[N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]

[Ea] [Eb] [Ec] [Ef] [Ei] [El] [Em] [En] [Ep] [Er] [Es] [Et] [Ev] [Ex]

EAMA: Acronym for "Egyptian Automobile Manufacturers Association."

earth: British term for ground.

earthmover: See A-2 tire.

earth wire: British term for ground wire.

ease up on the accelerator: The action of releasing the accelerator partially or completely in order to reduce the amount of fuel entering the engine and thus slow down the speed of the vehicle. Opposite of depress the accelerator or step on the accelerator.

ease up on the gas pedal: The action of releasing the gas pedal partially or completely in order to reduce the amount of fuel entering the engine and thus slow down the speed of the vehicle. Opposite of depress the gas pedal or step on the gas pedal..

ease up on the throttle: The action of releasing the twist-grip or throttle lever partially or completely in order to reduce the amount of fuel entering the engine and thus slow down the speed of the vehicle. Opposite of engaging the throttle or cranking on the throttle..

ease up on the throttle pedal: The action of releasing the throttle pedal partially or completely in order to reduce the amount of fuel entering the engine and thus slow down the speed of the vehicle. Opposite of depress the throttle pedal or step on the throttle pedal..

easy out: A brand name for a screw extractor.

easy-out: A brand name for a screw extractor.

e box: Any electronic box including capacitive discharge ignition and computer controlled devices.

e-box: Any electronic box including capacitive discharge ignition and computer controlled devices.

eccentric: Two circles, one within the other, neither sharing the same center. A protrusion on a shaft that rubs against or is connected to another part, such as a cam on a camshaft. Sometimes called "off center."

eccentric bolt: A bolt with centers of head and body on different axis so that one is off-center in relation to the other.

ECM: Acronym for "Electronic Control Module" which is the master computer responsible for interpreting electrical signals sent by engine sensors and for activating automated engine components and processes accordingly in order to produce optimum performance.

economizer valve: A fuel flow control device within the carburetor.

economy: The ratio between a product or service and its value. See fuel economy.

effective pressure: See mean effective pressure.

efficiency: The accomplishment of something with the least amount of effort. See fuel efficiency, mechanical efficiency, thermal efficiency, and volumetric efficiency.

effort: The force which is doing work on an object.

EGR: Acronym for "Exhaust-gas recirculation."

EIA: Acronym for "Electronics Industries Association."

8 trk: Abbreviation for "eight-track" tape player found in many '60s and some '70s cars.

8-trk: Abbreviation for "eight-track" tape player found in many '60s and some '70s cars.

eight track: See eight-track.

eight-track: An 8-track tape player found in many '60s and some '70s cars.

elapsed time: (ET) The length of time it takes a dragster to complete the one-fourth mile run.

elastomer: A term which includes natural rubber and the many synthetic materials that possess rubber-like properties.

eldorado: See Cadillac Eldorado and also see the history of Cadillac Eldorado.

electrical system: The system that generates, stores, and distributes electrical current to crank the engine for starting and to keep it running by providing high voltage to the spark plugs; and to give power to the lights, the heater motor, radio, and other accessories. It is made up of the ignition system, starter motor, battery, alternator, voltage regulator, lights, electrical accessories, and all the wiring, switches, and relays.

electric vehicle: Cars, buses, vans or trucks which use dedicated or hybrid electric systems as their power source.

electrochemical: Chemical (battery) production of electricity.

electrode: [1] In a spark plug, one electrode (the center electrode) is the center rod passing through the insulator. The side electrode is a rod welded to the shell of the spark plug. The distance between them is the spark gap. [2] In welding it is the metal rod that is used in arc welding.

electrolyte: In automotive batteries, it is a sulphuric acid and water solution. It can be any solution (usually an acid) that will conduct electric current. The acid reacts with the battery plates (usually made of lead) to produce direct current (DC) electricity.

electromagnet: A magnet produced by placing a coil of wire around a steel or iron bar. When current flows through the coil, the bar becomes magnetized and will remain so as long as the current continues to flow.

electromagnetic: Magnetic (generator) production of electricity.

electromotive force: (EMF) See voltage.

electron: A negatively charged particle that makes up part of the atom. Also see bound electrons and free electrons.

electronic control module: (ECM) The master computer responsible for interpreting electrical signals sent by engine sensors and for activating automated engine components and processes accordingly in order to produce optimum performance.

electronic ignition: See electronic ignition system.

electronic ignition system: An ignition system using electronic switching devices to assist or eliminate the mechanical breaker points. There are three basic electronic ignitions: contact controlled (the breaker points are retained but merely serve to trigger a transistor which switches the heavy primary current), magnetically controlled (transistors are used as the switching device for the primary current and the points are eliminated -- also called "contactless" or "all-electronic"), and capacitor controlled (also called "capacitive-discharge system" and can be either all-electronic or breaker-point controlled).

electronic sensing device: An electronic device for vehicles with fuel injection. It detects changes in speed and driving conditions and determines the amount of fuel to be injected into the combustion chamber, thus eliminating the need for carburetors.

electronic transmission: !!! Definition under construction !!!.

electroplate: The process of depositing gold, silver, chrome, nickel, etc., upon an object by placing the object in a special solution and then passing an electric current through the solution. The object forms one terminal, a special electrode the other. Direct current is used.

element: A group of plates in a battery. Three elements for a six volt and six elements for the twelve volt battery. The elements are connected in series.

elliot type axle: A solid bar front axle on which the ends span or straddle the steering knuckle.

