Would you break in your motor using E85?

[talonDSMerr]

Just adding finishing touches to my engine build and hooking everything back up. I've been running E85 for several years now and will continue to do so. However, I've never had my old motor start up at first crank (cold start) running e85, which is fairly important on the first startup of a newly rebuilt motor to get oil to the camshafts and turbo bearings. I'm not sure whether this is due to the motor having low compression, or the e85's poor cold start properties itself. I've also read both sides of the story, after the engine starts, that e85 may or may not wash the cylinders down and prevent proper ring sealing.

Does anybody have experience breaking in a motor with e85? How about on first startup?

 

[OSXer]

Why not prime your oil system before startup? With the t-belt off you can spin the oil pump with a drill until you see oil splashing in the head (and possibly draining from the turbo oil drain if you don't have it hooked up yet). I did mine while I still have it on an engine stand so it was easy to do and quick to reset the timing afterwards.

Also, turbo aside though you could manually oil it, you should have placed sufficient assembly lube on all of the bearing surfaces when you built the engine.

I started up and broke in my engine just fine on E85 and yes, it did take a few cranks to fire up initially. A few thousand miles later it's still working great and has trapped a best of 135mph. I'm hoping to break that number shortly before the season is over.

 

[talonDSMerr]

Thanks for the reply. I went with my gut and started it on E85. Took 2 cranks, first didn't fire because the number 4 plug wire was switched with number 3. Breaking in the motor now and its an absolute blast. Don't have to retard timing or decrease boost pressure to avoid knock like I would with 93.

 

[TSIfreek]

You will be fine just change the oil often.