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

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

well... I dont really need a datalogger or anything like that when I go out for the first time... My friend is just going to sit in the pass. seat with an OBD scanner and make sure everything is kosher... Im not going to rock the fu** out of the engine or anything like that... just going to do a nice hard break in when I get it...

OF COURSE NO SYNTHETIC!!! haha.. I would never do that on a new motor... its just wrong.. haha

 

[BISHILVR]

Why would you worry about metal shavings in the turbo during break in? Do you think that mitsubishi broke your engine in on a different turbo at the factory and then put your 14b or t-25 on later? Cmon. If you have that much metal floating in your engine then you have real problems and the turbo is the least of them. They make oil filters for a reason. I have seen stock turbos go for 200,000 miles by the way, and they were broke in with the engine.

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

dude.. read the f***ing post before YOU post... thats not even what we are talking about... you replied to someone who replied in my post....

Its called thread hijacking and it makes it harder for people like me to get answers when you are replying to things that have no bearing in this thread....

No offense, but Im not even a "proven member" like you are and I know that.. come on, guy...

 

[ROOKIE1]

Good idea not using synthetic oil for break in, the stuff is so good it will actually take longer for your rings to get nice and set-in. Why are you using such a high viscosity oil though? In a freshly built motor with the right tolerances doesn't seem like you would need it.

The high viscosity oil is what the shop reccomended that did the block . They build race engines and I do not . So I listened to the pro.

 

[nightspeed87]

the magnetic plug sounds like a good idea .

 

[BISHILVR]

dude.. read the f***ing post before YOU post... thats not even what we are talking about... you replied to someone who replied in my post....

Its called thread hijacking and it makes it harder for people like me to get answers when you are replying to things that have no bearing in this thread....

No offense, but Im not even a "proven member" like you are and I know that.. come on, guy...

Maybe I was'nt replying to you dumb @#$%. Maybe you would like YOUR thread locked?

 

[BISHILVR]

The high viscosity oil is what the shop reccomended that did the block . They build race engines and I do not . So I listened to the pro.

That is the correct oil, the shop must know what they are doing.

 

[BISHILVR]

you replied to someone who replied in my post....

That would be correct, so mind your own your question was answered, and I am preventing mis-information and educating some of the noob's like yourself.

 

[GloriousDSM]

Nice, Thank You for the advice.

i guess my main concern is the fuel system for running a 50 trim low boost and no management. this sucks cause the TRE or Shep tranny is gonna set me back 2k. I want it running by middle of spring but theres only 2 ways, the fast way and the right way.

-PGG

 

[GloriousDSM]

When I got my head back from the machine shop they said it was ready to throw back on and it had a half a handful of aluminum shavings in it. I got most all of them out and out of all the water jackets. That ticked me off.
My block was spotless though.

Will I need to plumb my block or can i just run the oil line from the filter housing? Im wondering if the 50 trim at 25psi or so will hold up from the housing.

Any ideas?


-PGG

 

[oldman]

dude.. read the f***ing post before YOU post... thats not even what we are talking about... you replied to someone who replied in my post....

Its called thread hijacking and it makes it harder for people like me to get answers when you are replying to things that have no bearing in this thread....

No offense, but Im not even a "proven member" like you are and I know that.. come on, guy...

Please read the forum rules before posting, flaming is not allowed. More importantly, we are all here to help and share so don't be so stingy, especially when the poster of the question was polite about it.

Maybe I was'nt replying to you dumb @#$%. Maybe you would like YOUR thread locked?

Responding to flaming with flaming of your own is equally as bad even if it seem warrented, please report the post next time and let a moderator handle the situation.

 

[GloriousDSM]

Nice, Thank You for the advice.

i guess my main concern is the fuel system for running a 50 trim low boost and no management. this sucks cause the TRE or Shep tranny is gonna set me back 2k. I want it running by middle of spring but theres only 2 ways, the fast way and the right way.

-PGG

Does anyone have any ideas??

 

[TurboTalon0]

I am following a fellow DSM'ers advice on a break in. I know its a 420A Turbo, but the principle is the same. Maybe it's on the convervative side, but I kinda like it..

