Engine Break in procudure

[Cuda Cody]

Someone has asked me about the "break in" of an engine.  Make sure to use good break in oil and then always use an oil specifically for flat tappets for the rest of the life of the engine.  I like the Mobil 1 Synthetic that is made for flat tappet engines.  Not many Full synthetic oils for Flat tappet engines to pick from.

Two ways to break an engine in:

There's a preset program on the Engine Dyno that varies the load and RMP to break in it.  Makes it really easy. 

But when I do it on a run stand or in the car I run it up to 2,000 right away when it starts up and immediately set the timing to 36 degrees.  Then I vary the RMPs from 2,000 to 2,300 every couple minutes to make sure the oil splashes around and get everywhere.  This goes on for about 20 to 30 minutes.  If there is a problem, shut it down.  Do not let it idle.  I use a thermal temp gauge (the one with the red light you point to get the temp) and I watch all the temps on the heads, exhaust manifolds and cooling hoses.  Any sign of over heating and shut it down.  While all if this is happening I'm listening to make sure the engine sounds good and it's firing on all 8.  Don't hate me, but I don't like to run a thermostat.  I know people say it's bad.  But I've had wonderful luck with the engines never overheating and since I only drive mine in the summer it's never about getting them to warm up fast (that's what a thermostat does), it's always about trying to keep them cool.  I let me engines warm up before driving them too.

Maybe @Chryco Psycho  or someone else might have something else to add or suggest.

[HP_Cuda]

The only thing I will add is that the overall goal of breaking in an engine is: seating the rings and wearing in surfaces (bearings, etc) and ensuring the valvetrain is working properly.

Know that there is some subtleties between roller valve trains and flat tappet valve trains.  There will be more concern around flat tappet builds than roller builds.

Usually when you go for an initial break in - you double check everything because the intent is to run the motor up to 2-2.5k rpm and hold it there for 20 mins varying the rpm a little bit. You want to avoid shutting down the motor but do it if it's absolutely necessary (ie motor is destroying itself, headers glowing bright red, etc).

[fc7cuda]

Break in oil with high levels of Zinc.  I've had good luck with Royal Purple. 

[Chryco Psycho]

I believe I posted an initial startup & break in proceedure here already
I will not shut down unless something is catastrophic ,, I always have a hose handy & will run water over the rad rather than shut down , I never have the power steering hose on initially as I never want to shut down an engine because of a steering problem either .
I will adjust timing as soon as it is up to 2000 rpm & then I will also tweak mixture to make sure it is not lean

[usraptor]

Someone has asked me about the "break in" of an engine.  Make sure to use good break in oil and then always use an oil specifically for flat tappets for the rest of the life of the engine.  I like the Mobil 1 Synthetic that is made for flat tappet engines.  Not many Full synthetic oils for Flat tappet engines to pick from.

Cody, which Mobil 1 Synthetic is made for flat tappet engines?  I use Mobil 1 in all my cars/m/cs but was unaware they had one that was good for flat tappet engines.

[Timbbuc2]

I believe I posted an initial startup & break in proceedure here already
I will not shut down unless something is catastrophic ,, I always have a hose handy & will run water over the rad rather than shut down , I never have the power steering hose on initially as I never want to shut down an engine because of a steering problem either .
I will adjust timing as soon as it is up to 2000 rpm & then I will also tweak mixture to make sure it is not lean

I like the idea of not running the power steering

[Cuda Cody]

Mobil 1 15w-50 is for Flat Tappet engines.   

Someone has asked me about the "break in" of an engine.  Make sure to use good break in oil and then always use an oil specifically for flat tappets for the rest of the life of the engine.  I like the Mobil 1 Synthetic that is made for flat tappet engines.  Not many Full synthetic oils for Flat tappet engines to pick from.

Cody, which Mobil 1 Synthetic is made for flat tappet engines?  I use Mobil 1 in all my cars/m/cs but was unaware they had one that was good for flat tappet engines.

[usraptor]

Thanks Cody!

[Rev-It-Up]

Great Info!! Thanks! 

[screamindriver]

That's a good PPM for the zinc...It's right up there with some other premium brands...

   The "in the car" break-in with the high, varied RPMs is all about the cam and lifters making a happy home...The ring seating/break-in comes on the road under load... I can tell when the rings are getting seated the idle RPMs creep up and I usually need to turn the idle down a time or two over the course of a few hundred miles...

   I always use straight water for the initial fire-up it makes for an easy clean up if there's a drip or two plus you get to drain the water after the break-in to clean any suspended contamination from the block...I have an old three speed fan that I sit in front of the radiator to help move the air...

  Some of my vehicles sit for months at a time and I've gotten in the habit of using a squirt bottle to fill the carb{s} down the vent holes so I'm not cranking it's life away..Then getting the RPMS up and varying the throttle pretty much like a break-in just to get the oil and parts moving...

[Topcat]

And it's not just about using a drill and just priming.

Turn the engine by hand every 30 degrees every 2-4 minutes while running the priming tool.

I did 4 cycle rotations doing this making sure oil was up all galleys.

[Cuda Cody]

Good idea.   

Turn the engine by hand every 30 degrees every 2-4 minutes while running the priming tool.

[headejm]

@Chryco Psycho @Cuda Cody @Shane Kelley and others...I'm sure it is a good idea to run your new rebuilt engine on a Dyno. Problem is, I'm not sure I want to spend $800 on a Dyno session. I've always just installed new motors and did the break-in with the engine in the car. Like to hear what you guys have to say about doing a "normal" break-in in the car versus first running the engine on a Dyno. I trust my ability to build engines and I'm not too worried that something mechanical will be wrong with it. 

[Cuda Cody]

It's not the mechanical stuff that worries me much, but being able to tune the carbs on the dyno is a real bonus for me.  I love being able to drop the engine in and have the carb and everything all dialed in.  I might have to make a small adjustment, but they are normally pretty close to perfect right off the dyno.  Is it a have to do, no.  You can still do a great job of breaking in and tuning in the car.   But if you have the time and resources, it's a "nice" thing to be able to do.

[Shane Kelley]

I never use a dyno either. Would love to if I had easy access to one. Like Cody said it's nice to tune and dial a motor in before it's in the car. I'm going to guess your talking about your 383. Oil is extremely important for it to have high zinc. I like the no thermostat to prevent the possibility of it sticking on a fresh motor. Chryco had a great idea of leaving the power steering belt off. Just for the fact it's a possible leak to contend with. A lot of guys like that 2000 rpm for 30 minutes break in which is mostly to make the flat tappet cam and lifters happily married. I don't like that because in ruins ceramic coated headers. It overheats them even with all kinds of fans and blowers moving air. I polish the lifter bottoms to avoid having to do that. I use a big fan in front of the car blowing at the radiator and run it for about 10 minutes @ 1500-2000 rpm. Be sure carb is full of fuel and coolant topped off. Like the others said, get that timing first thing. Never had a cam go down or engine failure. If you haven't polished the lifter bottoms you will have to do the 2000rpm for 30 minute thing. Don't let it idle, don't overheat it, and make sure your timing is good enough to fire right up. You don't want to sit there and just crank the motor over. Motor should be primed before fire up.