MIT 2.

000 Class
Understanding Engines &
Transmissions

Kristin Schondorf
Ford Motor Company
Feb 21, 2002
kschondo@ford.com

1
 Table of Contents
• What’s included in the Powertrain
• Engines
• Transmissions
• Cylinder Head Cracking Issue

2
Powertrain

3
Engines

4
Engine Animation

5
Principles of the 4 Stroke Engine
• Intake Stroke – intake valve opens and piston moves
from TDC (top dead center) to BDC (bottom dead
center) drawing in air and fuel.

• Compression Stroke – intake valve closes and piston

moves to TDC, compressing the air fuel mixture

• Power Stroke – Spark plug ignites air fuel mixture

and drives piston down to BDC

• Exhaust Stroke – Exhaust valve opens and piston

moves up to TDC, pushing exhaust gas from cylinder

6
4 Stroke Engine Operation

7
 Major Components: 4 Stroke
• Cylinder Block
• Cylinder Head
• Valvetrain
• Camshaft
• Crankshaft
• Intake and Exhaust Manifold
• Piston & Connecting Rod

8
 Cylinder Block
• Usually a single cast piece of iron or aluminum
which is the “container” for most of the components

• Houses the crankshaft & pistons

• Cylinder bore is honed to minimize oil consumption

and reduce friction

9
 Cylinder Head
• Usually a single cast piece of iron or
aluminum
• Houses the valves & spark plugs
• Has specially designed combustion chamber
• Contains cooling passages
• Head/block interface must be very smooth
and sealed with head gasket

10
 Valvetrain Configurations
• Overhead Valve (OHV)
– Camshaft in block
– Requires valve lifters,
pushrods & rocker arms
• Overhead Cam (OHC)
– Camshaft in cylinder head
– Directly operated by camshaft and cam follower

11
 Valves

• Made from special high strength

steel (exhaust valves must
withstand 2250oC)
• Has a round head with a tapered
face and a stem with a slot at the
top for the valve spring retainers
• Valve seats are machined with 3
or 4 angles to seal the valve,
minimize carbon buildup and
provide heat transfer

12
 Camshafts

• Camshafts are driven by the crankshaft (1 cam rev =

2 crank revs)
• Designed with egg- s haped lobes that determine
when the valve will open relative to piston travel
• Most designed with moderate lift and short duration
for smooth idle and good low speed torque

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 Crankshaft

• Converts the vertical motion of the pistons into

rotational motion
• At the centerline are the main journal bearings which
must be machined with tight tolerances
• Designed with counterweights to provide smooth
engine operation

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 Intake & Exhaust Manifold
• Intake manifold – main purpose is to provide
clean, cool air
• Exhaust manifold – main purpose is to
remove exhaust gases
• Efficiency is improved by reducing
impedance in induction system and back
pressure created by exhaust

15
 Piston & Connecting Rod

• Must withstand forces up to 2.5 tons

• Contains grooves for an oil ring and compression
rings
• Compression rings used for sealing and to
remove excess oil
• Normal cold clearance to
cylinder bore is
0.025 – 0.05 mm

16
 Bore & Stroke Ratio

• Bore – diameter of a cylinder in an engine

• Stroke – distance piston must travel from
TDC to BDC within a cylinder

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 Compression Ratio
• Compression ratio is the volume of the
cylinder and combustion area with the piston
at BDC plus the volume of the piston at TDC
divided by the volume of the piston at TDC.

575cc + 75cc = 8.6

75cc

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 Computer Controls
Input: Temp Output: Fuel
Positions Spark
Strategy
Speeds EGR
Pressure Transmission

Sensors Powertrain Actuators

Control Module

19
Automatic Transmissions

20
 Power flow

Wheels

½ Shaft
Transmission

Torque Converter
Engine Crank Turbine Output Shaft
Gear Set Axle

½ Shaft
Wheels

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 Power flow

• The torque converter uses fluid to

increase torque and reduce speed at the
input of the transmission gearing.
• The transmission gearing trades torque
and speed delivering this power to the
axle or final drive system.
• The final drive trades torque and speed,
delivering the power to the differential
and out to the drive wheels.

22
 Components: Automatic Transmission

• Torque Converter
• Planetary Gears
• Apply Devices (Actuators)
• Hydraulic System and Controls

23
 Transmission Function

• Transmits power from engine to wheels,

managing speed & torque
• Varies ratio between engine RPM and wheel
RPM (drive gears)
• Provides reverse, park, and neutral
• Allows the car to idle in Drive

24
Parts of a Transmission

Torque Converter Gears

Apply Devices

25
 Torque Converter Purpose
• Allows the engine to continue to run when
the vehicle is in gear at standstill (idle)
• Hydraulically multiplies torque and transfers
speed & torque to the gear train (couples the
engine and the transmission)
• Connects the engine to the transmission
pump

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 How a Torque Converter Works
• Couples the engine to the transmission with
transmission fluid.
• Includes the stator, impeller & turbine
• Blades of the impeller (driven by the engine)
force oil against the blades of the turbine,
which drives the input of the transmission
gearing.
• At lower speeds, the stator re-directs the flow
from the turbine back to the impeller,
providing Engine Torque Multiplication.

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Flow at Lower Speeds

28
Flow at Higher Speeds

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Planetary Gears

RI

Planet
Carrier
P l an

G e ne t
Gea

ars
P la
et
rs

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Gear Selection

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Reduction

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Direct Drive

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Overdrive

34
Reverse

35
 Apply Devices
• Apply devices are used to turn or drive
different members of the planetary gear set.

• The thee main types of apply devices are

a. Friction Clutches
b. One way clutches
c. Bands

36
Apply Devices: Friction Clutches

The clutch plates are hollow disks that alternate

between externally connected (to the drum or
transmission case) steel separator plates and
internally connected (to the clutch hub) friction
37
plates.
One Way Clutch

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Band

39
 Hydraulic System and Controls

Pump & Oil

• The pump causes the transmission fluid to flow through
the controls and the rest of the transmission.
• Pressure is regulated and routed to the appropriate parts
of the transmission.
• Transmission fluid transfers power, cools, lubricates and
cleans the transmission
Hydraulic Controls
• The controls affect the automatic operation of the gearbox
ensuring smooth execution of shifts at appropriate
vehicle speeds, driver demands and environmental
conditions.

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Transmission Pump

41
 Hydraulic Controls

• Transmission fluid is circulated through a series of valves

which engage or disengage bands or apply or relieve pressure
to actuate or release clutches.

• The routing of fluid to effect a shift and to select the proper

gear ratio is controlled by a shift valve.

• The position of the shift valve and the timing of its

movement are controlled by the Electronic Controls primarily
as a function of vehicle speed, load, and driver demands.

42
Transmission Valve Body

43
 Shift Quality

· Shifting involves the transfer of load from

one planetary gear set configuration to
another.

•The Capacity & timing of the apply devices

result in the specific level of shift quality.

44
Transmission 101

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