Short Block

 

 

 

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    The Short Block includes all the parts within the cylinder block itself which are not part of 
another system; such as the lubrication , cooling system, or valve train. Generally, the short 
block is the assembly which is re-built during an engine overhaul.

            Cylinder Block

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The Cylinder Block is the basic part of the engine that all the other parts of the engine are connected to.

    It holds all of the engine's internal parts.

    It holds the engine and transmission in the frame.

    It gives the engine structural strength.

Materials:

     Cast  Iron;

            Most common

            Cheap, hard, long wearing , strong, easy to machine, quiet.

            Heavy, and therefore, takes more power, and more fuel, to get it moving.

    Aluminum;

            Is becoming more common as the car manufacturers try to get better gas mileage.

            Use of aluminum in the block causes the engine to be noisy, because aluminum doesn't deaden sound as well as iron does.

            3 Types:

High Silicon Alloy-    Used by General Motors' Chevrolet division, in the Vega, built from 1970 -1979. It had no sleeves at all, but the block was cast from a harder alloy of  aluminum to prevent the cast iron rings from wearing the cylinder walls.  It didn't work, the cylinder walls wore out anyway, and almost all Vega's burned oil prematurely.

Dry Sleeves-    This is the most common type of aluminum block, and is used by numerous  manufacturers. It uses a non - replaceable steel sleeve pressed into the aluminum  block for the rings to wear on.

Replaceable Sleeves-    Used by large diesel engine manufacturers, Volkswagen, in the Beetle, and Alfa Romeo; it allows the sleeve to be replaced along with the piston when  the engine is overhauled.

Servicing:

  Taper;

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    Taper is caused by the rings wearing on the cylinder walls. Wear is greater at the top of the cylinder, because:    

  1. Cylinder walls are lubricated by oil thrown off the connecting rod bearings,  and not as much oil makes it up to the top of the cylinder as is at the bottom.                                      

  2. Raw gasoline washes the oil off the cylinder walls when the engine is cold, especially in carbureted engines.                                                                         

  3. What oil does make it up as far as the top of the cylinder, gets burned off on the power stroke.

    This results in a tapered wear pattern on the cylinder walls, with an un-worn area, called the ridge above the travel of the top ring. A quick test of how much wear is on an engine, is if your fingernail catches on the ridge when you run it up the cylinder, there is probably too much wear on the engine to just hone it, and it must be bored out. Maximum wear for just 
de-glazing, and installing new rings, is .005".  Any more wear and new rings will not seal; or they will seal, but will wear out pre-maturely, or break. If there is more wear than .005", the block must be bored out by a machine shop, and new oversize pistons and rings must be installed. Always remove the ridge from the cylinder walls, before removing the pistons from the block.

Cracks

    Cracks in the cylinder block, have two causes:

    Freezing - water in the water jackets freezes, and the resulting ice cracks the water jackets. If the cracks are not in a critical area, sometimes they can be repaired with epoxy. If the block is made of aluminum, it can be welded. It is much better to prevent freezing by the use of a suitable anti-freeze.

    Stress- Stress cracks can not usually be repaired. The block must be replaced.

Pistons

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Material:       

Cast Aluminum-      

     -    Molten aluminum is poured into a mold, the aluminum cools, and hardens. The casting is then machined. Cast aluminum pistons have a crystalline structure which is not as strong as that of a forged piston. Steel bands are inserted in the mold when the piston is cast, to control expansion of the skirt area to be parallel to the wrist pin, which allows piston to cylinder wall clearance to be set closer, and, therefore, a quieter engine with less piston slap.

Forged Aluminum-

    -    A solid slug of aluminum is pressed, very quickly, and with a great deal of force into a die. The resulting forging is then machined to shape. Forged pistons have a grain structure rather than a crystalline structure, this makes them much stronger, and able to take more punishment. For many years forged pistons were used in racing and extreme high performance street engines, but recently have fallen out of favour, because of their relatively heavy weight. Forged pistons also cause the engine to be more noisy because wider piston to wall clearances, required by their lack of steel bands, cause more piston slap. Forged pistons should be considered for racing purposes only, if at all.