"Now, fire the engine up. It might cough a little, but let it run. If you have an oil pressure gauge, look at it. You will likely see the oil pressure start at 75 psi and drop down to 25 psi as the engine warms up. While this is happening, look everywhere for leaks. You are looking for coolant, oil, exhaust, anything. If you have a really major leak, shut the engine off too fix it. If it is minor, you should probably just let it go for now. It might seal up as the engine warms up. You should keep running back to the cockpit to check out the gauges. If you have a boost gauge, check the vaccum. It will likely be in the 16-20 in-Hg range. If you have an air/fuel gauge, make sure the O2 sensor starts to cycle after a minute or so. After the engine has fully warmed up and run for 15 to 20 minutes, shut it off. Drain the oil and change the filter. This should remove any loose debris that might have made its way into the system during the build. If you have a turbo with an internal wastegate, you may choose to remove the actuator before driving the car. This will keep you from building any boost. Start the engine again and let it fully warm up. Find an empty stretch of road and do a 30 to 50 mph run and compression brake back down to 30 mph. Keep the car in the lowest gear that will keep you below 4k RPM max. Keep the car in the low gear during the compression braking to pull a lot of vacuum. Do this repeatedly for the next 20 miles. Now, drive in stop and go traffic for the next 200 miles. Stay off the interstate. Use your gears and vary the engine RPM when cruising, still keeping under 4k RPM. Compression brake when possible. Don't lug the engine in a high gear. When you hit 220 miles, change the oil and filter again. Use cheap dino oil again. Do the same stop and go traffic crap until you hit 620 total miles. Just change the oil this time (cheap dino oil). Do the stop and go traffic thing again, but mix in some highway cruising if you have to. When you hit 1,020 miles, change your plugs and do a compression test. If everything looks good, you can put the wastegate actuator back on (but keep the boost low). Change the oil and filter again with cheap dino oil. Drive in mixed stop and go traffic and interstate cruising until you hit 1,520 total miles. Now, you can change the oil and filter with full synthetic or whatever you would normally use. If everything seems to be running well, you are free to drive the car how you want now. Full boost, rev limit, whatever it was built to handle. Have fun and keep it between the lines!" quoted from a DSM'er

 

[adiffrentcity]

Thanks Rookie1, just seemed a little wierd but I'd follow a pro's advice. Another thing a friend taught me is to pull the coil wire (not applicable on our cars....) so there is no spark and then turn the engine over intermittently so as not to burn the starter until you either show oil pressure or see it in the line to your gauge. Then immidiately reconnect the coil wire or whatever and you should have oil pressure a lot sooner when you start it the first time. Might be overkill but what could it hurt?

 

[wangboy925]

I have searched many times and found different procedures on how to "properly" break-in an engine for I am about to get my engine back from the shop after they rebuilt my 4g63 6 bolt with new pistons, rings, gaskets, etc...

I hear that once you start up your car you need to have it idle right away at around 2k rpm for about 20 minutes in order to properly lube up the cams. Other places I hear you have to drive it immediatly after you start your engine to break in the piston rings so they can seal properly by driving it around 70% throttle under 5k rpm and at different speeds (no faster than 50mph)

Also many sites say that you need to change the oil (detergent oil, NO SYNTHETIC) and filter after 50 miles of starting the car and others say till 500 miles.

Another thing I heard is that the valves need to be readjusted after around 300 miles into the break in procedure and as well as the head bolts (well I have ARP studs) need to be retorqued.

There are too many ways to do a break-in and there are too many ways to destroy your engine within the first 500 miles. Anyone have advice or comments on what I need to do? I know many of you here have had engine rebuilds and have gone through the break-in process and I want to hear how you did it and how your engine is comming along.

Thanks

 

[GVR4592]

No need to break in the cams, the valves aren't adjustable, change the oil and filter as often as you can during the first 500 miles. The moto-tune method is the most common method, I'm sure you found it during your search.

 

[eric91gst]

Hey guys, I am ready to break in my rebuilt motor but at the same time had installed an act 2600 with street disc clutch and fidanza flywheel. I want to break my motor in pretty hard in order to seat the rings fully. I searched about the clutch break in and it said to not drive over 3k but in order to break my motor in the way I want to I have to drive over 3k. Would the clutch be fine if I just didnt shift fast or was jamming gears and slipping the clutch into the gears. Should I let the revs engine break back down below 3k before I had to shift at all? What should I do?
-thanks

 

[eric91gst]

Hey guys, I am ready to break in my rebuilt motor but at the same time had installed an act 2600 with street disc clutch and fidanza flywheel. I want to break my motor in pretty hard in order to seat the rings fully. I searched about the clutch break in and it said to not drive over 3k but in order to break my motor in the way I want to I have to drive over 3k. Would the clutch be fine if I just didnt shift fast or was jamming gears and slipping the clutch into the gears. Should I let the revs engine break back down below 3k before I had to shift at all? Also for the clutch break in they said to not boost at all, but I was planning on breaking it in on about 10 psi. What should I do?
-thanks

 

[AndrewD5418]

No driving past 3,000 for 500 city miles. Then after that random's up to 5,000 but usually keep it down to 4. No synthetic. Disconnect actuator so you don't build boost.