ELV: Acronym for "End-of-Life Vehicles."

emergency brake: A braking system which is independent of the main hydraulic system. It can be used to slow or stop the vehicle if the primary brakes fail, or to hold the vehicle stationary though the brake pedal is not depressed. It usually consists of a foot pedal or hand lever that actuates either front or rear brakes mechanically through a series of cables and linkages. It is also called the "parking brake."

EMF: Acronym for "electromotive force" See voltage.

emission control: A system for restricting the amount of noxious emissions. See exhaust emission control.

emission controls: See exhaust emission control.

emissions: See exhaust emissions.

employment: total employment in each manufacturing facility, including total manufacturing employees, total support staff, and total engineering/R&D staff. Average number of workers employed by an establishment during the year. Production workers relate to the average number actually engaged in the manufacturing process. Administrative and non-manufacturing includes employees at head offices and sales offices.

employee benefits: the provision of direct (salary, bonuses, etc.) indirect (vacation leave, medical and dental plans, etc.) and deferred employee compensation (pensions, etc.).

enamel: Type of paint that dries to a smooth, glossy finish.

eN block: See EN-block.

eN-block: One piece -- such as an engine cylinder block cast in one piece.

end dump: A term used to describe various dump trucks or trailers that tilt to unload at the rear.

end form: Any type of connector at the end of a hose or pipe.

end gap: See piston ring end gap.

end gas: The last part of the fuel-air mixture that has been introduced into the cylinder, but has not yet been consumed in the normal flame-front reaction.

end gear: See axle end gears.

end gears: See axle end gears.

energy: Capacity for doing work. See kinetic energy.

energy absorbing steering column: A steering column which collapses when the vehicle is involved in an accident.

energy Protection Agency: See EPA estimates.

energy absorbing bumper: See bumper system.

energy-absorbing bumper: See bumper system.

energy retarder: See engine brake.

engaging the throttle: The action of causing the throttle linkage to move so that more fuel enters the engine to increase the speed of the vehicle.

engine: A device for changing fuel energy to mechanical energy. The term applies to the primary source of power generation. Also see engine types.

engine adapter: A unit that allows a different engine to be installed in a vehicle and still bolt up to the original transmission.

engine block: See cylinder block.

engine brake: (Energy Retarder or jake brake) A system that allows for slowing of a vehicle that is independent of the conventional braking systems. A driver would normally down-shift to slow his descent of a hill, using engine compression. The engine brake increases the effectiveness of this regarding force.

engine control system: See engine-control system.

engine-control system: A computer that regulates the operation of the engine by monitoring certain engine characteristics (rpm, coolant temperature, intake airflow, etc.) through a network of sensors and then controlling key variables (fuel metering, spark timing, EGR, etc.) according to pre-programmed schedules.

engine cover: The panel which conceals the engine in a mid-engine car. Also called "access panel." Also see hood.

engine displacement: To determine, multiply the volume of the space through which the head of the piston moves in the full length of its stroke by the number of cylinders in the engine. The result is given in cubic inches.

engine flywheel: A spinning plate located at the end of the crankshaft. See flywheel.

engine oil pan: See oil pan.

engine sequence test: The test which determines how well oil will prevent engine rusting, corrosion, scuffing, wear, and the formation of sludge and varnish.

engine speed: The number of revolutions per minute (rpm) at which the engine crankshaft turns. The vehicle itself may be stationary or in motion.

engine type: Over the years of engine development, several types or configurations have been made. All of them relate to the position of the valves and the camshaft (s) that operates them.

air cooled engine -- An engine which is not cooled by antifreeze but by passing air past external fins.

diesel engine -- An engine with high compression that pressurizes the diesel oil fuel and fires the charge through compression not by a spark plug.

