Your point seems reasonable, but what's the part that actually breaks? There are lots of examples of ICEs that are over a hundred years old and still in use. P

Your point seems reasonable, but what's the part that actually breaks? There are lots of examples of ICEs that are over a hundred years old and still in use. Presumably the engine block would work-harden over time, but it's already very hard and brittle, so I don't see what the problem would be there.