Hyper-eutectic ( high pressure ) Cast Aluminum

    -    A good compromise between forged, and cast pistons, is casting using high pressure. It has relatively light weight, steel expansion bands, and is just about as strong as forged pistons. Hyper-eutectic pistons are very expensive.

Why is Light Weight so Important?

    -    One of the biggest dis-advantages of the reciprocating piston engine is the fact that a great deal of energy is wasted by stopping and starting the piston at TDC and BDC. The crankshaft can be turning at 7000 RPM, but every time the piston is at TDC, it comes to a complete stop for a short period of time. In fact, at 3000 RPM, the piston is stopped at TDC, accelerates to the equivalent of 60 MPH one and a half inches down the cylinder, and then stops again at BDC. Acceleration can be measured in gravity, or " G force ". We weigh what we weigh on earth at one gravity. A fighter pilot, in an F-16, or F-18, in a tight turn, can pull as much as 8 G's without blacking out. If that pilot weighed 200 lbs., standing on the ground, he would weigh the equivalent of 8 times his own weight, or 1600 lbs., in an 8 G turn; in fact, the reason he blacks out at 8 G's, is his heart is no longer capable of pumping his blood to his brain, because the blood weighs so much, and the brain shuts down. A piston pulls over a thousand G's at 3000 RPM, so if it weighed 300 grams at rest; it would weigh the equivalent of 300,000 grams, or 300 kilograms at only 3,000 RPM; a relatively low engine speed. Increase the weight of the piston, and the stress doesn't just increase by the amount of the weight, but by a thousand times as much. So if a forged piston is a little heavier, all the rest of the engine parts, such as the connecting rods, wrist pin, rod bolts, crankshaft, etc; all have to be made stronger too, to keep the engine from coming apart.. A great deal of energy is wasted in a reciprocating piston engine due to this effect. A rotary engine, which doesn't have a piston which stops and starts, makes much more power for its' size.

    -    Aluminum melts at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The burning gasses above the piston, have a temperature of as much as 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So what keeps the piston from melting? Oil thrown up onto the underside of the piston takes away some heat, as does contact with the relatively cool cylinder walls, but pistons routinely run at temperatures as 
much as 600 degrees Fahrenheit.

    -    Pressure generated on the power stroke, by the burning gasses to push down the piston down, are around 1000 PSI. A Chevrolet 350 V-8,  or Ford 5.0 liter V-8, has a 4 inch bore. The area of the top if one of its' pistons is 12.56 square inches. This would make around 6 tons of force on the top of each of its' pistons.

Piston Parts:

Piston Dome, (or Head, or Crown)

    -    The top of the piston is called the dome, head or crown. This is the area which directly contacts the flame, and takes the brunt of the forces on the piston.

    -    The dome comes in many shapes. High performance engines use a piston with a high dome, which raises the compression ratio.

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   -    Flat topped pistons, some having valve relief's to prevent valve to piston interference, are used in stock factory engines with 8 -10 : 1 compression ratios.

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   -    Dished pistons are used by the manufacturers to lower compression ratios. This is done to lower flame temperature, and therefore, oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Dished pistons are also commonly used in turbocharged engines to prevent detonation, and because the turbo is already providing the engine with compression.

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Ring Section

    -    The ring section is about .015" smaller than the skirt, so it never really touches the cylinder walls, but the rings obviously do. The ring lands are the top and bottom of the ring grooves, and must be completely smooth for the rings to seal on them. They must not have any nicks, gouges, or carbon on them, or blowby gasses will leak around behind the ring and the engine will lose compression. There are oil return holes, or a oil slot, in the bottom ring 
groove, to allow oil to return to the sump through the piston.

