CYLINDER BLOCK

This is the general term used to describe the assembly consisting of the following
components;
1. The block in which the cylinders are grouped
2. The crankcase which supports and locates the crankshaft
Most vehicle engines are water cooled, and the cylinder block and head are
therefore hollow castings. There are two main forms of cylinder block
construction.
1. Integral construction (in which the block and crankcase are combined )
2. Separate construction (this is where the two components are bolted together)

Separate construction
In its make all the cylinders are in a single separate casting secured to
the crank case by screws and bolts or studs and nuts.

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 Cylinder block

Tappet chamber Water jacket

Web

Wall

Reinforcement
Crank case

Merits
1. Easier to bore the cylinders if they are open at both ends
2. Assembly of the engine is simplified
3. The combustion chambers, pistons crowns and valves are easily to accessible
for de-carbonizing
4. Relatively light in weight
5. Have a long life to serve

Demerits
1. More complicated
2. Very expensive
3. Used only for the large engines of heavy commercial vehicles
4. Special sealing arrangement is provided to prevent water leaking into the
crank case

Integral
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 This is the simplest and cheapest form of construction and it is used for the engines
of most car and light commercial vehicles. These are now all overhead-valve
engines and are usually of four and six cylinder in- line design. The cylinder bores,
water jackets and crank-case are produced as a single iron casting which is very
rigid
Advantages
 It provides the greatest possible rigidity of the engine structure
 It reduces machining and assembly operations to the minimum
 It reduces cost
Disadvantages
 It makes a large and heavy component, particularly on large engines, which
may necessitate lifting-equipment to handle it in the factory or workshop
sketch

As manufacturing techniques improved it became possible to cast and machine

cylinders in blocks of two, three or four, and even it eventually became the practice
to cast up to six or eight cylinders in one block but still separate from the crank
case.

Advantages
 Reduction in the number of machining operations
 Simplification of assembly
 Increased rigidity of the engine structure
CYLINDER LINERS
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 The wearing surface of the
cylinder must be made of a relatively hard material which is resistant to
wear. Cast iron is the most commonly used because of the following
reasons
1. It’s reasonably hard
2. Can be cast into complicated shapes
The cylinder liners are of two types
DRY LINERS

The cylinder block is made in the normal way but the cylinders are
lined with thin sleeves of harder material usually of high- quality cast
iron but usually steel. The liners are made interference and slip fit in the
block and when it is interference fit, the liners are inserted by means of

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 (i) A press and this operation usually being assisted by heating
the block to expand the bores or by freezing the liner in
liquid air to contract them.

Owing to interference fit the liners shrinks slightly in fitting. It is thus

necessary for them to be accurately bored to the correct diameter after

they have been fitted .

Slip liners
Some engines have liners which have no interference fit and can be
pushed in with only a slight pressure- in some cases hand pressure.
Such liners are called Slip liners, and can be prefinished to the correct
size bore fitting. They are prevented from moving when the engine is
running by a flange at the upper end.

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 WET LINERS
When this type of liner is used the cylinder bore is omitted from the
cylinder block casting. Each bore is made separately in the form of a
relative thick liner, which is fitted into the block.

At the top the liners stands slightly proud of the top face of the block, so
that it is clamped securely in position and a gas tight joint with the head
is ensured. A shoulder near the bottom of the liner seats on the gasket or
sealing ring to make a water tight joint.
ADVANTAGES OF WET LINERS
 They can be pre-finished to correct size
 They are easily fitted and removed
 Their outer surfaces are in direct contact with the cooling water.
DISADVANTAGES
 The risk of water leaking in the crankcase
 Reduced rigidity of the main engine casting due to the omission of
the cast in cylinder wall.

CYLINDER HEAD

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 Materials
As with the cylinder block the head is usually made of cast iron but
in some cases aluminum alloys is preferred.
This gives the advantages of:
1. Reduced weight
2. Better heat conductivity and this permit the use of higher
compression ratio than it is possible with cast iron.
3. Easy to machine.
When aluminum is used for cylinder heads is generally necessary to fit
inserts of harder material usually cast iron or bronze for valves to seat
on and for the spark plugs to be screwed into.

