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About This Quiz
Do you have gears in your head? Can you see parts in a junkyard and know exactly where they go in an engine? Are you able to correctly identify a car just by hearing the engine rev as it passes by? You might be unique because most people know very little about engines.ÂÂ
It might seem crazy but consider for a moment that modern engines have hundreds, if not thousands of components in them. Some are smaller than a dime, while others, like the crankshaft, are massive and heavy. All these parts must be made to exacting specifications and installed with extreme precision, otherwise, the engine might not run, or it might run improperly. It's a miracle our cars operate as well as they do, considering the sheer complexity of engines.ÂÂ
Keeping all these components, not to mention how they're supposed to operate and interact with each other, straight is difficult, to say the least. This is why mechanics go through intense training and certifications. Just how far does your knowledge of engines extend? Can you answer these easy, medium, and hard questions? Take the quiz now!ÂÂ
What should you do before changing your oil?
tap on the cylinder heads
warm up the engine
There's a reason why you're not supposed to push your engine hard before it warms up to operating temperature: the oil won't flow as well. The same is true about getting the most debris and filth out of the crankcase when you do an oil change.
put on two pairs of gloves
wear a hat
When bolting together any components in an engine, how do you decide the tightness of bolts?
guess
it's always 20 lb.-ft. of torque
they should be hand-tight
refer to manufacturer torque specs
Automakers use vast teams of engineers to create engines, and they know exactly how you should reassemble any portion of it. Get the torque specs for your engine before working on it, and use your torque wrench faithfully.
When doing a valve adjustment job, which of the following items do you not need?
torque wrench
shims
socket set
toothpicks
If you can change the oil on your vehicle, a valve adjustment job shouldn't be beyond your capabilities. It can take several hours, depending on the engine, so set aside ample time.
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What part of the spark plug must you adjust when installing them?
gap
If you don't have a spark plug gap tool, you can get one for extra cheap. While spark plugs come gapped, they might not be to the specifications for your engine.
electrode length
thread spread
torque setting
If the valve seals on your engine are going out, what will it likely do?
get sucked into the cylinders
burn oil
Valve seals are designed to keep the oil, which is needed to lubricate the different parts in the cylinder head, from leaking into the cylinders, where it will burn up, creating plumes of smoke coming from the tailpipe.
cause backfiring
nothing
Which of the following wouldn't trigger a car's check engine light?
loose gas cap
clogged fuel injectors
While the check engine light may have to do with a serious engine-related issue, many times it's triggered by emissions sensors either not working or noting a fault somewhere, but you shouldn't ignore the light.
bad catalytic converter
malfunctioning emissions sensor
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What does the rev limiter do?
raises the red line to a higher rpm
blows the head gasket if you rev too high
keeps the engine from revving too high
A rev limiter protects the engine by keeping it from hitting certain RPMs. If you go beyond the red line on the gauge, engine damage will occur, at least at a certain point.
makes a red light appear on the dash
What causes flames to shoot out the tailpipe of some cars?
a lean mixture
a balanced mixture
a super rich mixture
The only way flames will shoot out of an exhaust is if a lot of gas isn't burning in the cylinders from a rich mixture, and then it combusts in the exhaust.
turbos
A roots-type supercharger is driven by what portion of the engine?
pistons
exhaust gases
engine belt
A blower or roots supercharger is driven by a belt and works as a positive displacement lobe pump, of course pumping more air into the engine.
fuel system
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What's the primary function of an engine mount?
smooth out piston movement
reduce emissions
keep the engine attached to the transmission
to anchor the engine to the car's frame
Engine mounts provide a secure anchor to the car's structure, plus they're designed to reduce how many vibrations travel from the engine into the rest of the car, improving comfort and reducing noise.
What do glow plugs in a diesel engine do?
defrost diesel fuel
Too often, people think glow plugs are like spark plugs, when in reality their purpose is to defrost the fuel when temperatures drop too low, all so the engine will start.
light the fuel on fire
help you see when working on the engine
increase piston pressure
Which of the following isn't an element necessary for an engine to achieve combustion?
supercharging
While compression of the fuel and air mixture before the spark comes into the picture is also a necessary element, it doesn't require the use of a supercharger.
fuel
air
spark
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Which component in the engine first transforms the force of combustion into torque?
camshaft
valves
crankshaft
While the camshafts do spin, they're what controls the flow of air/fuel and exhaust gases, while the crankshaft is the first component to spin as a result of the forces created by combustion, so it originates all torque output.
turbo
What does nitrous oxide do when it enters an engine?
adds more fuel
cools the air
Nitrous oxide works to cool the intake air more, which means there are more oxygen molecules inside the cylinders, allowing the engine to use more fuel for a more potent burn, which leads to more power.
boosts the fuel
spools the turbo faster
What's a term commonly used for a device that lifts an engine into and out of a car?