DOHC -- double overhead camshafts

F-head -- Side exhaust valve and overhead intake valve.

flat engine

four-stroke cycle engine

hemi or hemi-head -- Engine using hemispherical-shaped (half of a globe or sphere) combustion chambers.

horizontally opposed engine

hydrocarbon engine

I-head -- Both valves located directly over the piston. Also called valve-in-head or overhead valve engine.

in-line engine

internal combustion engine

L-head -- Both valves on one side of the cylinder

oversquare engine

pancake engine

radial engine

rotary engine

slant engine

SOHC -- Single overhead camshaft.

square engine

steam engine

stirling engine

stratified charge engine

straight engine

T-head -- exhaust valve on one side and inlet valve on the other side of the cylinder and found on twin-camshaft engines.

traction engine

transverse engine

turbine engine

two-stoke cycle engine

undersquare engine

V-type -- Two sets of cylinders set apart in a V-formation like a V-8 or V-6

valve-in-head engine --

wankel engine

X-type

enrichner: A fuel plunger which is used in a carburetor in place of a choke. By activating the plunger more gas is permitted into the intake area to enrichen the fuel-air mixture for easier starting. Also see choke.

envelope: A thin rubber wrapper that surrounds the tread, sidewall and is tucked inside the curing rim during the pre-cured cold process retreading. It protects bonding materials from humidity within the chamber.

EPA: Acronym for "Energy Protection Agency." See EPA fuel economy.

ePA estimate: An American organization (Energy Protection Agency) which determines the fuel consumption of various vehicles. It takes into account city and highway driving. These figures may be helpful in comparing one vehicle against another. Your vehicle can greatly exceed these estimates with sensible driving, the use of cruise control, obeying the speed limits, avoiding rapid starts, coasting long before a stop light or sign. Also see EPA fuel economy.

ePA estimates: An American organization (Energy Protection Agency) which determines the fuel consumption of various vehicles. It takes into account city and highway driving. These figures may be helpful in comparing one vehicle against another. Your vehicle can greatly exceed these estimates with sensible driving, the use of cruise control, obeying the speed limits, avoiding rapid starts, coasting long before a stop light or sign. Also see EPA fuel economy.

ePA fuel economy: Laboratory fuel economy tests administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) using simulated weight and drag to re-create real driving conditions. The city fuel-economy test, also used to test emissions compliance, is based on a drive through typical Los Angeles urban traffic of about twenty years ago. Such conditions in LA are no longer present. The highway test uses a higher, steadier speed, averaging 79.5 kph (49.4 mph).

epicyclic: See epicyclic gearbox.

epicyclic gearbox: A form of gear used by Benz in which small pinions revolve around a central or sun gear and mesh with an outer ring gear called the annulus. Type used in the Ford Model T. Also called planetary gearset and sun-and-planet gears.

epitrochoid: A geometric path followed by a specific point located in a generating circle which is rolled around the periphery of a base circle.

eP lubricant: See extreme pressure lubricant.

ergonomics: [lit: The law of work] Technically, it means the biotechnology study of how human beings relate to their surroundings and how efficiently they perform in that environment. However, the meaning has also come to be used in a qualitative sense so that a vehicle has good or bad ergonomics meaning that the controls, switches, instruments, seats, pedals, and steering wheel suit the human driver.

establishment: smallest operating entity producing a homogenous set of goods and services and is capable of reporting full range of production account variables to calculate "value added."

estimate: See estimates.

estimates: A guess on the part of a service department with respect to the nature of a vehicle's problem and cost of repairing it. Although most shops will stand by their estimate, there is also the situation where the problem is caused by something which will be more expensive to repair or may be less expensive. In the case where other components are also faulty (but the estimate did not include them), the shop may contact the customer with a revised estimate saying, "We can repair what we thought was the faulty part, but we found another defective part which also contributed to the problem once we took things apart. Now the cost will be more. Do you want us to go ahead and repair that component, too?" In the case where a lesser solution repaired the problem, good shops will give you a bill that is much less than the estimate with an explanation like, "We thought we had to replace the expensive control box, but we found that one of its plugs had come loose." Also see EPA estimates.

ET: Acronym for "elapsed time." The length of time it takes a dragster to complete the one-fourth mile run.

ETA: Acronym for "expected time of arrival."

ethyl gasoline: gasoline to which ethyl fluid (tetraethyl lead, ethylene dibromide, ethylene dichloride, or another octane improver) has been added to improve the gasoline's resistance to knocking. It slows down the burning rate thereby creating a smooth pressure curve that will allow the gasoline to be used in high compression engines. It is a generic term describing premium or high-octane fuel. It was first sold in 1924.

ethylene glycol: A chemical solution added to the cooling system to protect against freezing. See antifreeze.

ETRTO: Acronym for "European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation."

evaporation: The process of changing from a liquid to a vapor, such as boiling water to produce steam; evaporation is the opposite of condensation. Also refers to solvents in the paint escaping to the air.

evaporator: The unit in an air conditioning system used to transform refrigerant from a liquid to a gas. It is at this point that cooling takes place as heat is removed from the air.

EVT: Acronym for "Electromagnetic Valve Train."

exc: Abbreviation for "excellent," as in exc condition.

