Break in period.

I should be getting my block and heads back soon after being rebuilt. How long of a break in period am i looking at and what kind of oil should i use? supposedly non synthetic. Also im looking to change the oil in my tranny (150k miles). Yes ive done my searching, but all answers seemed kinda biased, so really, what is best to use in the transmission? A friend of mine suggested royal purple being that my transmission seems to require a little more umph to get it in gear, at times; thus he thought it was the synchro. Anywho, all suggestions welcome

pm me if you want, i just did the same thing and am a month in breakin. i'll give you my number i don't want to type it all.

My current break-in is consisting of 7psi max boost (wastegate pressure) and 3500 RPM limit, for 1500 miles. Don't stay at a constant RPM. I'm doing oil changes at 500 miles for during the break-in. I'm also using Castrol 10w40 regular oil. Do a lot of engine breaking. If the build is different enough from stock specs, try to stay out of WOT until tuned. For the first 50 miles I drove it on the aggressive size to get the rings to seat. After that, I've been taking it a bit easy.

I'm 1k miles in and so far, it's all good.

So no synthetic oil, for the first 50 miles push it a little, make sure not to coast in any gear for too long, on parkways and highways when possible, use the engine to slow down. Another thing my friend mentioned to do is to kill the power to the coils and the fuel pump, and to crank it a couple times so that the oil can make its way through everything before i start it.

 

I still have my 2nd revision from infamous. Also i havent changed much mods wise short of phenolic spacers and TGV deletes...but i guess thats worth a new tune eh? I was thinking i should change the fuel pump and downpipe before i tune that way i dont have to do it twice.

looks like its almost time... : http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/project-02-engine-build-170604.html?t=170604

Drive it like you stole it for 1,000 miles then change the oil

I've read that somewhere where they did tests about engine break in and this is what they said... also something about the rings seating better

linky

 

I floored it once it left the dealer's lot, and on the way home when I got my car new

*after test drive so engine was warm

 

48k on my engine, switched to synthetic at 28k with no oil loss at 5k OCI intervals. Last time I went 7k OCI w/out oil loss

Hmm soo many mixed opinions, but with the documents to match! I have to stop by a subaru dealership to buy some stuff so i'll get their opinion aswell.

 

But what your basically saying (and the article also), is in short, stay away from redlining, but beat on the engine (on the highway preferably), log my miles for a bit (not sure when to transition to syn-oil), but make sure to change it every 5k.

 

Any take on what was mentioned above about lowering the boost temporarily?

Ask a hundred people you will get a hundred different answers. Decide which one you like the best and follow it.

Your probably right. Just figured id get a couple people who had the same idea and that it worked for them and id stick with that. Would be impossible for me to go through this all over again...

My motor is running strong after my break-in. The only thing holding me back now is my new stage 3 Competition Clutch slipping with anything over 15lbs of boost. No blow-by and I've been driving her hard.

Seems like your suggestion seemed to be a mix of both sides, made sense based off your explanation, is pretty straight forward and somewhat "scheduled", ill be doing that once the time comes. When did you finally start using synthetic again? if at all..

If I do switch to synthetic, it won't be until I have 10k total miles on the new block. Unless I'm going for an extended oil change interval, I don't see a point in using synthetic over a quality conventional.

Rings aren't the only thing that needs to be broken in, and I didn't want to risk breaking anything else after seating the rings.

the only synthetic to use is Rotella T6 and stay far far away from Mobile1

well...maybe Mobile1 for break in but thats it:lol: suby no likey Mobile1

 

opinion from the dealer: my stealer said to not go over 4k until 1000k, same thing in the owners manual, and also dont rev past 4k until engine is warm

So no synthetic oil, for the first 50 miles push it a little, make sure not to coast in any gear for too long, on parkways and highways when possible, use the engine to slow down. Another thing my friend mentioned to do is to kill the power to the coils and the fuel pump, and to crank it a couple times so that the oil can make its way through everything before i start it.

 

I still have my 2nd revision from infamous. Also i havent changed much mods wise short of phenolic spacers and TGV deletes...but i guess thats worth a new tune eh? I was thinking i should change the fuel pump and downpipe before i tune that way i dont have to do it twice.

 

Make sure you have a correct tune in there. Ask Infamous what he recommends. I like the idea of not letting the engine idle to much, you need to build pressure to seat the rings, babying the car will not do that.

 

If you can drive back roads to work, do it, stay off the highway and steady state speed for a while.

 

If you change the fuel pump before the new engine, Make sure it works. You don't want to risk the new pistons to lack of fuel, (learned that the hard way, have 4 CP's with less then 20 minutes run time on them) I would not change anything electrical until you know the engine starts and runs well.

