Every now and then we bring to you, the Bosch technology bible which more or less refreshes one’s memory about the technologies that are in existence in the car world. Moreover, details of these are explained in simple as far as possible layman language.
Radiator Fan :
It is a plastic fan located on the inner side of a car’s radiator to blow cool air on the radiator to assist in the cooling of the engine. It is controlled by the electrical system of the car and is positioned according to the position of the engine.
Dipstick :
It is a long thin shaft which has got a hooked end which is utilized to pull it out of the engine bay. It is actually a tool which is used to measure the engine oil level as it is kept dipped inside the engine upto a calibrated level. The dipstick’s blade has a scale which is used to find out the exact volume of engine oil present inside the engine. The correct procedure is to remove it, clean it, insert back and pull out to check if the oil level is upto the recommended mark or not.
Connecting Rod :
The connecting rod or “conrod” transmits the piston load to the crank causing the crank to turn, thus, together they form a mechanism that converts the reciprocating motion of the piston to the rotary motion of the crankshaft. The lower end or the big end attached to the bearing journal on the crank pin while the smaller end eventually attaches to the piston pin which would swivel in the pin.
Crankshaft :
The crank is part of the crankshaft which receives via the cranks, efforts supplied by the piston to the connecting rods. All the auxiliary mechanisms with the mechanical transmission are geared in one way or the other to the crankshaft. To convert the reciprocating motion to rotational, the crank has additional bearing surfaces whose axis is offset from the crank to which the “big end” on the conrod is connected. It connects to a flywheel to negate the pulsating characteristic of an I.C Engine. A crankshaft is usually a steel forging but most of the makers now prefer to use a special type of cast iron or nickel alloys casting which are cheaper to produce and also have a good service life.
Top Dead Center :
Top Dead Center or TDC is the top most position of the piston during a compression stroke, towards the cover end side of the cylinder is called the top dead center. In case of horizontal engines, this is known as inner dead center.
Hydrolastic Suspension :
The suspension system is based on the compression of a solid mass of rubber. In this system, a separate spring and dampers are replaced by displacer units which are interconnected between the front and rear wheels by means of a fluid. In the displacer unit, a rubber is used as spring and fluid passing through rubber valves acts as a damping medium. When a front wheel encounters a bump, fluid is transferred to the corresponding rear displacer unit which raises the rear end of the car minimizing its pitch.
Fender Skirts :
A cover on the wheels which acts as a continuation of the body work is referred to as fender skirts, much like the Volkswagen XL 1.It is a design feature as also an aerodynamic aid which helps in reducing the drag created by air caught in the wheel cavity. These Fender Skirts are easily detachable allowing for removal of the wheel. The fender skirts usually cover the follower wheels which do not move laterally.