Piston Skirt

    -    The skirt is the only area of the piston which contacts the cylinder walls. The clearance between the piston skirt, and the cylinder walls must be very precise, and depends on the type of pistons used in the engine. Aluminum and iron have different expansion rates. Aluminum, because it is not a very dense metal, takes on heat very easily, and gives it away again very easily. Iron, on the other hand, is very slow to heat up, and remains hot for a long time. If piston expansion was not controlled somehow, the piston skirt would grow to be larger than the cylinder its' going up and down in, and obviously, the engine would seize up. Cast pistons, because their expansion is controlled with a band of steel. can have a relatively small piston to wall clearance of .003"-.004". These bands are placed in the piston mold before the molten aluminum is poured in, and are around the wrist pin. This makes piston expansion parallel to the wrist pin only. The piston skirt is then ground to be oval shaped, or "Cam Ground", so there is the same clearance between the skirt and wall when the engine is hot, as when it is cold. There is, however, more area when the engine is hot. Pressure, and therefore wear is much greater when the engine is cold, but the engine is still quiet, with no piston slap.

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    -    There is no way of putting expansion bands in a forged piston, so there is no expansion control at all. This means more piston skirt to cylinder wall clearance must be left in an engine with forged pistons. Piston to wall clearance must be from .008" to .010". This means an engine with forged pistons will have noticeable piston slap when the engine is cold, but since forged pistons are used almost exclusively in race engines, and racers don't care how the engine runs when it's cold, this doesn't matter. To your average car owner, though, this would be unacceptable.

Wrist Pin or Piston Pin

What does it do?

    -    The wrist pin connects the piston to the connecting rod, and allows the piston and rod to flex back and forth in one direction only. Transmits entire force of the power stroke to the connecting rod so it must be strong.

Material

    -    The wrist pin is made of thick wall, case hardened, steel tubing. In a round piece of steel, all the strength comes from the outside 1/8th inch. The part in the center is just along for the ride. Since the wrist pin is part of the reciprocating weight, it is jut as important for it to be light, as it is for the piston to be light; so tubing is used instead of solid stock. Thick wall steel tubing gives maximum strength, with minimum weight. "Case Hardening" is the hardening of the outside .0003" of the pin. The reason this is done is because it retains the toughness of the steel, while the surface is extremely hard. Heat treating for hardness would make the part brittle, like a file; hard, but not tough. Heat treating for toughness ruins the hardness; it would be tough, but not hard; like a spring.

Three Types:

    -    Somehow the wrist pin must be kept from coming in contact with the cylinder walls. It must be locked in place somehow. This has been done in three different ways over the years.

  1. Piston Locked

    -    The wrist pin is locked in place by the piston, either with a lock bolt, as is shown in the drawing, or by an interference fit. An interference, or press fit, is where the hole in the piston that the pin goes into is actually about .0001" smaller than the pin, and the pin is installed either by using a hydraulic, or arbour press; or by heating the piston. The bearing surface is in the rod, and so the small end of the rod must have a bushing installed, which was usually oiled by "rifle drilling" a hole up through the beam of the connecting rod from the rod bearing. This system wore out quite quickly and was expensive to produce. It had a relatively small bearing surface in the small end of the connecting rod.

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2. Rod Locked

    -     This more modern method is still used by most north american manufacturers to locate the wrist pin in place. It can use a lock bolt in the rod to hold the pin in place, but more commonly uses a press, or interference fit to retain the pin. This means that the bearing surface is now in the piston. The bearing area is twice as big, to last twice as long, and whenever the pistons are changed, the pins are changed too. The only disadvantage of 
the rod-locked type, is that a press is required to disassemble it, and either a press, or heat is required for assembly.

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Full Floating

    -    The full floating type of wrist pin retention is probably the best of all. The pin is kept in place with either a plastic button in the end of the pin, or more commonly, a snap ring. This makes bearing surfaces in the connecting rod, and the piston; and gives three times the bearing surface of the piston locked type. The full floating type is also easy to disassemble and assemble. All you have to do is remove the snap ring. No press is required. Always 
replace the circlips, or buttons, on re-assembly. Never try to re-use previously used clips, or buttons.

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Connecting Rod

What Does It Do?

    -    The connecting rod connects the piston to the crankshaft. All the power absorbed by the piston travels to the crankshaft through the con.rod; so it has to absorb a compression force of around 6 tons. All the inertia of the flywheel, or the other cylinders is transmitted back to the piston through the so it has a tension force of around 2 tons.

    -    The connecting rod is reciprocating weight, and so, must be extremely strong and light. All the connecting rods in the engine must be very close to the same weight; and each end of each connecting rod must be close to the same weight.

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  Big End                    Beam                 Small End                 

 

Big End

    -    The big end is split to go around the rod journal of the crankshaft, and then bolted back together with extremely high quality 150,000 p.s.i. tensile strength connecting rod bolts. These rod bolts must be torqued on engine assembly. There is a number pad where the cylinder number is stamped on both the rod and rod cap, to make sure they go back together the same way.

Beam

    -    The center part of the rod is called the beam, and has an "I" beam cross section, for maximum strength, and lightest possible weight.

Small End

    -    The small end has a hole for the wrist pin to go through.

Materials

    -    Forged steel is used in production car engines. Forged aluminum is used in some racing engines. A set of racing, forged aluminum rods will set you back over $1,000.00. Forged titanium connecting rods are used in some mega-buck race cars. A set of titanium rods will cost you around $5,000.00

Crankshaft

What Does It Do?

    -    The crankshaft converts the reciprocating (or up and down) motion of the piston to rotary (or round and round) motion, needed to turn the drive wheels. It creates a twisting force, called "Torque". The crankshaft must be very precisely balanced, or the engine would shake itself to pieces.

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Parts:

Main Journals:

    -    The main journals are the machined surfaces that turn in the engine's main bearings, that allow the crank to turn in the block. They must be very precisely machined to allow between .0015" and .0022" of oil clearance with the engine's bearings.

Connecting Rod Journals, or Crankpins

    -     The rod journals are machined surfaces that allow the crank to turn inside the rod bearings. Like the main bearings they need between .0015" and .0022" oil clearance.

Counterweights

    -    The counterweights off-set, or balance the weight of the piston and connecting rod , especially in inline, or straight engines, to a lesser extent in Vee-type engines, and are not required in Flat, or Horizontally Opposed engines, because the weight of the pistons and rods on one bank, offsets that of the other.

Oil Passages

    -    Oil travels through oil passages in the crankshaft to lubricate the rod bearings, from the main bearings.

Flange

    -    The flange on the rear of the crankshaft is for mounting the flywheel.

Materials

Forged Steel

    -    Forged steel is probably the strongest material used to make crankshafts. It is a more expensive manufacturing process than casting. Most manufacturers have switched to cast crankshafts, because of the expense. Forged cranks are probably not necessary for the average street engine.

Cast Iron

    -    By far the most common material used for crankshafts, is cast iron. It is hard, cheap, strong, and is easy to machine.

Servicing

    -    The rod and main bearings are designed to be a "sacrificial part". They are there to protect the crankshaft from wearing out. If the soft material on the inside of the rod or main bearings wears out, the steel shell of the bearing contacts the crank, and the rod and main journals wear. This causes excessive oil clearance between the crankshaft journals and the bearings, which results in low oil pressure, knocking, and excessive oil consumption. When the engine is dis-assembled, check the rod and main journals for scratching and scoring. If they are worn, the crankshaft must be taken to a crank grinder, who will grind the journals "Undersize", and undersized bearings must be installed. Oil clearance must  be maintained at .0015" to .0022". If the journal was ground .010" undersize, then .010" undersize bearings must be installed. A crank grinder will also check the crankshaft for cracks, and straightness.

Flywheel

What Does It Do?

  -    The flywheel stores energy on the power stroke, and keeps the engine going on its' non-power strokes. The heavier the flywheel is, the more energy it stores, more of the power the engine puts out would go to spinning the flywheel, and less would go to pushing the car forward. Engines with heavier flywheels are not designed for acceleration, but would be easier to drive, because they would not stall as easily. For example; a tractor, or big truck would have a heavy flywheel, but a drag race car, motocross bike, or road race car would have an extremely light flywheel, for maximum acceleration. A street car would be a compromise between the two.

    -    The flywheel also has the friction surface for the clutch on one side.

