In many designs of car the oil is pumped out of the oil pan (by the oil pump) and forced through the oil filter to remove dirt and any abrasive material it may have been contaminated with before it travels through the crankshaft where it is squirted at high pressure onto the walls of the piston cylinders and camshaft bearings. The oil then runs off these parts and collects in the oil sump. And so the process is repeated until the engine stops. Let’s look more closely at some different parts of the system.
The filter can be used to trap large, potentially damaging bits of grit. Generally there’s also an oil filter bypass pipe in case the filter becomes blocked. It’s still necessary for the oil to flow around the engine so the bypass kicks in. When a filter is replaced the old one should be drained of oil before being disposed of.
The oil pump forces the oil to different parts of the engine and is located at the bottom of the oil sump. The oil pressure needs to be high enough to make sure every part of the engine gets the lubrication and cooling it needs. This is why the oil pressure gauge is such an important indicator. The oil pump is driven by the camshaft forcing the oil down the delivery pipe. The pathways through the engine allow a constant flow of fresh oil to lubricate the moving parts. These pathways are cleverly designed by drilling through the metal components of the engine. If one of these pathways becomes blocked the affected parts will get extremely hot and will frequently weld together (by a process known as friction welding). If this happens the entire engine will more than likely be ruined.
Oil seals are used to stop the oil from leaking out of the component they are sealing. They form a tight, yet flexible seal that fluid cannot pass through (oil in this case but seals also prevent transmission fluid from leaking). Seals are often a point of failure in an engine and while they are easy to replace getting to them in the first place can be a long job. Leaking oil reduces pressure and will trigger the oil pressure gauge alert.
Last but not least, hiding under the oil filler cap, is the humble dip stick. A log metal rod reaching down into the oil sump, the end has markings showing the minimum and maximum amount of oil that should be in the sump. The sump contains a plug to drain the oil when a complete change is required and can sometimes include a magnet the pull fragments of engine out of the oil supply.
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