Am almost ready to start my engine. Was wondering what your thoughts are on the "best" engine break-in procedure. Engine has gapless rings (2nd ring) and "hard" engine bearings. Camshaft is roller and so are the rockers. TIA :seeya

 

Well, since you don't have flat tappet cam. it becomes much easier.

I always prelube it *just* before starting it. Usually I've already done it on the engine stand, but after it's in the car, I do it again. You want it to crank immediately...no starter spinning. Make certain timing etc is perfect, fuel system is primed etc.

Go ahead and fill radiator and make sure all air is burped out of it. Have more water ready on hand, because T-stat will open pretty quick (new engines make lots of heat) and you'll need it. As soon as it opens and you re-fill it, install cap all the way, because when you idle it down it's gonna try to come back out.

You still want to run it at high idle..at least 2000+ rpm to throw lots of oil on cylinder walls and cam. You're going to need some sort of way to keep it cool while doing this. Likely a fan won't put much extra air on it. If you have electrics just make sure they run constantly and keep water hose handy to cool off as needed. By the way, I never use antifreeze at this stage, just pre water. If you have a leak, it's much easier to not have to clean up antifreeze slime after you repair it.

I would use some 5/30 oil (non synthetic). You're not going to be loading it hard during this stage, so it doesn't have to be high $$ stuff. Just buy a good brand name. Some folks even overfill it slightly initially to help with oil splash. Make sure pan doesn't get low during initial runs. HV pumps move LOTS of oil and wil empty a pan without enough capacity. Either way, after the first thirty minutes or so, or at least after the first drive around the block, dump oil and filter and look to make sure there is nothing foreign in them. Clean the drain pan real well before you use it so you can spot anything wrong. A magnetic drain plug will also help catch anything in there. There WILL be some stuff, you just want to catch it ASAP and get it out.

With the EFI, you're going to want to make sure you have a good basic safe tune on it for break in. Is it a brand new system, or have you used it before?

During first oil change, I'd pull valve covers and look around to make sure everything is good. Can you set valves with motor running ( is it a hyd?) or is blower in the way? Maybe it's best to crank it initially without it and get engine mechanically all set and then add it back on?If it's a solid cam, then for sure you'll want to reset valves after initial run in.


After all this, I usually put a few miles on them before I really hammer them. The engine really doesn't care...if it's built right it will survive immediate thrashing. Mainly I just want to work out driveabilty and make sure of oil leaks etc before I torture it. Mine have been dyno tested the last couple of times and I figure once they survive that, they are pretty much broken in. I always fire them first on a test stand at home and go through all these other procedures beforehand though.


Good luck!!


JIM


[Modified by 427Hotrod, 12:11 PM 8/4/2003]

 

Jim, So the idea behind using the 5-30w oil is that you want a "Lightweight" oil?? Why is that?

 

Since this thing is being started for the first time, I always use lighter weight stuff initially so it flows everywhere real fast and doesn't have to wait on oil temp to increase a lot before it really flows. It will work through everything faster on the initial run and help everything out, plus help flush out any stuff leftover from the build. There will ALWAYS be stuff in there unless you're at a NASCAR sealed engine building room.

You're going to change it soon after it runs anyway, so after that put in whatever you want.

JIM