Automobile Mechanics

Starting an Automatic

 To start a vehicle with an automatic

transmission, sit in the driver's seat and make
sure the vehicle is in Park. Insert the key in
the ignition and turn it clockwise as far as it
will go. The engine should crank. Do not
depress the gas pedal. As soon as the engine
starts, release the key. To turn it off, turn the
key counter-clockwise.
Starting a Manual
 Make sure the parking brake has been applied.
Inexperienced drivers should also shift the vehicle into
neutral so that if the foot slips off the clutch after the engine
starts, the car does not move. Even with the vehicle in
neutral, it is still important to depress the clutch, as many
autos have a switch in the clutch which prevents the engine
from starting unless the clutch is depressed. Insert the key in
the ignition and turn it clockwise as far as it will go. The
engine should crank. Do not depress the gas pedal, but leave
the clutch pedal depressed. As soon as the engine starts,
release the key. To turn it off, turn the key counter-clockwise
Importance of Proper Pressures and
Levels
 Oil keeps the engine lubricated and reduces
friction between the moving parts of the
engine. Friction causes heat, so if there is
insufficient oil pressure in the engine, it will
quickly overheat. Running an engine without
oil for any amount of time will damage it, and
doing so for an extended period will destroy
it.
principles of four- and two-cycle
engines.
Difference between gasoline and diesel
engines
A four-cycle engine is so named because
it makes four strokes to generate power.

 Intake Stroke: During this stroke, the piston

draws a mixture of fuel and air into the
cylinder. The fuel and air enters through an
intake valve which opens during this stroke.
 Compression Stroke: Once the fuel and air
have been drawn into the cylinder, the intake
valve close and the piston returns towards
the engine's head. This compresses the fuel.
Power Stroke: When the piston reaches the top of the
cylinder, the spark plug fires, igniting the compressed fuel
and air mixture and causing an explosion. This explosion
causes the gases to expand which powers the piston
downwards again. This is where the engines power (and
noise!) comes from.
Exhaust Stroke: When the piston reaches the bottom of the
cylinder, the exhaust valve opens, and as the piston returns
to the top of the cylinder again, the exhaust gases are pushed
out. When the cylinder reaches the top again, the four cycles
are ready to repeat.
Two-cycle Engine
Power and Exhaust Stroke:
 In a two-cycle engine, the spark plug fires every time the piston reaches the
top of the cylinder. This is the beginning of the power and exhaust cycle. As in
the four cycle engine, the spark plug firing causes a compressed air/fuel
mixture in the cylinder to explode, and the expanding gases drive the piston
downward. As the cylinder goes down, it compresses another air/fuel mixture
inside the crankcase - not inside the cylinder as in the four-stroke engine. The
crankcase is the area beneath the piston, and the cylinder is the area above
the piston. When the piston nears the bottom of this stroke, it uncovers an
exhaust outlet and it also uncovers a passage between the crankcase and the
cylinder. The compressed air-fuel mixture in the crankcase then rushes
through this passage-way into the cylinder, forcing the exhaust gases out of
the cylinder though the exhaust outlet. Some of the air/fuel mixture is also
forced out the exhaust outlet, and this unfortunately decreases the engine's
fuel efficiency and increases its pollution output. The piston's head is shaped
in such a way as to minimize this waste, but it does not entirely eliminate it.
Intake and Compression Stroke:

 After the piston reaches the bottom of the stroke,

it begins traveling upwards again, compressing the
air/fuel mixture that rushed into the cylinder from
the crankcase during the previous stroke, and
simultaneously drawing more air and fuel into the
crankcase. By the time the piston reaches the top
of the cylinder, the air/fuel mixture is very highly
compressed - much more compressed than it was
in the crankcase. It is at this point in the cycle that
the intake valve closes and the spark plug fires.
Gasoline verses Diesel Engines
 In many respects, the four-stroke gasoline engine and the
four-stroke diesel engine are very similar. They both follow
an operating cycle that consists of intake, compression,
power, and exhaust strokes. They also share in the same
system for intake and exhaust valves. The fuel and air
mixture is ignited by the heat generated by the compression
stroke in a diesel engine versus the use of a spark ignition
system on a gasoline engine. The diesel engine needs no
ignition system. For this reason, the gasoline engine is
referred to as a spark ignition engine and a diesel engine is
referred to as a compression ignition engine.
 The fuel and air mixture is compressed to about one-
twentieth of its original volume in a diesel engine. In
contrast, the fuel and air mixture in a gasoline engine is
compressed to about one-eighth of its original volume.
The diesel engine must compress the mixture this tightly
to generate enough heat to ignite the fuel and air mixture.
 The gasoline engine mixes the fuel and air before it
reaches the combustion chamber. A diesel engine takes in
only air through the intake port. Fuel is put into the
combustion chamber directly through an injection system.
The air and fuel then mix in the combustion chamber.
Carburetor verses Fuel Injection
Systems
 The carburetor mixes fuel and air Into the correct
proportions for the most efficient use by the
engine. The carburetor also must constantly vary
the mixture proportions to meet the engine’s
needs as Its speed and load requirements vary.
 The carburetor regulates engine speed and
power output.
 The carburetor atomizes the fuel as it mixes it
with the air
 Fuel injection systems are an increasingly popular alternative to
the carburetor for providing an air-fuel mixture. They inject, under
pressure, a measured amount of fuel into the Intake air, usually at
a point near the intake valve. Fuel injection systems provide the
following advantages.
 Fuel delivery can be measured with extreme accuracy, giving the
potential for improved fuel economy and performance.
 Because the fuel is injected at the intake port of each cylinder, fuel
distribution will be much better and fuel condensing in the
manifold will not be a problem.
 The fuel injector, working under pressure, can atomize the fuel
much finer than the carburetor, resulting in improved fuel
vaporization.
Engine: crankshaft,
connecting rods, pistons,
camshaft, valves, oil pump,
carburetor, fuel injectors,
ignition distributor, fuel
distributor, electrical system
including alternator,
battery, and regulator
Electrical system

