Just by seeing one on the road, you might not be able to pick out a diesel truck from a gas one. However, if both trucks are next to each other and you open up the hoods, you will notice the different parts that make each truck unique. Get to know your diesel truck’s main components, so you’re informed when it comes time for diesel-specific maintenance and repairs.
Before going into the different components that make a diesel truck unique, it’s important to break down how diesel engines work. Unlike a standard gas engine—which uses spark ignition to convert fuel into mechanical power—diesel engines have a compression-ignited fuel injection system. In this system, the engine injects diesel fuel into the combustion chamber. Then, the engine pistons compress the gas to increase the temperature until the fuel ignites. This ignition powers the mechanical part of your vehicle and turns your wheels when you step on the gas pedal.
One of your diesel truck’s biggest and most important components is the fuel system. Without a comprehensive and working fuel system, your truck would sit idle and collect dust. The fuel system is how the fuel moves from the fuel tank to the engine, but there are a lot of different components at play, all working together. Most fuel systems consist of the following:
Your fuel tank stores the fuel that you get from the gas pump. Your feed pump pulls that fuel through the water separator filter and then pushes it through another filter on top of that. Next, the high-pressure pump pulls that fuel to the injector nozzle, which then injects the fuel into the engine in carefully controlled amounts. These amounts change depending on the speed and fuel requirements of your engine at that moment in time. The fuel cylinders then compress the fuel in the engine, igniting it and powering your truck.
Another important component in your diesel truck is the lubrication system. Under your hood, most of the parts you can see are metal, and after a while of these metal parts moving around and against each other, they wear down. Even internally, multiple smaller components can all age incredibly quickly, but they can last for years with the right lubrication.
Proper lubrication in your engine can reduce massive amounts of wear and tear, and it does so by applying a small film of oil between different parts. This oil reduces the amount of power the different components must exert to overcome friction. Also, the oil—instead of the other engine parts—absorbs the heat from any friction. This oil lubrication also keeps the cylinders and piston rings separate, so they can move freely instead of getting stuck and struggling with each other.
The air intake system is another important component of your diesel truck engine. Like these other systems, multiple parts of the air intake system work together to ensure the proper air is getting to your engine. Engines don’t rely on fuel alone to power the vehicle. Instead, air is also coming in, and the vehicle mixes the right ratio of oxygen and diesel fuel to create the combustion reactions that power your truck. For the right air to get to the engine, all the different air intake system parts must work together, parts such as the following:
Air from outside your truck flows through into the cylinder bore containing an air cleaner. This air cleaner is a filter that prevents dust and other particulate matter from entering your engine. After going through the filter, the turbocharger compresses the air, and the intake manifold takes this air through the inlet port and to the intake valve. From there, the air passes through the other end of the cylinder bore, and then the camshaft controls how much air goes to the engine by opening and closing valves.
In addition to air and fuel, your truck also requires some electricity to function. A standard diesel truck has an alternator, starter motor, and battery to keep things moving under the hood. When you turn on your truck, your battery powers the starter motor. This motor rotates a flywheel, which then rotates a crankshaft, pushing the pistons in your engine’s cylinders. The rotation of the crankshaft powers the engine, and in addition to pushing your truck forward, the engine also powers your alternator. The alternator converts this mechanical energy to electrical energy, powering the battery.
Because your truck burns fuel, it needs a way to get rid of the exhaust gas that comes from those combustion reactions. In a standard diesel exhaust system, the gas passes through a diesel particulate filter and on toward a catalyst reduction system. Here, the system injects diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) into the gas mixture, reducing the exhaust to nitrogen and water through a chemical conversion. This process helps to reduce the harmful emissions that were standard in diesel exhaust systems in previous years.
Lastly, another important component of your diesel truck is the cooling system. Burning so much fuel and pushing so many cylinders and pistons creates a lot of heat. Without anything to cool these components down, your truck could overheat. Thankfully, a cooling system is in place to ensure your oil and other engine components remain within the right temperature window. Too high or too low of a temperature can damage your engine’s different valves and pistons. Gas engines can use air or water cooling to keep temperatures down, but diesel engines exclusively use water cooling.
Understanding the main components of your diesel truck is important in establishing a good relationship with your truck. When you understand everything under the hood, you’ll be able to better care for your truck and know what you need to do to keep it on the road. Now, if you have some engine issues, come to us at Norcal Diesel Performance to get the right diesel truck performance parts for your truck. We are the premier diesel truck parts supplier and will get you everything you need to keep your truck running efficiently.
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