 

[toybreaker]

The whole idea behind the "break it in like you stole it" procedure is to get gas pressure behind the rings, to seat them as quickly as possible.

It's not really necessay, and I'm always a little anoyed when somebody does that to a motor I've built.

All that you really need to do is make sure that you get the rings bedded before they glaze the cylinders.

The procedure I use is to;

Pre-oil motor by driving the oil pump with a cordless drill till oil comes out of all the lifters.

Light the motor up, and hold a slightly fast idle. (~1500 rpm) untill operating temp is achieved.

Check for leaks.

Take it out and rolling in second or third, at around 2000~2500 rpm, give it medium throttle, and let it accelerate to ~3500 ~4000 rpm. Snap the throttle closed. Expand the envelope a little each time, but don't go crazy.

Repeat, with about twenty to thirty seconds between pulls.

I usually do about ten or fifteen pulls...

Return to the shop, drop the oil and filter.

Inspect drained oil for "shinies". Some are inevitable, but a copperish tint is trouble. Stirring the oil with a clean screwdriver, and shining a strong light on it will tell the tale.

You're halfway there.

Now, restart the motor, warm it back up, and go out and do a few more moderate pulls, snapping off the throttle, and then rolling back in, and building a small amount of boost.

I usually stay pretty close to home, but now is the time to drive it around aimlessly, tease: enjoying the smells of the all the gaskets cooking, the paint heat curing etc....)

I stop every now and then, and leaving the motor idling, inspect everything/check for leaks, and just spend an afternoon motoring around.

Find some nice backroads, and just constantly vary the load and rpm, and just motor around. Avoid prolonged idling/stop and go traffic, and extended periods at the same rpm. Don't boost for extended periods, and don't redline the motor, but definately put some load on it, progressively extending the load and rpm range over the next couple of hundred miles.

I usually dump the oil at 50 miles, and again at ~250, changing the filter as well.

The main thing is don't zing it (rev with no load)

And, Don't load it up at low rpms, it's hard on the bearings.

Btw, I'm a master engine machinist, and I've built/broken in hundreds of motors, and I really hate it when people bring up the "break it in like you stole it"....

It's partially true, but people take it to extremes, and I've seen a lot of scuffed pistons, because they didn't have the motor up to operating temps, and then they boosted the piss out of it, expanding the pistons too quickly...or bearing distress from not allowing the high spots on the bearings/crank to work themselves into a happy medium before loading them up.

The key is to use gas pressure to force the rings against the cylinder walls enough to break them in, without causing trauma to the cylinder walls, damage to the pistons, or excessive, (and unecessary) wear.

A moderate level break in will return longer, happier service every time! Get the rings seated in the first few moments. Don't load it all at once, just sort of sneak up on it, a step at a time, and you'll have minimal leakdown

It's your motor, do with as you will, but at least think about all those freshly machined surfaces, and what loading them up will do to all those peaks and valleys...

 

[SBR Joe]

use 20W-50 regular oil. prime the pump before startup. i always start the car and run it at 3000 rpm's for 20 minutes afte rit reaches full operating temp, this puts it through a full heat cycle. immediately change the oil and filter. ill let the car sit overnight and completely cool down and re-torque all the headstuds and turbo bolts and what not. after thats all said and done take it for a ride. get in 3rd or 4th gear and start at a low rmp and ease your way up to redline or so and let it decel back down on its own a couple times. this lets the rings spin and seat even further. after about 500 miles ill change the oil and filter again, then again at l1000, then 1500 miles. then after that feel free to hammer the damn thing. i wouldnt even think about running synthetic till like 5000 miles just to be sure.

 

[eric91gst]

The whole idea behind the "break it in like you stole it" procedure is to get gas pressure behind the rings, to seat them as quickly as possible.

It's not really necessay, and I'm always a little anoyed when somebody does that to a motor I've built.

All that you really need to do is make sure that you get the rings bedded before they glaze the cylinders.

