Also, not much on steel. It's amazing that the steam-powered industrial revolution was built with iron, not steel. Early engines had very low operating pressures. Some even just condensed steam and ran below atmospheric pressure. Attempts to operate at higher pressures resulted in leaks at best and boiler explosions at worst. The materials were just not good enough. Otto's 1862 engine would run for only a few minutes before breaking itself. Some later engines used the power stroke to lift a heavy weight, and as the weight came back down, it powered the output through a ratchet. Using that big burst of power from the power stroke needed much better materials. Otto finally got a cylinder-crank-flywheel engine working in 1876. Here's a working Otto engine of that original design, cranking out 7 horsepower.[1] Note all the shiny machined steel parts. That design would not work in iron.
Today, crankshafts, main bearings, pistons, piston rods, and piston rings are solved problems. It took about half a century to get all those parts to work reliably, and a full century before engines outlasted the rest of the vehicle.
Internal combustion pressures are higher, and Diesels have far higher pressures than gasoline engines. The materials problems are tougher. Without strong steel, Diesels are hopeless.
Diesel engines have pretty much always been made of cast iron. It's the most common material for the engine block. Cast iron, not steel. The more hard-wearing parts (crankshaft, rods, bolts, camshafts, piston rings) are steel. Maybe they could use wrought iron, but with a lot of difficulty.
Also, not much on steel. It's amazing that the steam-powered industrial revolution was built with iron, not steel. Early engines had very low operating pressures. Some even just condensed steam and ran below atmospheric pressure. Attempts to operate at higher pressures resulted in leaks at best and boiler explosions at worst. The materials were just not good enough. Otto's 1862 engine would run for only a few minutes before breaking itself. Some later engines used the power stroke to lift a heavy weight, and as the weight came back down, it powered the output through a ratchet. Using that big burst of power from the power stroke needed much better materials. Otto finally got a cylinder-crank-flywheel engine working in 1876. Here's a working Otto engine of that original design, cranking out 7 horsepower.[1] Note all the shiny machined steel parts. That design would not work in iron.
Today, crankshafts, main bearings, pistons, piston rods, and piston rings are solved problems. It took about half a century to get all those parts to work reliably, and a full century before engines outlasted the rest of the vehicle.
Internal combustion pressures are higher, and Diesels have far higher pressures than gasoline engines. The materials problems are tougher. Without strong steel, Diesels are hopeless.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH3U49n4g2M