Last month's "How It Works" story gave you the basics of the four-stroke cycle, describing the motion of the intake and exhaust valves in relation to the piston moving up and down in the cylinder.

The job of a camshaft is to open and close the valves at the proper time to fill the cylinders before combustion and vacate them afterward. That sounds simple, but how this job is accomplished greatly ...

A camshaft uses egg-shaped “cams” to open and close engine valves (one cam per valve), while a crankshaft converts “cranks” (the up/down motion of the pistons) to rotational motion. Located in the ...