Knowledge about the inner workings of the cars we drive on a daily basis it not typically high on our list of priorities. Of course, while it is not mandatory to know about the nuts and bolts of your car, a little knowledge can help you avoid some future expenses for repairs, maintenance and fuel costs. With an eye towards building that knowledge, let’s take a look at how a car’s fuel delivery system works.We are going to move through the fuel delivery system of the car beginning with the fuel tank. Fuel starts at the pump hose where you purchase it and enters the tank where it remains until called into use to be sent to the engine. Fuel tanks vary in size with the type of vehicle but they all function identically. The fuel pump which is a vital part of the fuel system is located int he gas tank. This device looks like a pole stuck to a platform, and the platform is a fuel filter. The importance of the pump is evident by the job it performs of pulling the fuel up through the filter and into the tube which leads to the line that sends the gasoline to the engine. When the gasoline comes through the fuel line into the engine, it runs through another fuel filter. These filters are removing harmful debris and particles that will cause your engine to run less efficiently. The more filters in your system, the better your engine will run. After this second filter, the gasoline is pushed through a fuel rail, across the top of the engine, and down into the fuel injectors. The injectors spray it into the combustion chamber where the real action is. The above references the internal combustion engine which has remained nearly the same for the past 40 years. This is one area of the vehicle that was done correctly the first time. While the filters have been improved and the fuel flow has been altered to allow a computer to increase the overall efficiency, it has generally not changed. Now that you understand more about the fuel delivery system of your vehicle, why not learn more about your vehicle – like how tire pressure effects driving or how the various systems in the car are connected?