    -    The flywheel is bolted to the rear end of the crankshaft on the flange. Its' bolts must 
be loctited, and torqued to manufacturer's specifications. It must also be very precisely 
balanced, or it would shake the car to bits. After a flywheel has been lightened, it must be 
re-balanced, and it is a good idea to use a scattershield. If the flywheel ever came apart, 
it would literally rip the car in half, and probably kill the driver.

    -    Sometimes the timing marks are located on the flywheel, especially in front wheel 
drive cars.

Materials

    -    The flywheel is probably made of cast iron, but in race cars sometimes aluminum is used, but the clutch surface would be faced with steel.

Harmonic Balancer

What Does It Do?

    -    The harmonic balancer absorbs the torsional vibrations of the crankshaft. It basically 
makes the crankshaft last longer. It is a small flywheel on the front of the crankshaft that 
absorbs and smoothes out the power pulses of the crankshaft.

    -    The balancer is usually pressed on to the crankshaft snout, and keyed to only go on one way. If it needs to be removed, a special puller which pulls on the inside hub must be used  The timing mark is usually located somewhere around the outside of the balancer.

Piston Rings

 What Do They Do?

    -    The top two rings seal the compression gasses in the combustion chamber. The bottom 
ring scrapes the oil off the cylinder walls, and it returns through the oil return slot in the piston, to the sump.

Materials

    -    Cast iron is still the most common material used for the two compression rings. Steel is almost always used for the oil control ring.

    -    Ductile iron is another alloy of iron which is becoming more popular. It is just as hard as cast iron, but is less brittle, and so will take more punishment.

    -    Molybdenum filled rings are also popular. These iron rings have a channel in their face, 
which is filled with molybdenum. The moly breaks in to the cylinder walls almost immediately on start up.

    -    Chrome plated rings are used in many off-road applications such as tractors. They are 
very hard, and take a long time to break in.

How Do They Work?

Compression Rings

    -    Compression rings are the two top rings. They work by, the compression gasses leaking around behind the ring and forcing it into the cylinder walls.

    -    This requires:

  1. that there ring be spring loaded to force itself into the cylinder wall.

  2. that the ring lands be free of any nicks, or gouges; so the ring sides can seal on them.

  3. that there be oil on the cylinder walls. Oil seals rings.

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Oil Control Rings

    -    The bottom ring scrapes most of the oil off the cylinder walls, and it returns to the 
sump through the oil return holes in the piston. Some oil must be left on the cylinder 
walls to lubricate the compression rings, and to make them seal the cylinder.

Servicing

Cylinder Wall Preparation

    -    After many thousands of miles, the cylinder walls become polished, or glazed, by the rings wearing on them. The cylinder walls must be properly prepared for assembly by honing, or de-glazing the walls with a cylinder hone, or glaze breaker. You want to use a 1/2 inch drill with the hone mounted in it; lubricate the walls with engine oil; move the hone up and down as it rotates in the cylinder. Continue for about thirty seconds. There should be a "cross hatch" pattern on the walls when you are done. Continue until all cylinders are done.

    -    The entire block, especially the cylinders must now be cleaned of all grit from the honing process. This is done by washing the entire block with HOT, soapy water, and a brush. Scrub the surfaces of the cylinder walls particularly well, until there is no chance of any honing grit in the cylinders. Any grit will make its' way into the engine bearings and wear them out. When the walls are clean, wipe them out with paper towels. Clean paper towels wiped into the cylinder walls should come out clean. When the walls are clean and dry, wipe them with an oily rag to protect them from rusting.

Check Ring End Gap

    -    Take one of the new compression rings out of the box and push it down in one of the cylinders with the head of one of the pistons. Check the end gap of the ring with a feeler gauge. The ring end gap should be .003" to .005" per inch of cylinder diameter. This would make the gap for an engine with a 4" bore,  from .012" to .020". If the gap is too small, when the engine gets hot and the rings expand, the ends come together, and the ring breaks, removing ring tension, and therefore, there is no compression. If ring gap is too wide, blowby gasses leak through the ring gap, into the crankcase, and causes pollution.