Excelsior: The 1925-1948 models with required application are classic cars.

excalibur: The 1965-69 model II Series I are milestone cars.

exchanger: See heat exchanger.

excite: To pass an electric current through a unit such as the field coils in the generator.

exciter coil: A primary coil which provides stepped up voltage to a second coil.

exhaust: The spent fuel after combustion takes place in an internal combustion engine. Sometimes it refers to the exhaust system

exhaust cutout: A Y-shaped device that is placed in the exhaust pipe ahead of the muffler. The driver may channel the exhaust through the muffler or out the other leg of the "Y" where the exhaust passes out without going through the muffler. Also see cutout.

exhaust emission controls: Systems or adjustments designed to limit noxious gases in an engine's exhaust. Such controls can be grouped into two broad categories: those designed to reduce or eliminate the formation of harmful pollutants in the engine itself (e.g., retarded spark setting) and those designed to destroy or otherwise alter the pollutants after they have been formed (e.g., air injection, thermal reactors, and catalytic converters). Evaporative emission controls prevent gasoline vapors from escaping into the atmosphere from the fuel tank and carburetor, and crankcase controls recycle fumes from the crankcase through the engine.

exhaust emission: See exhaust emissions.

exhaust emissions: The unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and other noxious gases emitted when gasoline is burned in an engine.

exhaust gas analyzer: See exhaust-gas analyzer.

exhaust-gas analyzer: An instrument used to measure the exhaust gases (in parts per million, percent, grams per kilometer, or grams per mile) to determine both combustion efficiency and the amount of pollutants in the exhaust.

exhaust gas recirculation: See exhaust-gas recirculation.

exhaust-gas recirculation: (EGR) An emission control system where some of the exhaust gases are rerouted from the exhaust manifold into the combustion chamber to make sure that all fuel is burned before entering the atmosphere. The process lowers the combustion temperature and reduces the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the exhaust.

exhaust gas: See exhaust gases.

exhaust gases: The burned and unburned gases which are expelled out of the exhaust system after combustion takes place. Also see exhaust emissions.

exhaust header: Steel tubing connecting pipes between the exhaust ports and the exhaust pipe. Usually a header has been polished to allow for better flow of the exhaust. Also see exhaust manifold.

exhaust manifold: The connecting pipes between the exhaust ports of each cylinder and the exhaust pipe. Sometimes called the "exhaust header," but it is usually made of steel tubing.

exhaust pipe: Pipe connecting exhaust manifold or header to the muffler.

exhaust port: The passage in the cylinder head which connects the exhaust valve and the exhaust manifold. The exhaust gases pass through the port to the exhaust manifold or header. On two-stroke engines the exhaust port is cut into the cylinder wall because it does not have valves. Also see adjustable variable exhaust port

exhaust stroke: The fourth stroke of a four-stroke cycle where the piston moves upward from bottom dead center to top dead center and pushes the burned exhaust gases out of the cylinder.

exhaust system: The pipes, resonators, and mufflers that carry the exhaust gases from the exhaust manifold out into the atmosphere.

exhaust tuning: Cutting the exhaust pipe to a length that provides maximum efficiency.

exhaust valve: The valve through which the burned fuel charge passes on its way from the cylinder to the exhaust manifold. It is driven by the camshaft. When comparing an exhaust valve with an intake valve in the same engine, the part of the exhaust valve that seats into the head (i.e., not the stem) will have a smaller diameter than the intake valve.

expander: A ring placed under a piston ring to increase ring pressure on the cylinder walls. For instance an oil control ring may have an expander ring to assist the oil-control ring to scrape oil off the cylinder wall and provide further sealing. See piston ring expander.

expansion: An increase in size, for example: when a metal rod is heated, it increases in length and perhaps also in diameter. Expansion is the opposite of contraction. Also see piston expansion.

expansion plug: See core plugs.

expansion tank: When the engine is heated, the coolant expands to fill any available space (usually in the radiator). Before the introduction of coolant expansion tanks, the excess coolant was forced out of a vent tube and on the ground. The expansion tank collects the coolant so that when the engine cools off, the resultant vacuum sucks the coolant from the tank back into the radiator.

expansion valve: A part of an air-conditioning system, located between the condenser and the evaporator, that regulates the flow of liquid refrigerant to the vaporator. If cooling needs are low, the valve is almost closed; as additional cooling is required, the valve opens wider so that more liquid refrigerant flows to the evaporator.

explosion: A rapid disintegration of an object. See clutch explosion.

ext: Abbreviation for "exterior."

extension spring: A closed-coiled helical spring that offers resistance to a pulling force.

external combustion engine: An engine that burns its fuel outside the engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine.

extractor: A device for removing some object. See screw extractor.

extreme-pressure lubricant: (EP lubricant) A lubricant designed and compounded to withstand very heavy loads imposed on gear teeth.