Engine Break In, breaking-in, motor break-in [Merged 10-6]

[BrokeTurbo]

As the following thread will illustrate, motor break-in is not the issue it was in the fifties and sixties.
For all intents and purposes, your method will not significantly matter, within reason.

Well, I am getting the laser back from the shop this weekend. Here's a List of whats new, and whats not.New Pistons, Bearings, Rods, Crankshaft, Rings, Oil pump, Belts, Pullys, Head, Valves, No balancer belt. The only real thing thats old, but freshened up is the block, and valve cover, and the FI system. (Fuel Injection)

I am going to run Mobil 1 10w-30 with a Puroilator PL101xx Filter. I have a new clutch with a resurfaced flywheel going on. I've also got new fluids in the transmission.

My question is how should I break it in? This is my first non 70's Chevy, and I was wondering if there are any tricks to it.

The way I was going to do it, was 15 min of idle, warm up. Make sure all fluids/hoses/electrical is plugged in. Then about 1 hour of normal driving. Might take out to the Highway, and cruise around 65-70 for a little bit.

This sound good? I was not going to get on it, or push it till ive got about 500 miles on the engine. Even then, I'll still be taking it easy. Anyone have any tips or help? Thanks

 

[DSMRevolution]

Originally posted by sophat34
take the actuator off of the wast gate flapper arm and wire the gate in the open position. should almost elininate all boost, on my 20 g it kept it down to 2 lbs all the way threw 6k rpms

Ok great! thanks that answers my question. Good idea

 

[MustangX]

someone please help me to this anwer, sorry if it's been already asked.
it's been bothering me... but...
What is the "Official" Break-in time for after a full rebuild of a 4G63?
or when should your engine start seeing boost?

1000miles right?

 

[candela]

Completely up to you... some poeple do it right away by putting lots of load and seating the rings immediately and some do it very slowly. There is no correct way honestly, you will hear a bunch of different answers. Right now I am about 300miles into my break in period. i plan to go about 500 before I give it a little boost then 1k before I really beat the shit out of it... But make sure you change the oil a bunch though!

 

[Hobbes =^.^=]

Here is the link:
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

And taken from another DSM member:

I heard the same things last summer from an engineer that worked for Chrysler for 22 years. He builds race motors for Neons now. His break-in process is a full warm-up... do NOT let the motor idle (you should have primed up the oil pressure before starting it anyway, so don't worry about bearing wear you'd normally see revving right after starting).. keep it between 2000-4000 RPM, varying throttle, until it's at operating temp.

Then take it out, and in 3rd gear do 3 light throttle accellerations from 3000 to 4000, and engine brake back down to 3000 (very important to engine brake! The decel is just as important as the accell so you break the cylinder in evenly at all rod angles). Then do 3 part throttle accel/decels from 3000 to 4500 to 3000... and last, 3 full throttle runs from 3000 to 6000 to 3000. Then take it home, let it cool completely, and it's broken in.

The RPM ranges will vary from motor to motor, but that's what he recommended to me when I asked him about the 4G63 given a 7000 redline. The concept looks real similar to what's on the link that JW posted. The only differences I noticed is that those guys recommended cooling the motor for 15minutes between break-in stages, where Ed (the engineer) just recommended going for it in one pass and letting it cool completely. Also those guys recommend pulling it to redline, where Ed told me there's no benefit in going to redline on the break-in pulls.

What do you guys think? I had a freshly rebuilt motor, that needs a break in.

 

[Defiant]

All break-in stories are guesses. There are so many different methods and hints that it apparently doesn't really matter- and matters less now than twenty years ago, when a "high-mileage" engine was 60,000 miles. We have kids hotrodding DSMs at _triple_ that mileage, and killing parts other than the engine.

The "rule" I was told early, and have had success with (over a quarter-million miles on my '69 Datsun 2000, which I rebuilt and broke in) is to drive the new engine the way you intend to drive it for its whole life.

 

[MrPikolo]

i was under the impression you just take it easy, no fast/high reving, just take it for a nice, calm easy ride.

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

What I heard is you don't want constant rpm's and you don't want to rev too high for the first 500 miles.

 

[DSM-Militia]

i would think you let it set and run for a little while then drive it around for about 1,000 miles and change the oil. Then go blast on her

 

[NDgsx]

I typically do something very similar to what the chrysler engineer wrote. Seems to work well, last 2G piston 6 bolt I made had 190psi across the board. Make sure that you put the engine under load, depending on the state of tune I go half to wot. Combustion chamber pressure pushes rings into the cylinder wall.
If the valve springs are new then change the oil VERY frequently, they shed large amounts of very small metal (6 micron if I remember right) that oil filters do not do a very good job of catching.
If the cams are new I try to keep the revs down for the first 500miles. If they are not then I don't worry about redlining it.