ladder breath
cherry picker
An engine hoist or cherry picker is able to slide into a secure position, so you have the right support for installing or taking out an engine, although you should still double-check your work.
corn husker
engine ladder
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What's the purpose of warming up an engine on a cold morning?
to avoid your significant other yelling at you about cold seats
to get the sensors calibrated
to warm up the oil so it flows better
When temperatures take a dive, the oil in your engine doesn't flow as freely. As the engine heats up, the oil will start to flow as it should, but that should only take a few minutes before the car's driveable.
to clear out the intake manifold
What feature on some engines allows you to adjust the valves with greater ease?
engine insulation
quick-release bolts
valve covers
If your engine needs valve adjustments semi-regularly, valve covers make the job easier since you don't have to remove the entire cylinder head cover to access the valves.
engine access hatch
What from an engine powers a turbocharger?
the crankshaft
the belts
intake air
exhaust gases
The turbines inside a turbocharger are spun by exhaust gases, which then suck in fresh air to be sent to the engine, boosting performance quite literally.
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What does engine displacement measure?
power
torque
fuel usage
the swept volume
Engine displacement is a measure of the swept volume for all pistons as they travel inside the cylinders of the engine, starting from top dead center to bottom dead center.
Where did the boxer engine get its name?
it looks like a boxer punching
Boxer engines feature a flat cylinder configuration, where the pistons on each side alternate their strokes, so from above it looks like a boxer punching with one glove and then the other.
the guy who designed it was a boxer
its from the dog breed
they were originally made of cardboard boxes
Changing the oil helps with all except which of the following items?
engine cooling
keeping the head gasket from blowing
While most people know that clean, fresh oil is good for lubrication, it provides other benefits you usually don't think about.
removing engine deposits
lubricating engine components
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What is another term for an engine "missing"?
misfiring
Engines normally run quite smoothly, but misfires happen when the fuel isn't combusting as it should. This can be caused by a fault with the spark plugs or fuel delivery, along with a ​few other rare problems.
backfiring
shimmying
bouncing
What kind of oil should you put in your engine?
castor
10W-30
only synthetic
whatever the manufacturer suggests
On most cars, the recommended oil type is printed on the oil fill cap. If not, you can find it in the owner's manual or call your local dealer to get that info.
What do you call the uneven portions of a camshaft?
balls
lobes
You can call these various sections lobes or journals. Their function is to control when the valves open, for how long, and how much.
tripods
frisbees
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The flywheel helps smooth out what?
engine RPMs
turbo lag
torque output
Like it or not, torque output from your engine doesn't stay the same, which is why there's a torque curve when you put your car on a dyno. The flywheel helps smooth that out for more predictable performance.
sputtering
What does a carburetor do in an older engine?
combusts the fuel
mixes the fuel and air
Compared to electronic fuel injection, carburetors aren't nearly as efficient, partly because they don't adjust the air-fuel mixture based on changing factors like ambient temperature.
cleans the air
injects the fuel
What is the water jacket in your engine?
a series of passageways where the coolant travels
The purpose of the water jacket is to keep your engine cool enough that you're not dealing with overheating of any kind, making it a critical part of the engine design.
an electric blanket
a way to warm the engine in the morning
the electrical system
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What do you call the deep passageways that provide you access to the spark plugs?
spark plug tubs
spark plug tubes
spark parks
spark plug wells
You'll need an extension and special spark plug attachment for your socket wrench to remove or install spark plugs, thanks to the wells being so deep.
What does it mean if you need to jump start your engine?
the battery is dead
the alternator is bad
the spark plugs aren't firing
Quite literally, needing to jump start an engine means there's no spark from the spark plugs, which could be caused by a number of electrical system issues, most likely the battery or alternator.
the distributor is bad
What is the function of your engine's air filter?
to accelerate airflow
to keep dust and debris from flowing inside
The air filter on your engine keeps deposits from dust, etc., from building inside the engine, which is why you should check your air filter regularly.
to read the air temperature
to create an overboost safety check
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How do diesel engines combust fuel?
spark plugs
extreme compression
Through extreme compression exerted by the pistons, diesel engines ignite the fuel, which is part of the secret for why they boast such amazing fuel efficiency specs.
magneto
nitrous oxide
Which of the following isn't a benefit of integrated exhaust manifolds?
the exhaust gases warm up faster
the exhaust manifold is liquid cooled
they're easier to modify
An integrated exhaust manifold can boost engine efficiency drastically, thanks to its design, but it can't be swapped out for performance headers, something tuners like to do for extracting more power.
it saves on space
Where does direct injection take place inside an engine?
the cylinders
In a direct injection engine, the fuel injectors spray right into the cylinders, usually during the final part of the compression stage, boosting power and fuel efficiency.
the fuel rail
the intake manifold
the turbo
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How many cylinders does a typical Wankel engine have?
two
four
eight
none
A rotary or Wankel engine doesn't have cylinders, because their design is fundamentally different from a traditional engine.
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