Car parts
 

Can anyone point me to somewhere where I can learn the basic principles of what goes on with various parts under the hood?

For instance, I know that my computer consists of a motherboard, CPU, videocard, power supply, etc. I know what each part does and how it all relates to eachother.

I'd love to learn the same about cars. As yet I know some stuff about the engine and how combustion works, but that's about it. And I doubt a modern car consists of just an engine a couple of shafts and 2 sets of wheels.

Re: Car parts
 

www.howstuffworks.com

This has a lot of the basics.

Here is a good one for general engine knowledge of what really goes on to make the car move. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm

This one is pretty good for a quick introduction to the other systems under the hood of your car, and how they work : http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine4.htm


Learn to love HowStuffWorks. It is an awesome site, especially for those of us who just cant live without knowing what's actually hapenning.

You could probably even try the tilted motors area. People around here are so helpful I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble finding out what you want to know.

A quick search of your fav. search-engine will yield good results.

I have found this site: http://www.techguys.ca to be a good resource for learning how to do stuff ...

Aside from that, maybe buy a good book too ??

You probably don't even have to buy it. Most people forget that there is a free library really close to their house.

Good point - however, how likely is it that the library will have a service manual? I found the service manuals to be invaluable for learning ... just takes an honest desire to learn.

I remember I spent about ten bucks on a service manual for my car and it had everything including the torque specifications for every bolt. Detailed explanations and instructions on absolutely anything that you would want to do. It even had the things that you don't want to touch like wiring diagrams.

My public library has the service manual for most cars, the Chilton manual for every car since 1950, and most Haynes books.