SERVICE
During service the following should be checked/ inspected

1. Crakes

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 VISUAL INSPECTION
After the parts have been thoroughly cleaned, they should be re-
examined for defects. A magnifying glass is helpful in finding defects.
Internal parts such as pistons, connecting rods, and crankshafts that
have cracks should be replaced. Cracks in the block and heads,
however, can often be repaired

2. Warping
The surface must be thoroughly cleaned and inspected as follows:
1 After removing the old gasket material, use a file and draw it
across the surface of the head to remove any small burrs.
2 The head should be checked in five planes. Checking the
cylinder head gasket surface in five planes checks the head for
warpage, distortion, bend, and twist. These defects are
determined by trying to slide a 0.004 in. (0.1 mm) feeler gauge
under a precision straightedge held against the head surface. The
clearance between the cylinder head and the straightedge should
not vary by over. (0.05 mm) in any (15 cm) length, Always check
the manufacturer s recommended specifications.

THE CYLINDER HEADS CAST INTERGRAL

With cylinder block having been produced in few cases and used in racing car
engines, which achieved the necessity of gas tight joints. Expansion of the engine

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 casting is uniform therefore no warping of cylinder head, coolant leakages between
the cylinder head and block is completely eliminated

DETACHABLE HEAD
In this design the cylinder head is secured to the block by studs which pass through
the head, nuts being used to tighten the head down upon a copper or asbestos or a
thin steel gasket which makes a gas tight seal.
Detachable head type have many advantages over the integral or fixed type of
construction
1. From production point of view, the cylinder head casting with open bore for
the detachable head type is much more simplified.
2. Operations like de carbonizing and valve grinding are easy
3. The compression ratio can be changed slightly by changing the thickness of
the gasket used between the block and the head

HEAD BOLT TORQUE SEQUENCE

The torque put on the bolts is used to control the clamping force that is
applied to the gasket.
In general, the head bolts are tightened in a specified torque sequence
in three steps. The procedure starts with the head bolts in the center
and then moves to those farther and farther from the center. This
procedure helps spread the forces toward the ends of the cylinder.
By tightening the head bolts in three steps, the head gasket has time
to compress and conform to the block deck and cylinder head gasket
surfaces. Follow that sequence and tighten the bolts in the following
manner.
1. Tighten to one-third the specified torque.
2. Tighten them a second time following the torque sequence to
two-thirds the specified torque.
3. Follow the sequence with a final tightening to the specified
torque.

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 Poppet valve

{Initial torque, such as 44Nm}, {Rotate 90 degrees {Rotate head bolts an additional 90 degrees

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 PISTON

Functions

1. Transfers force. The piston transfers the force of combustion to

the crankshaft through the connecting rod.
2. Seals the combustion chamber. The piston and piston rings seal
the compressed air during the compression stroke and the
combustion gases on the power stroke.
3. Conducts heat. The piston transfers heat from the combustion
chamber to the cylinder walls through the piston rings and to the
engine oil through the piston.
Description The piston consists of the lowest part of the
combustion chamber. In order for the piston to move, there needs
to be clearance between the piston and the cylinder wall. The
construction is designed to maintain the proper clearance when the
piston expands due to high temperatures during combustion. ฀As
the piston boss part is thicker, it is easily affected by heat expansion.
Therefore it is made to be slightly oval than the direction of right
angle for the piston pin (B) so that the diameter in the direction of
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 the piston pin (A) expands to make a circle during heat expansion.
฀The piston head is exposed to high temperature during combustion,
and it is not directly cooled by coolant and air.

