Engine oil

[Christoffer]

Where exactly does the oil go in the engine? Are only the valves and main bearing lubricated or does the oil go up into the cylinders on the underside of the piston as well?

Many thanks!

[wizzbilly]

all depends on car i would imagine but most cars have oil squirter's in the bottom of the block that spray oil up into engine

[Snake the Sniper]

Depending upon the engine there may be some or all of the following:
Main bearings, big end bearings, cam bearings, cam rockers/finger followers/tappets/pushrods/whatever the engine has to operate the valves, the valve stems, alternator, starter (more on bikes for those two to be honest), under piston cooling jets, cam timing switching gear (VTec and so on), cam chain(s), gear box if bike or old mini, clutch if bike. There's probably some I've forgotten about too.

[Christoffer]

Great thanks guys!

So no general "must be oiled" areas? Where would a sporty-type engine be oiled? ( e.g. Porsche 997S or Audi S4)

[Snake the Sniper]

Christoffer said:

Great thanks guys!

So no general "must be oiled" areas? Where would a sporty-type engine be oiled? ( e.g. Porsche 997S or Audi S4)

Most of the places I mentioned are "must be oiled" areas! All the bearing surfaces MUST be oiled all the time, or bearing failure will only be a small distance away.

[Christoffer]

Alright. How are old engines oiled on the piston underside? Just by the oil splashing around in there? I would not assume they have injectors in old cars for this ?

[bertelli_1]

Correct, older engines were just lubed & cooled by oil splash. Some had 'paddles' on the crankshaft (still seen on some bike engines)which would scoop up oil & throw it towards the piston.

[Christoffer]

Hehe nice Thanks!

[stevieturbo]

Most engines do not have oil squirters. But the crank does an ok job of throwing oil about everywhere, as it does spin rather fast.

[That Daddy]

Fords con rods X Flow,Essex etc had tiny holes on the conrods(just to the side of the beam)that fired oil up the bores(thrust side)it got its supply from the conrod bearings,both upper and lower shells had holes in them generally as StevieTurbo said most regular engines rely on oil bleeding out of the sides of the crank bearings for lubrication of the bores.