Oil is the lifeblood of an internal combustion engine. Name nine distinct functions oil performs in an engine (ten if you include airplane engines with constant speed propellors). The FAA powerplant license written exam only asks for five; we students gave the matter some thought and identified nine (or ten, as above). Hint: Lubrication fulfills two of the functions. Name them and 7 (or 8) more.
Eep. Besides lubrication and possibly helping activate VVT in the Prius engine? Does each area being lubricated [and possibly cooled somewhat] count as a "function", e.g. floating crank journals vs. preventing spalling friction at the cams? . [EDIT: nevermind, I cheated and went and googled for it. Now I feel bad about banging in the answers before anyone else has had a go at it. But I learned some new things, thank you.] . _H*
lubrication cooling gives the engine a medium to transmit pressure (hydraulic valve lifters) maintain proper clearances in operating bearings medium for conveying contaminants to a filter in 2 cycle engines, a component of the fuel source vibration dampener noise reduction that's what Dh came up with off the top of his head. hmm. he got a kick out of this. and it also reminded us it's time to get registered for that advanced engine performance test :lol:
I think I'll just sit quietly over in the corner with my EV while you guys figure out what do do with all that crankcase oil before it stains the garage floor.
Hmm, I just thought of one not on people's lists: Provides physical weight. Don't they call this sort of thing "specific gravity"? I would imagine the weight of the oil itself is factored into certain engines or applications... also, some sort of anti-corrosion component I would imagine... what about: color? :lol: Adds a nice dark brown, golden tone to parts...
Specific gravity is the density of a substance divided by the density of water, and it is expressed without units (since all of the units cancel out).