 

I'm also begining to like the idea of just start the engine, you'll get oil pressure faster that way. Like I read here the other day, that's how the factories do it.

 

If it was easier to pull the spark plug's I would like the idea of killing the fuel supply, pull the plugs and spin the engine over until oil pressure. But having done that on race engines, it does take a long time for oil pressure to build.

I just finished putting my motor back together and I am about 780 miles into break-in. Here is what I was told

 

Start motor, let it warm up, change the oil.

Drive without hitting boost for 200mi, change oil

Drive without hitting boost for 400 more miles, change oil

Drive to 1000mi, low boost is ok.

Drive to 1500mi, change oil.

Tune

Dont blow it up again

 

edit: I am also using Castrol GTX 5W-30, was told by almost everyone to stay away from synthetic until break in is complete

I agree mostly with lardo- that's about where I'm at though I did run 30w brad penn break in oil from after start up oil change till ~500miles I'm on castrol Dino 5w30 from ~500miles to the 1200 I have on it now. I've been in sub 6lbs of boost for the last 200 miles or so and plan to switch out at 1400 an change to rotella for my tune 1500- my feelin is no matter what you do it's probably going tO be done more gentle than if you've bought a new car that's been test driven by boy ricers-

I just finished putting my motor back together and I am about 780 miles into break-in. Here is what I was told

 

Start motor, let it warm up, change the oil.

Drive without hitting boost for 200mi, change oil

Drive without hitting boost for 400 more miles, change oil

Drive to 1000mi, low boost is ok.

Drive to 1500mi, change oil.

Tune

Dont blow it up again

 

That's pretty much what i have been doing since my first rebuild in 1975. Though I wasn't boosted back then.

 

Keeping it out of boost doesn't mean you shouldn't take the engine up in rpm's every once in a while. Just try and fine a long down hill and slowly apply throttle (in lower gears). With a NA motor its easier.

 

Again you want to make sure your map is correct. Unless your a good tuner and know how to beark in the engine on the dyno.

It seems like there is a general idea on how its supposed to be done and ill log and record as much of it as possible and post it up on youtube/googleplus/anything quick. But i will talk to shamar asap to find out exactly what i should do and if i can use the tune that i had before being that not much has changed short of tgv deletes and spacers...

 

Thanks everybody for you input; stay tuned!

You are correct in pulling the coils and fuel pump power to crank the engine over for the first time. I also had spark plugs out so the engine had no compression while cranking for a good two minutes to ensure the oil pump got air bubbles out of the system.

 

After that, I start the car, let it warm up, shut it down and change the oil and filter immediately.

 

First drive, make sure the car is warm, and I drive it like I stole it. Important part is to load the rings on deceleration, just engine brake down through the gears. This essentially seats the rings as much as they will just in that first drive. Change the oil at 50 miles, then 1000 miles, then normal intervals for me.

http://www.laskeyracing.com/shop/breakin.htm

 

There's a link from on old friend.

That's pretty much what i have been doing since my first rebuild in 1975. Though I wasn't boosted back then.

 

Keeping it out of boost doesn't mean you shouldn't take the engine up in rpm's every once in a while. Just try and fine a long down hill and slowly apply throttle (in lower gears). With a NA motor its easier.

 

Same. For new cars, that's not really required as strictly (since new engines are factory tested, you can just change the oil at ~1000mi and treat it normally after that).

 

I always keep the revs down until the engine is at full warm. That goes without saying.

 

Don't put Royal Purple in any part of the car. Bad stuff.

My current break-in is consisting of 7psi max boost (wastegate pressure) and 3500 RPM limit, for 1500 miles. Don't stay at a constant RPM. I'm doing oil changes at 500 miles for during the break-in. I'm also using Castrol 10w40 regular oil. Do a lot of engine breaking. If the build is different enough from stock specs, try to stay out of WOT until tuned. For the first 50 miles I drove it on the aggressive size to get the rings to seat. After that, I've been taking it a bit easy.

I'm 1k miles in and so far, it's all good.

This is what I would do. Hard to start and back off.

OMG...

 

Easy or hard break-in only determins how much oil you'll burn and affect max power. Easy break in works fine but I'd never suggest it nor do it myself.

 

BTW, pressure doesn't seat rings, heat does. Moderate boost and load it up (long uphill grade is ideal) to seat the rings followed by as much engine breaking as possible to scavenge any debrit you don't want to score your piston walls with

How, exactly, does engine braking scavenge debris?

The engine vacuum created during closed throttle deceleration sucks the excess oil and metal off the cylinder walls.

 

Granted the jury is still out on the effective results of this technically (similar to what break in is best) but there is enough first hand experience (from MPS, 3MI Racing, the folks at Topspeed) that indicates that the logic is sound.