breaking in engine
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 420
Likes: 1
From: SAN DIEGO CA
breaking in engine
I'm going to start my engine for the first time since I had it rebuilt by a machine shop. The shop told me to use SAE 30 weight. Any suggestions before I put the oil in tomorrow. Also any tips on breaking the engine in. It's a 1986, 383 strokers, with all the bells and whistles. :steering:
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,861
Likes: 4
From: Houston TX
Re: breaking in engine (drive it)
You MUST pre-oil the engine. If you don't, you will destroy it. I fired my new engine up for the first time today, and I pre-oiled it and then ran it at 2000 rpm for 30 minutes. I preferred to do my break-in with the car up on jack-stands so that I could more easily walk around the car inspecting for leaks and drips on the ground. If you can set the timing without shutting the engine down, that's preferred during break-in.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 420
Likes: 1
From: SAN DIEGO CA
Re: breaking in engine (drive it)
It's a roller cam. I have disconnected the distributer and will crank the engine till I see oil coming out of the pushrods. Any more suggestions on breaking in the engine will be appreciated.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 2,089
Likes: 214
From: Ca.
Re: breaking in engine (PMARTINEZ92126)
It's a roller cam. I have disconnected the distributer and will crank the engine till I see oil coming out of the pushrods. Any more suggestions on breaking in the engine will be appreciated.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,861
Likes: 4
From: Houston TX
Re: breaking in engine (PMARTINEZ92126)
It's a roller cam. I have disconnected the distributer and will crank the engine till I see oil coming out of the pushrods. Any more suggestions on breaking in the engine will be appreciated.
You want to pull the distributor out of the motor and turn the oil pump shaft with a pre-oiling attachment on a strong power drill. You should be able to pick up a pre-oiler attachment at an autoparts store. For a Gen 1 SBC, it basically looks like the shaft of your distributor, but without the cam gear. You chuck it up in a strong power drill, and turn it (slowly at first to prime the oil pump and ensure you're fully engaged with the oil pump driveshaft, speeding up slowly as you go along) for a minimum of 30 seconds. I usually do 1 minute just to be sure. It's a good idea to have someone there to look at your gauges and make sure you are in fact getting oil pressure.