MATERIAL
Materials Cast iron
Early engines had pistons made of cast iron. This metal has the
following advantages
1. Good strength and hardness at operating temperatures
2. Forms a good bearing surface against the cylinder wall. However,
3 It has a Coefficient of thermal expansion comparable with that of the
cylinder, allowing quite small clearances to be used when cold, thus
avoiding piston slap.
Disadvantages
1. It is relatively heavy, rather brittle and liable to develop cracks
2. Particularly Not a good conductor of heat.
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 Aluminum In its pure state, aluminium has a high coefficient of thermal
expansion, is relatively soft and low in strength. The addition of about
12 per cent silicon and small quantities of other elements makes a
strong alloy, which has a low coefficient of thermal expansion.
These are the main advantages of aluminium alloys for pistons:

1. Improved thermal conductivity, which makes a piston-crown

temperatures low and In turn, this causes less heating of the fresh
mixture during the induction stroke, so that the mixture filling the
cylinder is cooler and denser, leading to improved engine power
output.
2. Reduced mass of the piston due to the lower density of
aluminum, permitting the engine to run at a higher speed and so
develop more power.
3. Because of its lower melting point, it can be cast in steel molds or
dies. This gives greater accuracy of casting and reduced costs if
the pistons are made in large numbers.
4. Aluminum alloys are usually softer than cast iron and are easier
to machine.

These are the chief disadvantages:

1. Greater coefficient of thermal expansion. This necessitates the
use of larger clearances when cold, resulting in piston slap. This
can be minimized by special construction of the piston skirt and
by the use of alloys, which have a relatively low coefficient of
expansion.
2. Aluminium is not as strong as cast iron, particularly at high
temperatures. Therefore, it is necessary to use a greater
thickness of metal to avoid distortion under load. While this
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 reduces the saving of mass resulting from its lower density, it
does increase the ability of the piston to conduct heat.
3. Aluminium is softer than cast iron, especially at high
temperatures; this may lead to excessive wear of the ring
grooves. Improved alloys have been developed and in some cases
other methods have been adopted to overcome this difficulty.
4. Aluminium is more expensive than cast iron, though this is to
some extent offset by its greater ease of casting and machining.

PISTON CROWN
The crown in its simplest form, the crown is flat certain designs of combustion
chamber require the piston crown to be made a particular shape, such as the
domed crown

Concave Domed

Keeping the heat away from the lower part of the piston

2. Thermal slot – a lateral thermal slot cut at the bottom of the ring
groove on the thrust and non-thrust side of the piston directs the
heat from the hot (250 °C) piston crown to the gudgeon pin boss

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 regions. In some designs, these slots are extended axially
downwards into the skirt

Heat slot
3. Link strut – pistons have special alloy steel (Invar) plates cast into
the skirt. This material has an extremely low coefficient of thermal
expansion, so the resistance given by these plates limits the
expansion of the skirt.

Piston clearance
The clearance left between the cylinder and piston when the engine is
assembled will depend on the piston material, piston design and the
operating temperature of the engine. Too small a clearance is likely to
cause seizure, whereas excessive clearance results in gas blow-by, noise
and high oil consumption. For a particular engine, the manufacturer’s
manual should be consulted to obtain the actual clearances. In the past,
a rough guide for piston skirt to cylinder clearance was taken as:
1. Cast iron 0.001 × bore diameter (mm) Aluminium alloy, solid skirt
0.002 × bore diameter (mm)

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 2. Aluminium alloy, split skirt 0.001 × bore diameter (mm)

Piston slap (Side knocking) Piston slap is the noise that occurs
when the piston hits against the cylinder wall. This is also called
"side knocking". Piston slap occurs when the direction of the
thrust force changes from the compression to combustion
strokes. Piston slap is affected by the amount of piston clearance.
When the piston clearance is large, there is a greater piston slap.
In some engines, the centerline of the piston and the centerline of
the piston pin are slightly offset in order to reduce piston slap.

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 Methods of reducing piston slap
1. To permit the use of small clearances with aluminium alloy
pistons when cold, special types of skirt construction are used
that involve some degree of flexibility of the skirt. For example,
the skirt may be almost completely separated from the ring belt
except at the gudgeon-pin bosses, and split down one side. This
allows it to fit in the cylinder with very little clearance when cold;
expansion due to a rise in temperature is taken up by reducing the
width of the split. The split usually extends the full length of the
skirt and is at a slight angle, to avoid leaving a ridge on the
cylinder as wear occurs.
2. Offset gudgeon pin
The skirt clearance needed for a solid skirt alloy piston has
increased the occurrence of piston slap when the engine is cold.
This noise can be reduced by offsetting the gudgeon-pin axis
towards the side of maximum piston thrust

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 Piston rings
The piston ring is designed to prevent pressure from leaking out of
the gap between the piston and the cylinder.
FUNCTIONS
1. To keep the combustion chamber airtight.
2. The top two compression rings serve to disperse the heat from
the pistons to the cylinder.
3. Also they act to scrape off excess oil on the cylinder wall in order
to create the minimum film of oil necessary while preventing
excess oil from entering the combustion chamber.