Install Rings

    -    When you install the rings on the pistons, use a ring expander tool, rather than your fingers.

Off-set End Gaps

    -     Use clean engine oil to lubricate the rings, wrist pin, rod bearings, and piston skirts, before you put the pistons in. Lastly, before you install the pistons in the engine, off-set the ring gaps 180 degrees. This is done to prevent leakage past the rings through the ring end gaps. If the gaps are lined up, it is very easy for the blow-by to leak past the rings. If the gaps are off-set, the blow-by can leak through one gap, but must go all the way round to the other side of the piston, to get down through the second ring gap.

Installing Pistons

    -    Use rod bolt protective boots, or a pair of old spark plug boots, to keep from marking the crankshaft. Next install the ring compressor on the piston. Make sure the right piston is installed in the right cylinder, the right way round. There is usually an arrow on the top of the piston to indicate the front of the engine. Seat the ring compressor against the block by tapping it with a hammer, then push the piston and rod assembly into the cylinder with the butt of a hammer handle.

..O.K., ...so now you think you know it all. Take the self test!

                                                                                                           

The Short Block

Which part is not part of a short block assembly?
a) Pistons                                  b) Crankshaft
b) Valves                                   d) none of the above

Which part is not part of a long block assembly?
a) Intake manifold                   b) Valve springs
b) Connecting rods                  d) none of the above

Which part is not part of a complete running engine assembly?
a) Camshaft                               b) Timing chain
b) Carburetor                             d) none of the above
                  
Cylinder Block

What is the advantage of using a cast iron cylinder block?
a) wears well                            b) cheap to produce 
c) deadens noise                     d) all of the above

What is a disadvantage of using cast iron for a cylinder block?
a) difficult to machine              b) heavy
c) noisy                                       d) breaks easily

When aluminum is used as a cylinder block material, what are usually pressed in to reduce ring wear?
a) steel rings                                b) steel sleeves
c) aluminum sleeves                  d) the pistons


    
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The next six questions refer to the above drawing.

In the above worn cylinder, the difference between measurement A and B is called what?
a) out of round                            b) ridge
c) taper                                          d) funnel shaped

The wear in the above worn cylinder was caused by what wearing on the cylinder walls?
a) piston rings                            b) piston
c) wrist pin                                  d) oil

Why is the above cylinder worn more at point "A" than at point "B"?
a) combustion burns the oil off the walls    
b) point "A" is further away from the source of lubrication, and so receives less oil.
c)  liquid gasoline washes the oil off the cylinder walls especially when the choke is on.
d) all of the above

The unworn area C is called what?
a) ridge          b) lip        c) edge        d) taper

If the difference between A and B is greater than .005", the
engine must be _______________ and oversized pistons and rings installed. 
a) honed                                      b) bored    
c) ground                                     d) re-surfaced

An engine with less than .005" difference between A and B can be ____________ and standard sized rings installed.
a) deglazed                                      b) bored    
c) ground                                         d) re-surfaced

Cracks in the water jacket are caused by what ?
a) stress                                        b) fatigue
c) anti freeze                               d) freezing

Cracks in the water jacket can usually be repaired with what?
a) Bars leaks                                b) casting repair epoxy
c) Aluma seal                              d) gum

 Rather than having to deal with cracks, it is much better to prevent cracking by the use of __________________.
a) Anti freeze                                b) Bars leaks
c) Aluma seal                                d) Water

Pistons

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Place the correct letter from the above drawing by the right name for each part:
Wrist pin hole:      A    B    C    D    E    F    G        
Ring Land             A    B    C    D    E    F    G
Ring section:         A    B    C    D    E    F    G          
Piston Skirt           A    B    C    D    E    F    G
Dome or Crown   A    B    C    D    E    F    G     
Ring groove          A    B    C    D    E    F    G
Oil return slot       A    B    C    D    E    F    G


The above piston would most likely be found be found in what type of engine?
a) Model "T"                           b) Racing
c) Turbocharged                    d) Street 

Which statement below best describes the normal casting process?
a) The metal is stamped into a die and forms a grain structure.
b) The metal is melted and then forced into a mold under pressure, cools and hardens and forms a dense crystalline structure.
c) The metal is melted and then poured into a mold, cools and hardens and forms a crystalline structure.
d) None of the above.

