Cylinder Head Assembly: Description and Operation

Cylinder head, camshaft bearing housing
The entire engine is manufactured in aluminum. The engine block is divided up into five sections. The cylinder head consists of two sections and the cylinder block of three sections. The seal between the cylinder head and cylinder block is a conventional cylinder head gasket. The seal between the other gasket faces is a liquid gasket.

There is a cover over the sparkplug wells for protection against dirt and water. The two camshafts are carried on six bearing caps each in the two halves of the cylinder head. The upper half is a combined valve and camshaft cover. It has cast oil ducts on the underneath which ensure good oil supply to the camshafts and the mechanical valve lifters. The lower half contains the maintenance-free mechanical valve lifters, the valve springs and valves.

The compact "pent roof" design of the combustion chamber and the V shaped arrangement of the valves optimize injection and evacuation via the intake passage and combustion chamber (crossflow) and the exhaust passage. The swirl surfaces of the combustion chamber and the centrally positioned spark plug ensures optimal combustion, low sensitivity to knocking and low, stable exhaust emissions. The engine, which is pendulum mounted, consists of an engine bracket which is secured to the side member.

The cylinder head is "gravity" cast, which is a slower process than for die casting. This is so that the exhaust and intake passages and the coolant and oil mantle are integrated during construction.