TERMS USED
RADIAL PRESSURE
Is the outward spring of the ring which holds the ring in contact with the cylinder
wall. This radial pressure prevents gas leakages or blow –by
SIDE CLEARANCE

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 Is the clearance between the ring and the top or bottom of its must be large enough
to allow the ring to move freely in the groove but not so large that it will allow the
ring to pump lubricating oil up to the combustion chamber.
The side clearance for cast iron piston is 0.0381mm and for aluminum alloy piston
is between 0.0508mm and 0.0762mm.
WORKING GAP

This is the distance between the two ends when it’s fitted in the bore, the gap being
necessary to allow for the expansion of the ring when heated. The gap is usually
about 0.0305mm for each 10mm of cylinder bore diameter but may be large for
high speed air-cooled engines.
It is always better to allow too much clearance at this point than too little.
RING FLUTTER
This is a fault where the ring seals adequately at low speeds and fails to do so at
higher speeds. Flutter is reduced by careful attention to the radial pressure, the side
clearance and the ring width, these being design and not service considerations.
MATTERIAL
The most important properties of the material used for piston rings are
as follows:
1. Wear resistance – especially (in the case of the compression
rings) under conditions of somewhat scasty lubrication.
2. Elasticity – to ensure that the ring will maintain sufficient
outward pressure against the cylinder wall to maintain contact
with the surface of the cylinder.

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 3. Temperature tolerance – these properties must not be adversely
affected by the temperatures to which the ring is subjected in use.
The material that most nearly fulfils these requirements is cast
iron. In some cases, the wear resistance is improved by
chromium-plating the outer face of the ring by a special process,
but rings of this type are normally only used for the top
compression ring. In some oil-control rings the material used is
steel, which is generally chromium-plated on the edges that bear
upon the cylinder wall.
COMPRESSION RINGS
These are designed to;
 Pass heat from the piston crown to the cylinder walls
 To make a gas tight fit in the cylinder bore.
Plain Taper

Internal step

External step
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 This ring should be used when new top rings are fitted to worn
cylinders. The cut-away portion avoids contact with the ridge that
develops at the upper limit of ring travel in a worn cylinder. Some
manufacturers call this ring a ‘ridge dodger

Combustion Chamber pressure forces the ring against the cylinder wall
and the bottom of the ring groove to effectively seal the cylinder.
OIL-CONTROL OR SCRAPER RINGS

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 Piston rings also control the oil film on the cylinder wall in order
to permit adequate lubrication without excessive quantities of oil
getting past the piston and into the combustion chamber. In the
combustion chamber, the oil would be decomposed and partly burnt,
forming deposits of carbon on the combustion chamber walls and
causing smoke in the exhaust gas. Special types of ring have been
developed for this purpose

STEEL OIL-CONTROL RING.

It consists of two narrow steel rails separated from each other by a
specially shaped spacer. Large outward pressure is obtained by fitting
an expander spring behind the ring. To avoid incorrect assembly, some
designs combine the various ring elements into one unit.

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 Marks on rings the name of the manufacturer and the oversize mark
are inscribed on the piston ring. Pay attention to the following when
assembling: The surface with the mark should face up. Do not
confuse the order of the compression rings. When the No. 1
compression ring does not have the mark, it may be located on the side
of the ring. In the case that there are no marks in both locations,
consult the Repair Manual to judge the difference in shape. In order to
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 reduce pressure leakage as much as possible, assemble the piston ring
end gap at the separated position as in the illustration. Check the ring
end gap when using a new piston ring