Which statement below best describes the forging process?
a) The metal is stamped into a die and forms a grain structure.
b) The metal is melted and then forced into a mold under pressure, cools and hardens and forms a dense crystalline structure.
c) The metal is melted and then poured into a mold, cools and hardens and forms a crystalline structure.
d) None of the above.

Which statement below best describes the hyper-eutectic casting process?
a) The metal is stamped into a die and forms a grain structure.
b) The metal is melted and then forced into a mold under pressure, cools and hardens and forms a dense crystalline structure.
c) The metal is melted and then poured into a mold, cools and hardens and forms a crystalline structure.
d) None of the above.

Pistons are made from what metal?
a) Aluminum                             b) Cast iron
c) Magnesium                            d) Chromium

Steel melts at what temperature?
a) 400degrees F                            b) 1200 degrees F
c) 2600 degrees F                         d) 4500 degrees F

Aluminum melts at what temperature?
a) 400degrees F                            b) 1200 degrees F
c) 2600 degrees F                         d) 4500 degrees F

What is the only part of the piston to contact the cylinder walls? 
a) Ring area                                  b) Dome
c) Pin boss                                    d)  Skirt

Piston to cylinder clearance should be approximately how much?
a) .0015"                                        b) .004"
c) .040"                                           d) .120"

Al says that piston to wall clearance should be checked between the wrist  pin and wall. Bob says that piston to wall clearance should be checked between the skirt and wall. Who is correct?
a) Al                                                b) Bob
c) Both                                            d) Neither

Piston expansion is controlled by putting a band of what in the piston.
a) Steel                                            b) Aluminum
b) Magnesium                               d) Chromium

This band limits the expansion of a cast piston so it expands only:
a) 90 degrees to the wrist pin    b) parallel to the wrist pin
c) up and down                            d) in circumference

When does piston slap occur?
a) when the engine is cold           b) at high RPM
c) when the engine is hot             d) when one piston is rude to another

What is the advantage of a forged piston over a cast one?
a) stronger                                    b) lighter
c) quieter                                       d) cheaper

What is the disadvantage of a forged piston over a cast one?
a) noisier                                        b) heavier
c) expensive                                   d) all of the above     

Crankshaft

The crankshaft converts the a) rotary b) reciprocating  motion of the pistons, into  a) rotary b) reciprocating motion needed to turn the wheels.

A crankshaft from a vee or inline engine has ___________ opposite 
the throws, to prevent vibration.
a) counterweights                       b) balancers
c) vibration dampers                  d) flanges

A crankshaft with scratches in the journals must be ground and 
_____________ bearings installed.
a) new                                              b) oversize
c) undersize                                    d) Sealed Power

When an engine is disassembled or assembled, what must be put on the connecting rod bolts to prevent damage to the crank throws?
a) protective boots                            b) oil
c) Michigan Bearing Guard            d) grease

How does the oil get to the connecting rod bearings? 
a) thrown off the crankshaft            b) splash
c) passages though the block           d) passages through the crankshaft 

Connecting Rod

The big end of the rod is called the _______________
The small end of the rod is called the _________________

Why does the center section of the rod has an "I"  beam cross section? 
a) high strength                                    b) light weight
c) both of the above                             d) none of the above

The number pad on the rod is there to indicate:
a) which cylinder that particular piston and rod assembly goes into.
b) which cap goes with which connecting rod.
c) both of the above
d) none of the above

How many bolts fasten the connecting rod cap to the rod itself?
a) one             b) two            c) three            d) four

When the engine is assembled, the connecting rod bolts should be:
a) tightened down with an impact gun.     b) tightened finger tight 
c) tightened to 75 ft.lbs.                                  d) torqued to specifications

When assembling an engine, it is important to measure bearing oil clearance. Normal bearing oil clearance will be:
a) .0015"- .0022"                                        b) .003" - .006"
c) 1/8"- 1/4"                                                d) very small

