An important part of an Internal Combustion Engine. It serves the biggest role of an engine, converting Linear motion to Rotary motion. It takes the piston's up-and-down motion, pushing the connecting
rod therefore turning the crankshaft. It contains counter-weights to balance the crankshaft so to reduce noise and vibration. It is also connected to the camshaft for timing purposes via a timing
belt.
The crankshaft must turn without friction, therefore it has bearings on the
case and bearings around the connecting
rod. Oil must be supplied, in fact the crankshaft sits in the oil
pan. There must be little
play, but lateral play occurs, see Crankwalk.
On Manual Transmissions, the wheel with teeth at the end of the crankshaft is called the Flywheel. On Automatic Transmissions, it is called a Flex
Plate.