 Electrical system
 The alternator is an electrical generator. As
the engine turns a shaft in the alternator, it
generates electricity to run everything in the
car's electrical system, including the
headlights, on-board computers, radio, and
more. It also recharges the battery.
 The battery is used primarily for starting the
vehicle. When the car is not running, the
alternator cannot generate any electricity, so
the battery must do this. It will also power
the headlights, radio, and a few other things.
The most common way a battery "dies" is
when someone leaves the headlights on for
too long with the engine off
 The regulator evens out the voltage coming out
of the alternator before it is fed to the rest of the
electrical system. The voltage from the alternator
can vary depending on a lot of different factors,
and it is the regulator's job to make sure that
none of the other components have to deal with
varying amounts of power. Without the
regulator, the headlights would brighten and dim
as the alternator's voltage varied
transmission

 In a vehicle with a standard transmission the

driver selects the desired gear manually. In a
vehicle with an automatic transmission the
transmission makes the gear selection itself
depending on throttle position, vehicle
speed, and the position of the shift control
lever.
 In both cases, engine torque is transmitted to
the wheels via a clutch. Automotive clutches
depend on friction for their operation,
whether it be solid friction as in the
conventional clutch (found on a standard
transmission), or fluid friction and inertia as
utilized in the fluid coupling and torque
converter (found on an automatic
transmission
 Overdrive can refer to two different things.
An overdrive is a device which was commonly
used on rear-wheel drive automobiles to
allow the choice of an extra-high overall gear
ratio for high speed cruising, thus saving fuel,
at the cost of less torque.
Difference between rear wheel drive
and front wheel drive
 If you put a car on a hydraulic lift, raised all
four wheels off the ground, turned on the
engine, and put it in gear, the rear wheels of
rear-wheel drive vehicle would turn, while the
front wheels of a front-wheel drive vehicle
would turn. In a four-wheel drive vehicle, all
four wheels would spin. The terms simply
indicate which wheels are connected to the
engine via the transmission.
brakes
Drum Brakes

 The diagram on the right shows the parts of a drum

brake system. The brake is taken apart in this photo
showing the brake drum on the left, and the brake
shoes on the right. In operation, the shoes fit inside the
drum. The drum rotates with the wheel, and the shoes
are held stationary. When the brakes are applied, the
shoes press against the inside surface of the drum, and
the friction produced slows the wheels, stopping them
ultimately.
Disc brake
 Disc Brakes
 The diagram on the right shows the parts of a disk brake
system. Here, the disk (gold) rotates with the wheel, and a
stationary pair of calipers (red) squeeze both sides of the disc.
In standard brakes the energy supplied by the operator’s foot
in pushing down on the brake pedal is transferred to the brake
mechanism on the wheels by various means. A mechanical
hookup has been used since the earliest motor vehicles, but
hydraulic pressure is used most extensively at the present
time. Mechanically operated braking systems are obsolete on
today’s automobiles, but these systems may be used for a
portion of the braking systems in many vehicles.
Power braking
 systems are designed to reduce the effort required to
depress the brake pedal when stopping or holding a
vehicle stationary. Most power brake systems use the
difference in pressure between intake manifold
vacuum and atmospheric pressure to develop the
additional force required to decrease brake pedal
pressure. When a vehicle is powered by a diesel engine,
the absence of intake manifold vacuum requires the
use of an auxiliary vacuum pump. This type of pump
usually is driven by the engine or by an electric motor
parking brake

 The parking brake usually is operated by an

auxiliary foot pedal or hand lever located in
the driver compartment. This brake
mechanism is designed to keep the vehicle
stationary when the operator is not present.
It is usually integrated into the disk or drum
brake system (which ever is used) and locks in
place until released by the operator.
Lubrication
How often should the engine oil, transmission oil, and
cooling fluid be changed?

 The manufacturer specifies how often the oil changes should be

made. For example, most people believe that the oil change
frequency should be every 3000 miles or every 3 months,
whichever comes sooner. This 3000 mile oil change interval has
been relentlessly promoted by oil changing companies for
decades. It had a scientific basis when engines used non-multi-
weight, non-detergent oil. It no longer has any scientific basis, but
it is still being promoted by certain entities, most notably the oil
change industry in the United States (including car dealerships).
Most manufacturers recommend oil change intervals of 6,000
miles or more for modern cars. For convenience, the oil filter is
usually also replaced at the time the oil is changed.
 Transmission fluid change frequency is
specified in the owner's manual, but is most
often every 15,000 miles.
 How often the coolant should be flushed and
changed is also spelled out in the owner's
manual. 30,000 miles or three years is typical.