>>>*I have an opinion, since I have had a few thousand parts and pieces in my hands over the years.

The factory steel crankshaft is extremely strong, forged steel, and held in place by five main caps with very large fasteners. Five main caps that STRESS to round under full torque load? Even the high horsepower V-8's aren't made that way. It creates amazing rigidity.

This creates a block foundation that is extremely strong, far stronger than 90% of the four cylinder engines ever produced. Stronger than most much higher power output V-8's!

Most four bangers have just four main caps. V-8's have five also, but normally much lighter duty.

Then we get to the connecting rods, they test at 400% stronger than they need to be to handle the factory less than 120 H/P.

I know. I have tested them.

The pistons? Well, I have seen stock ones with 300K on them that I could put right back in without a second thought. We supply aftermarket pieces using factory specs that will easily handle in the mid 130 to 140 horsepower to guys that run around with their foot to the floor all day every day and expect to see another couple of hundred thousand miles use out of the rig they rebuilt....at a couple hundred thousand miles.

*Many with far more miles than that!

The valve train? Guides failures are almost unheard of, and the only time we do see problems are traced to the result of tuning errors.

The only time we see early failures after a rebuild are in "NO-Fit" situations, tuning mistakes, or lack of lube conditions that will fail ANYTHING ever built on this planet!

The weak link? That silly hydraulic timing chain tensioner, it must be clean or it will stick. The OTHER weak link? Yes, a bit short on ponies with a big job to do, but even with your foot on the floor, if all is up to snuff they just keep going and going and going.

Get her way too hot and she will pop a head gasket, so will anything else. Miss on the timing or get an air leak and the result is the same. Don't wash your hands and everything else when bolting her together and you will get to replace the timing setup.

Stuff a too long bolt into the oil pump and jam the tensioner? Yep, it becomes defective real quick!

Rather than being "weak", it is one TOUGH little thing!

Now we build smallblock Chevies that make 80 plus horsepower per cylinder, the 22R/RE bottom end tests stronger, and not by a small amount.

The 22R can be made to make 300 H/P of course, it's just tough to drive it to the grocery store like that, so streetable is pretty much 140 or so.

Bigger and stronger crankpins, bigger and stronger connecting rods, better and slower bearing surface speed, stronger pistons, tough valve train!

If it had a cast iron head nobody would ever be able to sell an engine part for one of them. Aluminum does get very unhappy when overheated, but it is nice and light.

This is part of why so many folks will part with their Dog or maybe even the wife and kids before they will let the "Yota" go.

Add in that if you have a Crescent wrench, a screwdriver and some basic hands tools and you can fix nearly anything that does mess up out in the woods?....

This old man disagrees with your friend, but then I am prejudiced...*LOL**...You may tell the gentleman I said so...*EB