replacing iron block with aluminium?

[aspetuck]

An engine like a 2jz is way over engineered but heavy as it has an iron block. Could you cast a 2jz block, for instance, In aluminium?

[Lycoming]

You could.

Whether or not the resulting block is of any use to anybody is another story. You can't just take something, keep the same geometry but just swap it to a different material and expect it to just work. That's a very fundamental lack of understanding of material properties.

[Kai]

2jz Billet engine!

http://www.mazworx.com/content/products/16082/main.jpg

[Robbobnob]

To be honest a simple prey and cast would be quite risky.

Dont forget that a block is dealing with many varying loads.
- Radial loading on the bearing sleeves
- Hoop stress in the piston bores due to combustion pressure
- Reactionary torque from the engine mountings
- Thermal Expansion and contraction
Just to name a few!

All these effect the unit as a whole. Therefore by changing the material, the physical properties will all change.

Basically requiring re engineering of almost all components.

[Tommy Cookers]

To be honest a simple prey and cast would be quite risky.
Dont forget that a block is dealing with many varying loads.
- Radial loading on the bearing sleeves
- Hoop stress in the piston bores due to combustion pressure
- Reactionary torque from the engine mountings
- Thermal Expansion and contraction

50 years ago Ford USA recast its 260 in alloy to win the Indy 500 (the pushrod motor before the same block was used with DOHC)
they did a 390 big block in alloy for/in the Cobra in the early days (but SCCA homologation issues arose at that time)
so they seemed quite confident
Jaguar did the same to its later race XK engines
and those drag Hemis ?

today thin castings are universal, but they are no thinner than the best 50+ years ago (Detroit)
no doubt some looked at the stress in the block around the main bearings and maybe made some changes (for recasting in alloy)
with fea this should be easy to check
crank end float will need changing due to greater expansion/contraction, this might benefit the joint integrity with the head
hoop stress in bores ?
FWIW I'd assume that this a wet liner engine (but don't know)
unless wet-linering is a mod for extra capacity
surely a billet block like the mazworx would be wet-linered ?

[marcush.]

Jesus Christ...you have unlimited recources?
I hope you have a wel seasoned modelmaker at hand to do the molds and cores.Yes of course there is Rapid Prototyping These days ...that Italien Company does it..
http://www.crpmeccanica.eu/rapid-casting/

if it is feasible to do a complete engine block with that Technology ? I don´t know .But if you Need to do the traditional way of building a wooden model to cast a block ...you will see a LOT of hours spent doing so...I have not done something like this in decades but you ´d be easily stack up 300+hours in a Project like this ...you ned someone who knows alumium foundry (different draw angle vs Grey cast,different shrink Ratio as well...)And this gets more involved with different Aluminium alloys...I´d say for a one of : avoid.