vexumy

I have a 1996 Jeep Cherokee Country and was wondering what the engine is pretty much made out of. I know it could be different for different parts of the engine, but lets just go with the engine. Is it cast iron, steel, or what is it. I am really curious to see what typically the engine is made out of. Anyone know?

dave1123

It's a specific blend of nodular cast iron, made to be flexible and absorb shock. It is about 3 times as strong as grey iron used in older engines. It's very unusual to find a block today that's cracked unless it froze. Cylinder heads are another story. Because of the strength of today's iron, they tend to make them thinner than they used to, resulting in cracks sometimes. Take for instance the infamous 0331 head from the 99-01 4.0. By making the valve passages larger, they built in weak spots in the casting. They cured this by adding more nickel to the metal.

Metallurgy is an interesting science. The US is the world's leader in specialty metals and some blends are proprietary. The problem is the main sources of special additives are from third world countries that sometimes hold us for ransom to get them. The worlds major source of chromium, important in the production of high quality steels, is South Africa and India. Manganese is another one from South Africa, but also from Australia. This is why we have our nose stuck in places we don't seem to have a need to. Central America is a source of other trace elements we need.

jeep58

Very Interesting!

dave1123

I was a toolmaker most of my working life and I had to know the properties of the metals I was using and how to heat-treat them. Even choosing the proper metals for use on the job.

vexumy

This is crazy so much work and it's so interesting to know how it works. Thanks for the reply.