CONNECTING ROD

Functions
 The connecting rod is a component that connects the piston to
the crankshaft.
 It transfers the energy created in the cylinders through
combustion from the piston to the crankshaft
 Allows rotational movement of the crankshaft between the
connecting rod, crankshaft and piston.
 First years ev stop 7th oct 2023

Construction
It is, therefore, necessary to split the big-end across the center of
the crank pin and bolt the two halves together after assembly on
to the crank pin. The detachable portion is called the big-end cap.
The bolts used are of high-tensile steel: their heads are specially

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 formed to prevent them rotating while the nuts are being
tightened, and the nuts are usually locked by split pins, tab-
washers, or some other arrangement. Wherever possible, the split
is made at right angles to the length of the connecting rod. As this
gives the best combination of tightness and strength. The piston
and connecting rod are usually assembled together and the
assembly then placed in position in the engine, either by passing
the connecting rod through

The load due to gas pressure on the piston has a buckling effect
on the shank of the rod. In the direction of the crankshaft axis, this
tendency to buckle is resisted by the support provided by the gudgeon
pin and the crankshaft, but no such support is provided to counteract
buckling sideways. The shank of the rod is therefore generally made in
an H section, which gives the greatest possible resistance to sideways
buckling without excessive weight

At high engine speeds, large inertia forces act on the piston and impose
loads on the connecting rod. This causes tensile stress around TDC and
compressive stress around BDC. When the big-end is split

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 perpendicularly, the inertia forces around TDC impose high tensile
loads on the big-end bolts. On the other hand, when the rod is split
obliquely, the forces also tend to slide the cap sideways across the rod,
and impose heavy shearing loads in addition to the tensile loads on the
screws securing the cap. To relieve the screws of these shearing loads,
the joint faces of the rod and cap have steps machined in them.
Alternatively, the joint faces may be serrated.

OBLIQUE SPLIT

GUDGEON PINS
Gudgeon pins need to be strong enough to carry the high loads
imposed upon them by gas pressure on the piston and require a wear-
resistant surface. They are therefore made of steel, usually alloyed with
3–4 per cent of nickel to increase toughness, and case-hardened to
obtain a wear-resistant surface. Clearly, the ends of the hardened pin
must be prevented from rubbing against the cylinder wall; otherwise it
would soon score deep grooves in the cylinder surface. There are two
types of gudgeon pin, depending upon how they are fixed in position:
1 Semi-floating – securely fixed in either the piston or the connecting
rod.

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 Clamp type

The screw is arranged so that a small groove must be made in the

surface of the gudgeon pin to allow the screw to be fitted; this provides
positive endwise location of the pin independently of the clamping
action of the screw, besides ensuring correct assembly. The screw is
locked after tightening by some method such as the tab-washer.
Fully floating
– Thiswhere the gudgeon pin is free to turn in both piston and
connecting rod, and is generally used in engines in which the loads are
particularly high. The pin is shorter than the cylinder diameter and is
prevented from contacting the cylinder

The method shown at (a) consists of a spring steel ring called a circlip,
which is sprung into a groove inside the gudgeon-pin hole after the
gudgeon pin has been fitted – one at each end

INTERFERENCE FIT TYPE

In some modern engines the gudgeon pin is an interference fit in the
small end of the connecting rod, and an easy fit in the piston.

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 CRANKSHAFTS

Main features; the crankshaft is the part of a reciprocating engine that

converts the power created from the power strokes of the pistons in
the cylinders (linear power delivery) into rotational movement and
passes it on to the transmission system, drive train and road wheels.
The crankshaft of an engine is formed of a number of ‘sections’. The
main journals rotate in the main bearings and the crank pin, or crank
journal, to which the connecting rod is fitted, is offset from the main
journals by a distance called the crank radius or throw. The webs
connect the main journals to the crank pin.
THE CRANKSHAFTTHROW
The stroke of an engine is the distance the piston travels from top dead
center (TDC) to bottom dead center (BDC). This distance is determined
by the throw of the crankshaft. The throw is the distance from the
centerline of the crankshaft to the centerline of the crankshaft rod
journal. The throw is one-half of the stroke. The longer this distance is,
the greater the amount of air-fuel mixture that can be drawn into the

