Basic Engine Operation

• Basic Construction of an Engine
• The Four Stages of Engine Operation
• Two Stroke Engines and Four Stroke Engines
• Four Stroke Engine Operation
• How Engines Are Rated

Next Section Automotive Tools

The engines that are used in automobiles are called internal-combustion engines. In an internal-combustion engine, fuel is burned inside the engine to produce power. The internal-combustion engine produces mechanical energy directly by burning fuel. In contrast, in an external- combustion engine, fuel is burned outside the engine. A steam engine/ boiler is an example of an external-combustion engine. The boiler burns fuel to produce steam, and then steam is sent to the engine to produce power. In an automotive engine, fuel is sent directly to the engine, where it's burned inside to produce the power that's used to run a vehicle.

In this section of your study unit, we'll look at some of the basic parts of a gasoline engine and learn how these parts contribute to overall engine operation. Once you have an understanding of the basic construction of the engine, we'll move on to discuss how an engine operates. Note that this will just be a simple overview. In a later study unit, we'll look at the parts of an engine and their operation in much more detail.