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.

This demonstrator piece comes complete with engine internals, lights for spark plugs, an oil pump, a timing chain, and even real oil. Internal combustion engines are complex pieces of machinery, and ...

Do you know what a timing belt or a timing chain is and what they do? Could you find them on your vehicle's engine if you had to? If you answered no, don't sweat it. Both are buried behind a lot of ...