Aluminum vs. Cast Iron as tractor components in CUTS and SCUTS?

[Ortimber]

I'm still not sold on aluminium for anything above SCUTS.

Can you put as many miles on a aluminium engine block versus a cast iron one?

Engines made out of aluminum today far outlast most older , cast iron platforms. Any new car should easily go 200K miles. There was a time an engine was shot at 100K. Granted, oils and other components have gotten much better.

 

[crashz]

I'm still not sold on aluminium for anything above SCUTS.

Can you put as many miles on a aluminium engine block versus a cast iron one?

As far as I know, General Motors makes the best comparison engines in their LS family. The typical pick-up truck V8's (4.8, 5.3 and 6.0L engines) have iron blocks and aluminum heads and are well known for their longevity. The sports cars and luxury vehicles use the same family of engines, but with aluminum blocks. Both are excellent and are known for long engine life. I have no personal experience with the aluminum block engines, but I've never seen or heard of premature failures and I know that take-out junkyard engines are very hard to find and very expensive due to the LS swap craze. The aluminum block engines are highly prized.

I'm with LD on this. We cannot judge based upon "Aluminum vs Iron". Too many variables in part design, metallurgy, specific part stresses, etc.

Really interesting about the B7000. I though the aluminum tractor housing trend was fairly recent with the JD machines.

 

[Tennsawdust]

John Deere is the only one I know of doing it. Someone mentioned Kubota but every Kubota I致e seen is cast. The most obvious problem is weight or lack there of. I think there痴 too many variables to conclude which one is stronger. We know nothing about the material grades, thickness or design specs.

Some Yanmar, LS - New Holland and Iseki - Massey Fergusons use aluminum housings as well. There may be others. Some manufacturers are better able to cast aluminum than pour cast iron. Generally the cast iron manufacturing process is more labor intensive so you see it more in countries with lower labor costs.

 

[bigtiller]

Another example is trailer hitches. Weight Safe makes a 4 inch adjustable drop/rise aluminum hitch that has a 2200 lb tongue rating and 14,500 lb trailer weight rating with a 2.5 inch shaft on the truck side. And it only weighs 16 pounds with a stainless steel ball.

For a little extra money they will incorporate a weight scale into the body of the hitch so you can check the tongue weight. A 3 inch shaft will raise the trailer weight to 21,000 lbs.

Weigh Safe 18deg Hitch | Weigh Safe Inc.

A 14,500 lb rated steel hitch will weigh a lot more.

 

[WoodDuck]

I researched this topic a bit when I was tractor shopping. Seemed to vary within the model line of the same manufacturer in some cases. I ended up with a Kioti for various reasons, but the extra weight of cast iron in the rear was welcome in my application. Ended up adding Rimguard to the rear tires as well. For really heavy lifting/pushing I put my 80" Gannon box blade(1263 lbs.) on the 3 point as well. That keeps her rear-end planted to earth pretty well, and I can push brush with either end of the machine. Obviously there are many ways to add weight to a tractor if needed. Only so much you can remove to make it lighter. Now if I was running a landscaping business or the like, using my machine on other people's property, I would probably want the tractor weight as low as possible to minimize lawn/turf damage. My fat-bottom girl can flat mess a yard up if it's not pretty dry. Even just driving in straight line. As far as strength goes, I'm pretty sure I could break either one if I wanted to! I know my dealer recently had to replace a busted cast iron rear end in a new Kioti NX6010, after the new owner's son decided to use the rear box blade as a battering ram to take down a reinforced concrete retaining wall on their property. He got a high-speed run at it in reverse, and PRESTO! Broken tractor. Not a warranty issue this poor new tractor-owner, obviously he got to pay for his son's treachery in this case. Aluminum vs. iron strength is irrelevant in the hands of an ignorant/careless operator it seems!

 

[RickB]

I know my dealer recently had to replace a busted cast iron rear end in a new Kioti NX6010, after the new owner's son decided to use the rear box blade as a battering ram to take down a reinforced concrete retaining wall on their property. He got a high-speed run at it in reverse, and PRESTO! Broken tractor. Not a warranty issue this poor new tractor-owner, obviously he got to pay for his son's treachery in this case. Aluminum vs. iron strength is irrelevant in the hands of an ignorant/careless operator it seems!

Absolutely. And this type of thing happens more than you would think. Claims of design flaws and poor construction typically follow.

 

[WoodDuck]

Absolutely. And this type of thing happens more than you would think. Claims of design flaws and poor construction typically follow.

I agree Rick! Customer to dealer: "It just fell apart all by itself!" Dealer: "Hmmmmm." Lol!

 

[aczlan]

I'm still not sold on aluminium for anything above SCUTS.

Can you put as many miles on a aluminium engine block versus a cast iron one?

I have almost 200k miles on a Ford all aluminum 3.5L motor and (knock on wood) it's still going strong. We also have 180k miles on a GM 5.3L LS motor (not sure if it's a iron or aluminum block), but that has also been trouble free.

Aaron Z

 

[Sawworcs]

I see John Deere uses aluminum on their economy E-series tractors and cast on the premium series. This should tell us something..

 

[LD1]

I'm still not sold on aluminium for anything above SCUTS.

Can you put as many miles on a aluminium engine block versus a cast iron one?

What material are the pistons made out of in your beloved cast iron blocks?