AUTO MAINTENANCE: The Basics Of Lubricating Car Engines.........Part 1

Oil lubrication is vital to vehicle engine system such that it provides a barrier between rotating engine parts to prevent damage by friction, damage which can result in huge auto repair bills. The engine lubrication system includes the oil pump, oil filter, lubricating oil and the oil passages. The engine oil provides a method of cooling engine parts that are not cooled by the engine cooling system. Engine oil helps to protect engine components from corrosion by neutralizing harmful chemicals that are the by-product of combustion.

To protect moving parts and reduce friction, automotive engine oil provides a barrier between the rotating or moving engine components. Ideally, a film of oil should exist between moving components. This is called full film lubrication. In order to achieve full film lubrication, a constant supply of clean oil is required. The engine oil system constantly filters and circulates engine oil to ensure that all components are protected.

The engine oil is stored in the crankcase. Most engines hold between 4 to 6 quarts of oil. The engine oil pump pressurizes and circulates the engine oil.

The oil will flow from the OIL PUMP to the OIL FILTER, where it is cleaned. The cleaned engine oil then moves through passages, into the CRANKSHAFT where it circulates through the engine bearings. The crankshaft has passages bored into it that allows oil to travel to all the bearing surfaces. The CYLINDER WALLS and PISTONS are lubricated by the oil that is thrown from the CRANKSHAFT as it rotates. This is sometimes referred to as SPLASH LUBRICATION.

Engine oil will leave the CRANKSHAFT, usually at a passage in one of the main bearings and is fed to the CAMSHAFT and LIFTERS. On some overhead valve engines, oil will travel through the PUSHRODS up to the VALVE TRAIN to lubricate the rocker arms. Other designs use a passage to feed oil through a ROCKER ARM shaft to achieve the same purpose. The oil then returns to the CRANKCASE by return holes in the cylinder heads. It is then picked up by the OIL PUMP to be circulated again.

This process is more or less like a circular form ::> From the OIL PUMP to the OIL FILTER to the CRANKSHAFT to the CAMSHAFT/LIFTERS to the VALVE TRAIN to the CRANKCASE then back to the OIL PUMP.


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