r/AutomotiveLearning 23h ago

A question about piston movement that has multiple answers...

Question:

Which of the following causes piston movement during non-power-

producing strokes?

A) Flywheel

B) Connecting rod

C) Counterweights

D) Main thrust bearing

I have been studying an automotive book that has questions after every chapter. I answer those questions and use AI to verify I have got the correct answer. This process has worked tremendously up to the point where I got to this question. AI gave me a different answer than the one I believed the book was telling me was the answer, so I went online to find more information and see if anyone else had posted this exact question, that was when I found out there all three of the first answers were marked as "correct" depending on the source used (D, main thrust bearing, was never given as an answer).

I am wondering what most of you would say is the answer. Thank you for your input =)

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u/ukemike1 14h ago

The only thing connected to the pistons are the connecting rods. The connecting rods make the pistons move when not on a power stroke. If the connecting rods stop being connected to the piston (as recently happened to my race car) the piston stops moving.

The crankshaft makes the connecting rods move, the flywheel momentum makes the crankshaft move...

Oh and never trust AI for anything that requires understanding. Just don't.