Im a student at university and as part of a group project im part of i need to write an informal report on the Lubrication of diesel engines. Iv searched the internet high & low but havnt found much in the way of detailed infomation. Speaking to our lecturer he suggested using some of the car clubs & forums online and trying to find some of the infomation from owners who may have serviced or rebuilt their engines.

Like i said above, the report is based on the lubrication of diesels engines, going into detail about what parts need lubrication, whether it is under high pressure or low pressure, and generally the gist of how the oil flows.

Any details, links or general infomation would be much appriciated.

Many thanks guys

 

Diesel engines lubricate in many different ways. Manufacturers seem to invent their very own methods of lubrication when they introduce a new engine onto the market. Also, diesel engines are available in 2 cycle and 4 cycle models, and each has it's own method of lubricating. Some engines utilize a simple paddle on the crankshaft side of the con-rod that splashes oil from the sump into the cylinder with each rotation. Others use ports machined in the con-rod and piston that inject pressurized oil into the cylinder.

The diesel fuel itself lubricates the fuel pump and the injectors and in some models the fuel is used to cool and lubricate the cylinder walls above the piston (since the rings have wiped all the oil out of the cylinder). The fuel injectors on Ford Powerstroke engines are hydraulically actived. An oil pump (separate from the lubricating pump in the sump) draws engine oil from the sump and stores it in a smaller reservoir before pressurizing it to 3000 PSI (if I remember correctly) and delivering the oil to the injectors. In MOST cases, lubricating oil is considered low pressure (every engine model has its own pressure). And it is USUALLY lower pressure than the cooling system. For extra credit, do you know why?

What year are you? If you are a mechanical engineer major, I would highly recommend finding a good mechanic in your area and doing an internship in that shop. Nothing worse than an engineer except one that doesn't know anything about what he is designing. that's a little joke. You could literally write a thesis on diesel engine lubricating principals and theory. The easiest way to do this would be to pick one engine and research the hell out of it. Get any tech pubs, bulletins and manuals you can get your hands on and trace the lubricating schematics until you can draw them from memory. Trying to cover several methods in one paper is going to be a challenge. Good luck.