Bearing oil clearance is measured with:
a) a feeler gauge                                        b) plastigauge
c) micrometer                                             d) ruler

If an engine was knocking, and upon disassembly a rod bearing was found to be severely worn, and the crankshaft needed turning. What must usually be done to the connecting rod?
a) the rod must be cleaned very well
b) the rod must be replaced
c) the rod bolts must be torqued 10ft./lbs. tighter than specifications
d) the rod usually needs to be re-sized

Because engine bearings are designed to wear out rather than the crankshaft wearing out, they can be considered to be:
a) sacrificial parts             c) new parts                    b) wearing parts
d) parts changed when you overhaul the engine

Wrist Pin

The wrist pin connects what to what?
a) piston to crankshaft                    b) piston to connecting rod
c) connecting rod to crankshaft    d) flywheel to balancer

What is case hardening ?
a) surface hardening                    b) heat treating
c) making the part tougher         d) tempering

Why is the pin made of tubing and not solid stock? 
a) light weight                                b) high strength
c) both of the above                       d) none of the above

What is the advantage a full floating wrist pin?
a) easy to assemble and disassemble
b) more bearing surface than the other two types
c) lasts longer
d) all of the above

What is an interference fit?
a) one part interferes with another and it throws a fit.
b) one part is actually slightly larger than the hole it's going into.
c) both of the above
d) none of the above

To disassemble a rod locked piston and rod assembly you would:
a) beat it apart with a hammer        b) squeeze it in a vice
c) press it apart with an arbor or hydraulic press.
d) any of the above

Flywheel and Balancer

What does the flywheel do? 
a) keeps the engine running between power strokes
b) stores energy by its' own inertia
c) provides a friction surface for the clutch
d) all of the above        

A light flywheel would be found in what type of engine?
a) race car                                           b) tractor
c) truck                                               d) street car

What advantage does a light flywheel have over a heavy one?
a) stalls more easily                           b) easier to drive
c) accelerates better                            d) all of the above

What advantage does a heavy flywheel have over a light one?
a) stalls more easily                           b) easier to drive
c) accelerates better                            d) all of the above

A heavy flywheel would likely be found in what type of engine?
a) race car                                           b) tractor
c) truck                                               d) street car

What is usually located somewhere around the outside of the balancer?
a) magnet for the magneto ignition                 b) ring gear for the starter
c) ignition timing mark                                      d) crank position sensor

The balancer should be removed from the crankshaft by:
a) pulling on the hub with a steering wheel puller
b) pulling on the inertia ring with a three jaw puller
c) tapping gently on the inertia ring with a 32oz ball peen hammer
d) any of the above

Piston Rings

Of the three rings the compression rings are the two ________ ones. 
a) best        b) most expensive            c) most important                d) top


Compression rings use______________ pressure to seal the cylinders.
a) compression gas          b) spring               c) oil                d) atmospheric


When re-ringing the engine,  the cylinder walls must be ____________, so the new rings will break in properly. 
a) polished            b) sanded            c) bored            d) de-glazed


Ring end gap should be at least .004"/inch of cylinder diameter. If the gap is too small the rings will ____________ when the engine gets hot. 
a) not seal              b) break            c) wear out prematurely    d) rub

If the ring end gap is too large the rings  will _______________.
a) not seal              b) break            c) wear out prematurely    d) rub

What is blow-by?
a) leakage of oil past the rings  
b) leakage of compression past the rings
c) leakage out the exhaust valve
d) when one car passes another

Why should ring end gaps be offset? 
a) to balance the engine's reciprocating parts
b) so it looks better
c) so the engine doesn't get too much compression
d) so they seal the cylinder better

Oil returns through __________in the piston to return to the sump.
a) oil return holes or slots                b) ring lands
c) oil filters                                           d) drain plugs

The pistons, rings, pins, and cylinder walls are lubricated by oil which leaks from and is thrown off of the _____________ .
a) rod bearings                            b) wrist pins
c) oil pump                                   d) oil filter

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