The procedure I use is to;

Pre-oil motor by driving the oil pump with a cordless drill till oil comes out of all the lifters.

Light the motor up, and hold a slightly fast idle. (~1500 rpm) untill operating temp is achieved.

Check for leaks.

Take it out and rolling in second or third, at around 2000~2500 rpm, give it medium throttle, and let it accelerate to ~3500 ~4000 rpm. Snap the throttle closed. Expand the envelope a little each time, but don't go crazy.

Repeat, with about twenty to thirty seconds between pulls.

I usually do about ten or fifteen pulls...

Return to the shop, drop the oil and filter.

Inspect drained oil for "shinies". Some are inevitable, but a copperish tint is trouble. Stirring the oil with a clean screwdriver, and shining a strong light on it will tell the tale.

You're halfway there.

Now, restart the motor, warm it back up, and go out and do a few more moderate pulls, snapping off the throttle, and then rolling back in, and building a small amount of boost.

I usually stay pretty close to home, but now is the time to drive it around aimlessly, tease: enjoying the smells of the all the gaskets cooking, the paint heat curing etc....)

I stop every now and then, and leaving the motor idling, inspect everything/check for leaks, and just spend an afternoon motoring around.

Find some nice backroads, and just constantly vary the load and rpm, and just motor around. Avoid prolonged idling/stop and go traffic, and extended periods at the same rpm. Don't boost for extended periods, and don't redline the motor, but definately put some load on it, progressively extending the load and rpm range over the next couple of hundred miles.

I usually dump the oil at 50 miles, and again at ~250, changing the filter as well.

The main thing is don't zing it (rev with no load)

And, Don't load it up at low rpms, it's hard on the bearings.

Btw, I'm a master engine machinist, and I've built/broken in hundreds of motors, and I really hate it when people bring up the "break it in like you stole it"....

It's partially true, but people take it to extremes, and I've seen a lot of scuffed pistons, because they didn't have the motor up to operating temps, and then they boosted the piss out of it, expanding the pistons too quickly...or bearing distress from not allowing the high spots on the bearings/crank to work themselves into a happy medium before loading them up.

The key is to use gas pressure to force the rings against the cylinder walls enough to break them in, without causing trauma to the cylinder walls, damage to the pistons, or excessive, (and unecessary) wear.

A moderate level break in will return longer, happier service every time! Get the rings seated in the first few moments. Don't load it all at once, just sort of sneak up on it, a step at a time, and you'll have minimal leakdown

It's your motor, do with as you will, but at least think about all those freshly machined surfaces, and what loading them up will do to all those peaks and valleys...

-so following your procedure is also safe for the new clutch and flywheel at the same time, right? I was going to use 10W-30 regular oil also

 

[SBR Joe]

for the clutch, i believe act reccomends to give it a few hard launches and let it cool to break in a 2600. as for the motor breakin procedure, no offense to tonybreaker but i have run 15 motors that i personally put together and broke in with the method i posted, half of witch saw 400+ whp before the first 1500 miles and they never used a drop of oil, perfect compression and are just down right strong. you can use either method im sure tonybreakers will work just as well, but whatever you do USE ONLY 20W-50 for the break in and first couple oil changes. its thicker so it wont get past the rings as easy because they wont be seated at all right off the bat, itll have a ton of blowby. the thicker the oil, the harder it is to get past the rings, and the less oil getting past teh rings, the better they bite and seat.

 

[toybreaker]

My most humble apologies! I didn't even address your original question!

I'm not fully up to speed on what the aftermarket clutch manufacturers recomend, so I can only offer general advice, and hope that someone who is familiar with your exact setup can give you better, and more specific advice. There's so many different clutch friction materials and facing configurations available now that an old guy like me is never up to speed on the latest and greatest products, and how to use and abuse them.

Their caution about rpm is about the load you can put on the system.

Higher rpms=higher loads.

Once the clutch is fully engaged, I don't think rpm is much of an issue, it's just about the rpm you're shifting (and slipping) the clutch at.

I think if you don't get crazy on it, you'll be just fine.

The one thing you don't want to do is a slow/slipping high rpm launch...

What does the clutch manufacturer recommend?

Does it agree with the flywheel manufacturer?

I would follow their recomendations, within reason. It's their product, and they'll know best!

Good luck, and enjoy that fresh motor!

P.S, who's tonybreaker? A tone-deaf rapper?

 

[SBR Joe]

my bad TOYbreaker..haha, a little dislexia going on here.