Car Parts: Overview

Before jumping into article, let’s have a short look into history.

Karl Friedrich Benz was a German engine designer and automobile engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered as the first practical automobile. He received a patent for the motorcar on 29^th January, 1886.

Karl Benz showed his real genius, however, through his successive inventions registered while designing what would become the production standard for his two-stroke engine. Benz soon patented the speed regulation system, the ignition using spark with battery, the spark plug, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift and the water radiator.

Automobile or commonly known as car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transportation and is one of the finest engineering discoveries. Car came into global use during the 20^th century. 

1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, was one of the first car that were accessible to the masses. Over the time, car have become super advance and still new designs for the future is coming into use but the principle remains the same. The word “Automobile” is a classical compound derived from the Ancient Greek word “autos” meaning self and “mobilis”, meaning movable.

This is a list with their short description of automotive parts mostly for vehicles using Internal Combustion Engines:

1.      Car body and main parts

·         Bonnet/hood

·         Bumper

·         Cowl screen

·         Radiator core support

·         Roof rack

·         Rims

·         Doors and windows

2.      Electrical and electronis

·         Audio/video devices

·         Cameras

·         Electrical supply system

·         Gauges and meters

·         Ignition electronic system

·         Lighting and signaling system

·         Sensors

·         Starting system

·         Electrical switches

·         Wiring harnesses

·         Engine computer and management system

·         Navigation system / GPS navigation device

·         Speedometer

·         Transmission computer

3.      Power train and Chassis

·         Braking system

Ø  Brake disc

Ø  Brake fluid

Ø  Brake pad

Ø  Caliper

Ø  Brake warning light

Ø  Hydraulic booster unit

Ø  Master cylinder

·         Engine components

Ø  Air intake manifold

Ø  Camshaft

Ø  Connecting rod

Ø  Crank case

Ø  Crank pulley

Ø  Crankshaft

Ø  Cylinder head

Ø  Distributor

Ø  Drive belt

Ø  Engine block

Ø  Engine shake damper and vibration absorber

Ø  Engine valve

Ø  Mounting

Ø  Piston

Ø  Rocker arm

Ø  Starter motor

Ø  Turbocharger and supercharger

Ø  Timing tape

·         Engine cooling system

Ø  Cooling fan

Ø  Radiator

Ø  Water pipe

Ø  Water pump

·         Exhaust system

Ø  Catalytic converter

Ø  Exhaust gasket

Ø  Exhaust manifold

Ø  Exhaust pipe

Ø  Heat shield

Ø  Resonator

Ø  Muffler

Ø  Spacer ring

·         Fuel supply system

Ø  Air filter

Ø  Carburetor

Ø  Choke cable

Ø  EGR valve

Ø  Fuel cap and fuel cell

Ø  Fuel injector

Ø  Fuel pressure regulator

Ø  Intake manifold

Ø  Throttle body

·         Suspension and steering system

·         Axle

·         Camber arm

·         Control arm

·         Power steering assembly and components

·         Shock absorber

·         Stabilizer bars and link

·         Steering arm

·         Steering wheel

·         Tie rod

·         Trailing arm

Ø  Transmission system

·         Axle shaft

·         Universal joint

·         Carrier assembly

·         Chain wheel and sprocket

·         Clutch assembly

·         Clutch lever

·         Differential

·         Flywheel

·         Gear

·         Gearbox

·         Output shaft

·         Speedometer gear

·         Torque converter

·         Transmission gear

A short description that will help you to understand better about car parts is given below:

Engine:

Engine is a metal box under the bonnet in human biology terms is the heart of the car and is made up of with several smaller parts all working together to produce motion which make the car move and function. A mixture of air and fuel is fed into the engine with the help of carburetor or EFI into the engine cylinders where mixture is burnt with spark produced by spark plug, causing rapid expansion of the gases in the form of heat. This causes piston to reciprocate and reciprocating motion of piston is converted into rotary by crankshaft and car moves.

Alternator:

Major function of alternator is to run car electrics. It turns the rotating movement of the drive belt into electricity. It does this by turning a magnet inside a coil of wire producing a voltage to charge the car’s battery. This allows the battery to power for the cars electrical components like; headlights, brake lights, internal electrics and more.

Radiator:

Driving for long period of time, car’s engine can get very hot from all the moving parts within it, the radiator is located at the front of the car allowing fresh air to run over and through the radiators fins to help absorb the coolants excess heat to ensure car doesn’t over heat and reduces chances of malfunction. Coolant is pumped through the radiator and through chambers in the engine block by the engines water supply system.

Suspension:

The job of suspension is to maximize the friction between tires and the road surface, to provide steering stability with good handling and to ensure the comfort of the passengers. If road were perfectly flat, there will be no need of suspension but in reality it is far from flat. A car’s suspension, with its various components, provides a smooth handling over vehicle and smooth ride for passengers.

Ignition:

An ignition system generates a spark to ignite a air-fuel mixture into cylinder in spark ignition internal combustion engines. However in other engines like diesel engine, ignition takes place with extreme pressure and heat generated due to higher compression ratio.

Muffler:

The function of a Muffler or a silencer in vehicle is to cool the exhaust gases by expansion through it and to reduce the noises of outgoing gases. The outgoing gases must be discharged into the atmosphere with minimum restriction. Muffler design have internal baffles which restrict the flow of gases and causes back pressure. It reduces noise effectively with more risk in back pressure.

Braking system:

Brakes serves a fundamental function of slowing down and stopping the car. Braking systems have evolved greatly over years, the most common types of brakes used today are drum and disk brakes. Drum brakes are simple and cheap whereas disc brakes are complex expensive yet more powerful. The rotating wheels in vehicle are equipped with brake pads. When brake is applied the pads act on the wheels and decreases the speed of rotation thereby decreasing the speed of the vehicle.

Transmission:

A transmission allows the gear ratio between engine and the drive wheels to be changed. This is important and necessary because an engine produces its power over only narrow range of speeds. Having only one gear in transmission will results in a limited top speed or very poor performance at low speed.