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 cylinder. The more air-fuel mixture inside the cylinder, the more force
will result when the mixture is ignited.
Single- throw crankshaft

throw

Two throw Crank shaft

Functions
 To convert the reciprocating motion of the piston into a rotary
motion.
 It drives the camshaft and support the fly wheel.
 It indirectly drives the electrical generator and distributor, the
lubricating oil pump, and the water pump and air fan of the cooling
system.
CRANK SHAFT

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 OILWAYS
It is necessary to know here the method by which oil is supplied to the
crank pins. Oil is delivered under pressure to the main bearings, where
it is fed into a groove running around the bearing at about the middle
of its length. A hole is drilled through the crankshaft running from the
main journal, through the web to the surface of the crank pin. The main
journal end of the hole moves around the groove in the main bearing as
the shaft rotates, allowing a continuous supply of oil to pass to the
crank pin.

Firing order
The cylinders of a multi-cylinder engine are arranged to have their
power strokes in succession, and the order in which the cylinders work
is called the firing order of the engine. For smoothest running of the
engine, power strokes should be spaced at equal intervals, each interval
being equal to the number of degrees per cycle of operations (720° for

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 a four-stroke engine) divided by the number of cylinders. For a four
cylinder engine, the interval will be 720°/4 = 180° and for a six-cylinder:
720°/6 = 120°. The firing order of an engine is determined by two
things:
1 The arrangement of the cylinders and the cranks on the crankshaft.
(This determines the possible firing orders.)
2 The arrangement of the cams on the camshaft. (This must be in
accordance with one of the possible orders.) Firing orders for some of
the common types of engine
There are two possible firing orders for a four-cylinder engine. These
are 1243 and 1342. Both are in common use.
SIX CYLINDER ENGINE
Both alternative crank arrangements are used in this engine, and there
are thus two alternative firing orders for a six cylinder engine in
common use – 142635 and 153624.

Oil retainers
The crankshaft projects from the rear end of the crankcase. Therefore,
some of the oil that is pumped into the rear bearing to lubricate it will
escape from the rear end of the bearing to the outside of the crankcase
and be wasted. In addition, this will make a mess of the engine and
possibly get into the clutch where it would be very undesirable. Two

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 methods of preventing this escape of oil. Immediately behind the rear
journal
Lip type Scroll
type

POPPET VALVE
A poppet valve is the only valve presently in use in vehicles. It is
installed within the cylinder head with its immediate attachments. The
valve itself consists of a disc-shaped head having a stem extending from
its Centre at one side. The edge of the head on the side nearest the
stem is accurately ground at an angle – usually 45° but sometimes 30° –
to form the face. When the valve is closed, the face is

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 Functions
Opens and closes to let exhaust gases out of the combustion
chamber and air and fuel into the combustion chamber at exactly the
right moment in the engine cycle. Valves create a gas-tight seal when
closed to allow the engine to build up compression and pressure during
the four-stroke cycle.
In performing this function, the valves must:
1. make a completely gas-tight seal in the ports when closed
2. Offer no opposition to the flow of gases when open
3. Require the simplest possible mechanism to operate them
4. Operate with minimum friction

OVER HEAD VALVE (OHV)

It employs push-rod-actuated valves parallel to the pistons, and this
is still in use today. Also known as a push-rod engine, the OHV engine
variant normally will have the camshaft located inside the cylinder
block. In a straight engine, the camshaft will normally be positioned just
above or slightly to the side of the crankshaft, but immediately above
the crankshaft when used in the V engine version.
Poppet valve assembly

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 The exhaust valve face is ground to an angle about 0.5° less than the
seat angle, there are three reasons for this;
1. The hottest part of the valve, under running conditions, is the
stem side of the head, and the additional expansion of this side
makes the face and seat angles equal at running temperatures.
2. The exhaust valve gets very hot (often red hot when the engine is
running at full throttle) and is then less strong. Under these
conditions, the spring load tends to cause the head to dish
slightly, which can lift the inner edge of the face (nearest the
combustion chamber) clear of the seating if the angles are the
same when cold.
3. It reduces the risk of trapping carbon between the face and the
seating. In this case, the face.