I always use a low detergent sae30 oil with NO ZINC for the first 150 miles. After that I use 10w30 dino to 500 miles.

 

[sphillips91]

Ill be using synthetic oil of course, just want to know:

How long before first oil change?
How should I drive it? Should I drive like I normally do? Be easy on it? etc

I saw a post on this a while back, just too lazy to go look for it.

 

[krosTSI]

I suggest you take it easy on her for a while, and break her in gradually!
-KY

 

[Defiant]

They used to say "don't break in on synthetic", but I don't know if that's just another myth. There's so many stories about the "right" way to break in a motor that it seems it just doesn't matter that much. Don't romp the snot out of it, and keep the revs, load and heat load moving around for the first 1000 miles. Such as, don't make a long freeway trip at close to the same speed.

 

[sphillips91]

Ok, so what about oil changes? I know Ive heard people say change your oil at like 500 miles, than again at 2,000, than normal 3k changes thereafter...or something like that.

And why would you not want to use synthetic?

 

[Defiant]

The story goes that it's "too slick" to let the rings seat properly. I have no proof either way, and I doubt anyone else really does. Other than from their cousin's machinist's sister's boyfriend's hairdresser's boss's son's close personal stranger.

Same with oil wasting, maybe oil and filter at 200, again at a thousand. The factory says to run oil in the turbos for 5,000 miles, and that was written for morons. I don't understand 3,000 mile oil changes, especially with modern oils and MORE ESPECIALLY with synthetics. When they hit the market, the synthetic manufacturers were recommending TWENTY-THOUSAND miles between changes. If I knew a couple of guys doing 3,000 mile oil changes, I'd do it for them and never have to buy my own oil again.

There's a lot more opinion than fact to it all.

 

[Gooberlog]

I change my oil every 3000 miles, but i do my own.

 

[sphillips91]

I think with older motors with higher miles on them its good to change the oil every 3k miles. I know in my 1st 240sx that had 183k on it Id change it every 3k miles and the oil would be black. So in some situations changing every 3k miles is good.

 

[2-0turbo]

Personal friend of mine rebuilt his engine and used Mobil from the start on bored/honed cylinders. After 20K miles, he could never get more than 135 psi on each cylinder. They were all consistent, but not high enough. My suggestion is use a mineral oil for break-in. My oil analysis on my Ford has suggested this may take up to 15K miles. I was still seeing elevated wear metals up till 20K when it tapered off.

 

[dmak]

hi all, i am new to dsm

anywayz, i read this page like few months ago, and it say hard break in is better.

click here

i don't know if it's a good way...
what do u guys think??

 

[SniperXr2]

Interesting, that page offers a valid point. I dont know if I will do it with my new rebuilt engine (getting Howell bottom end kit ) but I do agree with the changing to oil very soon part. I dont know though, maybe I will do more reasearch on it...
-Rob

 

[BoostinAWD]

Ok as most of you know I just bought candelas gt12. I have the car 75 percent assembled. And went ahead and bolted the turbo on. Just so I could get the piping routed along with the intake pipe etc.


I was gonna run the 14b to break it in. But the more I think about it, I should just go ahead and break it in with the gt12. The gt12 has its own oil filter.


So the question is will it be alright to just leave the gt12 on? And maybe just replace the oil filter in a 1000 miles or so?


Thanks

 

[TRBOTSI]

I would highly recommend using a turbo you don't care about.....You'd be very surprised how many tiny little metal particles will come out through the oil after having an engine rebuilt..You certainly don't want these metal filings to go through your turbo....

 

[TurboAWD92GSX]

well if the turbo has a oil filter on the SS oil feed line you have nothing to worry about. it will pick up EVERYTHING. just change it after 5000 miles and you should be fine.

 

[Defiant]

Differing opinion here, your filter will catch all the possibly-harmful shrapnel, and the oil will suspend the rest. I say to start with the final turbo.
Just another opinion, not meaning to cast aspersions on TRBOs thoughts. In my experiences, newly-rebuilt engines have been at their cleanest when new. Then again, I've only run rebuilts that I'd done myself, so I didn't have questions about them.

 

[BoostinAWD]

Hmm, No I really don't know what to do.

Has anyone else broke in their motors with their final turbos?
I emailed slowboy he said use the 14b guess I can just use that. What a pita this is gonna be.

 

[Libila]

Yea break in the motor with the 14b just to be safe. You should be fine to swap the gt in at like 2500 miles or so.