| Owning a car is almost everybody’s dream. But having one should not just end
there; it is always best to be knowledgeable about its parts and what the purpose
of each is. Having the know-how on this is really important especially when suddenly
your car went dead on the middle of the highway, or when you are in a very secluded
place with no car auto shop nearby. Many do not consider this of vital importance
because they always believe that the mechanic can do the job for them. But what
if this really happens to you, and you don’t have the slightest idea what is wrong
with your car? So it is really necessary to at least have the basic knowledge
on your car parts and one of this is your car engine system.
Every vehicle includes engine parts which are responsible for the overall motion
of the vehicle itself. And the engine consists of various parts too in order to
do its function well which include the intake valve, valve cover, intake port,
head, coolant, engine block, oil pan, oil sump, crankshaft, exhaust valve, spark
plug, exhaust port, piston, connecting rod, and rod bearing. From these parts,
the valves are the ones responsible to let the air and fuel in and to let the
exhaust out. Both the intake and exhaust valves open at the proper time and are
closed during compression and combustion so that the combustion chamber is sealed.
A set of valves and the mechanism that opens and closes them is called the
valve trains. It consists of rocker arms, valve springs, push rods, lifters and
cam if it’s an overhead cam engine. And since the valve trains play a vital part
in the whole engine system, it is covered with the valve cover.
As the name implies, the valve cover serves as the covering of the valve trains.
This can be removed to adjust the valves. This is often distorted on older cars,
because there are valve cover screws that are sometimes over-tightened which causes
the valve cover to bend after some time. Underneath the valve cover, oil is dispersed
after being pushed up through the pushrods. This keeps the rocker arms lubricated
and there are holes located in various places in the engine head so that the oil
circulates back down to the oil pan. Because of this, the valve cover should always
be oil-tight. But if the valve cover is over tightened and is just made of very
thin sheet metal, the valve cover will bend and eventually will be the source
of oil leaks. So the best thing to do is to always check on the valve cover and
if it needs replacement, it should be replaced right away with aftermarket and
OEM valve cover. |