Type requiring adjustment of the adjusting screw when adjusting valve

clearance this type is for engines using a rocker arm. Adjust the valve
clearance by turning the adjusting screw, which is mounted in the
rocker arm.

VALVE SPRING
The valve spring is a coil spring that applies tension in the closing
direction of the valve. Most engines have one spring per valve, however
some engines use two springs per valve. In order to prevent the valve
from vibrating (Valve re-bounce) when the engine is running at high

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 speeds, uneven pitch springs or double springs are used. Valve springs
have the natural frequency. When the number of the valve opening and
closing; and the natural frequency match to vibrate together, the
waviness vibration may occur. This condition is called surging and it can
be a cause of abnormal engine noise as well as damage to the valve
spring or interference between the valve and piston. Asymmetrical type
of uneven pitch springs is installed with the wider pitch toward the top

. Valveguide bushing and oil seal the valve guide bushing is generally
made of cast iron and is press-fitted into the cylinder head. It acts to
guide the movement of the valve so that it closely fits the valve seat
and valve face. The contact surfaces of the valve guide and valve stem
are lubricated with engine oil. To prevent excess oil from entering the
combustion chamber, a rubber oil seal is fitted on the topside of the
valve guide bushing. "Valve sticking" occurs when the valve stem in the
valve bushing guide stops moving smoothly or stops moving
completely. This occurs when the amount of clearance between the
valve stem and the valve guide bushing is too small or when they are
not sufficiently lubricated. If the valve stem oil seal is broken or
hardens, engine oil will enter the combustion chamber and be burned.
This can cause excessive oil consumption

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 VALVE TIMING
Setting the valve timing whenever the camshaft drive is disconnected, the valves
must be retimed to ensure that they open and close at the correct time in relation
to the piston position. Timing gears and sprockets are normally marked, but
where not, as in the case of a belt drive, the method is to set the camshaft and
the crankshaft to the recommended positions before the drive is connected.
Some manufacturers incorporate the facility to add locking pins to the drive gear
to ensure that each gear is set in the correct position before removing the belt.
The new belt is then fitted and the locking pins are removed. It is very important
to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when fitting a new belt, as incorrect
fitting may cause the engine to run incorrectly or even damage the engine.

Valve timing diagram

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 The camshaft is sometimes carried on the cylinder head and this means
that a longer and more complex driving arrangement is necessary. The
system used should operate with minimum noise and also must allow
for thermal expansion of the block and head. There are three major
driving arrangement between cam shaft and crank shaft

1. Gear type

When the camshaft is fitted close to the crankshaft, a gear drive can be
used. Spur gears are noisy, so helical teeth are generally used.
Sometimes the large camshaft gear wheel is made of a plastic material
and, in cases where the distance is large, an idler gear is fitted. This
type of arrangement is also seen on more modern car engines

Chain Drive

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 When the camshaft is situated close to the crankshaft, a short chain can
be used to connect the crankshaft sprocket to the camshaft sprocket,
the latter having twice as many teeth as the former. The chain is either
a single row-type or a duplex with a double row of rollers. Unless
special provision is made, wear will cause the chain to lengthen and a
rattling noise will be heard as the irregular rotation of the camshaft
slaps the chain against the timing cover. Compensation for wear is
achieved by fitting an automatic adjuster to rub on the non-driving
(slack side) of the chain.

Belt drives
OHC engines are often driven by a rubber belt. The belt is
notched to form teeth to maintain the correct valve timing. This
type of drive is a cheap, quiet and efficient way of driving a
camshaft that is mounted far away from the crankshaft. Also, this
method enables the drive to be easily disconnected when the
cylinder head has to be removed. Breakage of the belt can cause a
problem especially if the piston strikes an open valve, but
reinforced belt materials make belt breakage a rare occurrence. If
the timing belt is removed for any engine repairs and is to be
reused, the direction of the rotation should be noted to ensure
that the belt is refitted in exactly the same way. Generally, if the
engine repair requires the belt to be removed, it is good practice

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 to change the belt for economical and engine safety reasons. The
timing belt should be used for not more than 100,000km
otherwise refer to the manufacture’s manual book.

