The Engine Lubrication System

Hello everyone, welcome to our page “TECHNICAL SAHUJI” today we are going to learn about the lubrication system of the engine.

You drive your car every day, isn’t it nice to know how does it work? There are the relevant details of how the combustion engine works. You may know about maintaining your car that is you have to change the engine lubrication oil time to time. 

The engine lubrication system is to distribute oil to the moving parts to reduce friction between surfaces. Lubrication plays a key role in the life expectancy of an automotive engine. If the lubricating system fail, an engine would succumb to overheating and seizing very quickly.

Role of the lubrication system:

The role of the lubrication system is to lubricate the moving parts and to aid engine cooling. Superior quality engine oil is formulated with the high quality base oil and advanced technology based additive package to provide protection for automotive engines in severe service applications.

An oil pump is located on the bottom of the engine. The oil is pulled through a strainer, by the oil pump, removing larger contaminants from the mass of the fluid. The oil then forced through an oil filter under pressure to the main bearings and the oil pressure gauge.

The oil fling dispersed by the rotating crankshaft lubricates the cylinder walls and piston-pin bearings. The excess oil is scraped off by the scraper rings on the piston. The engine oil also lubricates camshaft bearings and the timing chain or gears on the camshaft drive. The excess oil in the system then drains back to the sump.

 

Components of the Lubrication System:

The main components of the lubrication system (figure 01) are as follows:

   

                                                                 

  –                                                                                                     






an oil sump (1),

  –     its sump bung and its sealing washer (2),

–     a pump, which draws up oil and cir- culates it under pressure (3)                                                     

   –     an oil filter retaining impurities (4),

                                                                         

 –     A filling opening (5).

Figure 01. Components of the lubrication system.

 

Maintenance of the lubrication system

The engine oil is placed under high stress when the vehicle is being used. The lubrication system is damaged in the following situations:

·        loss of oil quality, due to the presence of metal particles and combustion residue,

·        Clogging of the filter.

Maintenance of the lubrication system consists of replacing the oil, the oil change gasket and the filter, according to their replacement frequency.

A fault in the lubrication system can lead to high oil consumption or to engine deterioration.

Choosing Engine Oil:

To ensure lubrication under the best conditions, the oil must withstand heat and retain its viscosity under hot and cold conditions.

Engine oil is identified as follows:

1.    By the standard (ACEA, CCMC, API, etc.).

2.    By the quality rating (A3, B4, etc.).

3.    By the grades (5W30, etc.) which indicate its viscosity (figure 02):

–     The first, followed by the letter W, indicates the viscosity of the oil when cold (5W, 15W, etc.),

–     The second indicates the viscosity of the oil when hot (30, 40, etc.).

 

Figure 02.  The viscosity grades

Replacement of the Oil Filter:

The oil filter must always be replaced during an oil service. Failure to so can lead to the filter becoming clogged up with impurities (figure 03).

When the filter is blocked, the oil circu- lating in the engine is no longer filtered (1).

In this case, metal particles can cause damage or increased wear to moving parts.

Figure 03. Lubrication under poor conditions.

Replacement of the Oil Change Sealing Washer:

The oil change sealing washer must always be replaced during an oil service.

There are various oil change sealing washers depending on the type of sump (figure 04). 

A lip seal should be used with a light alloy sump.

A light alloy sealing washer should be used with a steel sump

              Sealing washers are also available
                in different diameters.

Figure 04. The different types of oil change sealing washer.

 

Checking the Engine Oil Level

When filling, it is important to adhere to the capacity and oil level of the lubrication system.

The oil level (figure 05) is checked using a dipstick, on which there are MINIMUM and MAXIMUM marks.

Figure 05 .  Checking the oil level

Depending on the vehicle, an indicator on the dashboard informs the driver of the oil level each time the ignition is switched on.