take a sample. clearance between them and any operating mechanism. This is Valve stem seals – rubber
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the liquid coolant to boil, causing system and refill it with the correct
scalding or severe burns. quantity and type. often known as tappet clearance. seals designed to prevent oil
leaking passed the inlet and
If the clearance is too small, two problems can occur: exhaust valves.
2. Once the engine is cool, carefully 8. If you are using an antifreeze and • When the valves expand due to heat, they might be held Throw – the distance between
remove the radiator pressure cap. open when they come into contact with the valve-operating the crankshaft main bearing
water mix, follow the manufacturer’s
journal and the crank pin.
recommendations, including the ratio of mechanism. This will lead to loss of compression and misfiring.
water to antifreeze. Mix the antifreeze The throw of an engine will
Because the valves conduct their heat away through the determine the length of
and water in a separate container and
Two problems can occur if piston rings wear. If the compression fuel mixture that can be drawn into the cylinder or reduces the
rings are worn, cylinder compression is reduced or lost, leading amount of exhaust gas that can be expelled. This will affect the
to poor performance on that particular cylinder. If the oil-control volumetric efficiency and therefore performance.
ring (the piston ring that helps keep oil below the piston) becomes
Figure 4.38 Blue smoke (from • The operating mechanism will come into contact later, delaying
burning oil) being emitted from a worn, the engine may start to burn its own lubrication oil. When
the valve timing.
motorcycle exhaust this happens, the oil level will fall and excessive blue smoke in the
exhaust may occur (see Figure 4.38).
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