Valve clearance
A valve is closed when its face is pressed into contact with the seating by the full
force of the spring
There must always be a small clearance in the valve operating gear when the
valve is in its closed position to ensure that the valve will close completely .
When the clearance is checked, allowance must be made for the fact that under
different running conditions the amount of clearance will be altered by different
temperatures due to different amounts of expansion of the valves, cylinder block
and valve operating gear.
The valve clearance and the engine conditions under which it should be measured
(i.e. engine hot or cold) are specified by the engine manufacturer

Excessive clearance
Will result;
In noisy operation
Excessive wear of the valve.
Engine overheating.

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 Too little clearance may result in
The valve not fully closing under certain conditions. This causes loss of pressure in
the cylinder.
Burnt exhaust valves (since one of the paths for the escape of heat is cut off if the
valve does not close properly.

Valve rotation
During the opening and closing of the valve, small deposits can build up on the
two faces causing wear and damage to the gas-tight seal between the valve seat
and valve face. To overcome this problem, manufacturers build in a mechanism
that rotates the valve during opening and closing operation. Two methods of
valve rotation are used:

1 .A method of rotating the valve through the camshaft lobe acting directly on to
the follower. By having a slightly offset cam lobe and cam follower, the cam
follower rotates slightly as the cam lobe strikes the follower. Because the follower
is acting on top of the valve stem, this in turn rotates the valve slightly as it opens.
2. As the valve is opened by the camshaft lobe acting on the cam follower, the
collets retaining the valve and valve spring become loose. In turn, this
allows the action of the rotator to create rotational movement of the valve
as it becomes unloaded.

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 Adjustment of Valve Clearance
Type requiring adjustment of the adjusting screw when adjusting valve
clearance this type is for engines using a rocker arm. Adjust the valve
clearance by turning the adjusting screw, which is mounted in the
rocker arm.
NOT: always adjust the tappet clearance of the valve which is fully closed

OHC cam followers

Camshaft followers need to be strong so are usually made of steel. In OHC

engines, where the cam is in line with the valve stem, the followers are arranged
so that they sit directly over the valve and valve spring assembly. They are
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 positioned between the cam and the valve stem in a machined bore in the
cylinder head. A pre-sized spacer or shim between the top of the valve stem and
the internal face of the follower adjusts the clearance between the camshaft lobe
and the camshaft follower. The shim thickness is carefully selected during the
manufacturing stage of the engine to ensure the correct clearance is achieved.
During service, this clearance will change, becoming too large or too small, due to
the wear of engine components. To adjust this clearance, the technician takes
measurements of the current clearance using a tool called feeler blades. When
the measurement is taken, the most suitable shim will be chosen and replaced to
bring the working clearance back to the manufacturer’s standard. Some other
camshaft followers fitted to OHC engines include a tapered adjusting screw that
screws into the follower from the side and effectively replaces the shim. This type
is far easier to alter and adjust the working clearance as no components

Blue smoke
Blue exhaust indicates that the engine is burning oil. Oil is getting into the
combustion chamber either past the piston rings or past the valve stem seals.
Blue smoke only after start-up is usually due to defective valve stem seals
Black smoke
Black exhaust smoke is due to excessive fuel being burned in the combustion
chamber. Typical causes include a defective or misadjusted throttle body, leaking
fuel injector, or excessive fuel pump pressure.
White (steam)

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 White smoke or steam from the exhaust is normal during cold weather and
represents condensed steam. Every engine creates about 1 gallon of water for
each gallon of gasoline burned. If the steam from the exhaust is excessive, then
water (coolant) is getting into the combustion chamber. Typical causes include a
defective cylinder head gasket, a cracked cylinder head, or in severe

The first area for visual inspection is oil level and condition.
1. Oil level oil should be to the proper level
2. Oil condition a. using a match or lighter, try to light the oil on the dipstick; if
the oil flames up, gasoline is present in the engine oil. Drip some of the engine oil
from the dipstick onto the hot exhaust manifold. If the oil bubbles or boils, there
is coolant (water) in the oil. Check for grittiness by rubbing the oil between your
fingers.

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