Logo | Martino's Auto Center
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Loading ...

Missing business hours data / Error occurred while getting the data.

Engine Diagnostics

Engine Repair & Diagnostics in Doylestown, PA

Serving Doylestown Since 1975

What’s the most important piece of machinery under the hood? Survey says: The engine. We’ll deconstruct an engine and go over all of its parts, common issues, how they come up and how they can be resolved and finally how you might improve performance.


The engine’s key purpose is to convert fuel–gasoline and diesel–to energy by a process of internal combustion. Gas and air enters, is ignited and energy is released as an explosion. This energy is then harnessed by a series of movements, or strokes.

Engine Repair & Diagnostics in Doylestown, PA - Martino's Auto Center

The following is a general but not exhaustive list of common internal combustion engine types. They all have at least four cylinders. The arrangement of these cylinders determines their name, specific advantages and disadvantages, their cost and performance.

THE 4-STROKE ENGINE

The 4 stroke is the most common engine we service at Martino’s Auto Center in Doylestown, PA. This type of engine functions by drawing gas into a chamber, compressing it, effectively combusting it, then pushing it out the exhaust valve.

Stroke 1 – This occurs as the crankshaft, connected by a rod bearing to the connecting rod, pulls down to intake fuel and air into the chamber (cylinder) from the intake valve.

Stroke 2 – The crankshaft then rotates clockwise lifting the piston and compressing the fuel against the spark plug.

Stroke 3 – This creates an explosion, pushing the crankshaft back down into an oil sump.

Stroke 4 – In the final stroke, the exhaust valve then opens and exhaust is released.

The cycle then begins again–occurring hundreds of times per minute!


DIESEL ENGINE REPAIR IN DOYLESTOWN, PA.

The internal combustion process occurs much the same way in diesel engines as it does in 4-strokes, except that the fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber, bypassing “stroke 2” and by a process of direct injection the fuel enters the combustion chamber. Replacing the spark plug, the heat produced by the compressed air ignites the fuel in the diesel engine.

Diesel engines actually get better mileage than gasoline cars and can easily be adapted to accommodate biofuels. Because of the high energy density, diesel fuels tend to be more expensive.


HEMI ENGINE REPAIR

After the advent of the diesel engine, Jaguar introduced the HEMI engine as a way of reducing heat loss and maximizing the energy made available from combustion, thereby increasing horsepower.

HEMI is a shortening of the word “hemispherical”, because the head of the combustion area is in that shape. This is where the spark plug resides, sitting above the intake and exhaust valves.


INLINE 4 IN DOYLESTOWN, PA.

As previously mentioned, the arrangement and number of a vehicle’s cylinders will affect performance. The inline 4 is the most popular arrangement in small to midsize cars that have less room to fit a large engine while still satisfying demands for increased power and performance.


V6 ENGINE REPAIR

The inline 6 or V6, is much longer than it’s little brother and is not well-suited for modern engine compartments. The benefit of a V6, while being larger, is still compact. It’s also less likely to be disturbed by vibrations from the driveshaft.

Share by: