Cylinder Block and Cylinder Head
The cylinder block for the C3.3 engine has three cylinders which are arranged in-line.
The cylinder block for the C3.3 engine has four main bearings which support the crankshaft. Thrust washers on both sides of the number three main bearing control the end play of the crankshaft.
A cylinder head gasket is used between the engine block and the cylinder head in order to seal combustion gases, water, and oil.
The engine has a cast iron cylinder head. The inlet manifold is integral within the cylinder head. An inlet valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder are controlled by a pushrod valve system. The ports for the inlet valves are on the left side of the cylinder head. The ports for the exhaust valves are on the right side of the cylinder head.
Pistons, Rings, and Connecting Rods
The pistons have a combustion chamber in the top of the piston in order to provide an efficient mix of fuel and air. The piston pin is off-center in order to reduce the noise level.
The pistons have two compression rings and an oil control ring. The groove for the top ring has a hard metal insert in order to reduce wear of the groove. The skirt has a layer of graphite in order to reduce wear.
The correct piston height is important in order to ensure that the piston does not contact the cylinder head. The correct piston height also ensures the efficient combustion of fuel which is necessary in order to conform to requirements for emissions.
Engines are equipped with connecting rods that have bearing caps that are fracture split. The bearing caps on fracture split connecting rods are retained with torx screws. Connecting rods with bearing caps that are fracture split have the following characteristics:
- Higher integrity for the rod
- The splitting produces an accurately matched surface on each side for improved strength.
- Modern design
The connecting rod is matched to each cylinder. The piston height is controlled by the length of the connecting rod. Six different lengths of connecting rods are available in order to attain the correct piston height.
The crankshaft changes the linear energy of the pistons and connecting rods into rotary torque in order to power external equipment.
A gear at the front of the crankshaft drives the timing gears. The crankshaft gear turns the idler gear which then turns the following gears:
- Camshaft gear
- Fuel injection pump
- Lower idler gear which turns the gear of the lubricating oil pump
The engine has a single camshaft. The camshaft is driven by an idler gear in the front housing. The camshaft uses only one bearing on the front journal. The other journals rotate in the bore of the cylinder block. The front bearing and the camshaft bores in the cylinder block support the camshaft. As the camshaft turns, the camshaft lobes move the valve system components. The valve system components move the inlet and exhaust valves in each cylinder. The camshaft gear must be timed to the crankshaft gear. The relationship between the lobes and the camshaft gear causes the valves in each cylinder to be opened and closed at the correct time.