How do you "break-in" an engine after you have reb

[beast14]

Any suggestions??...

i wuz told to apply load to it, ie. going uphill in 4th. gear and coming downhill in 1st. gear.......also, drive at low rpm for a while.......

 

[andygtir]

heard different advice, some say take it easy low revs and little load. others say that method doesnt give the piston rings a chance to bed in properly and say to rag the cr*p out of it from the word go, plenty of revs and load on the engine in both acceleration and deceleration- with regular oil changes.

me, id go for a middle option and drive it as i would a normally, not caning it nor treating it with kid gloves.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes. After the build let the engine idle for 20 minutes and change both the oil and filter.

For the next 500 miles do not exceed 3000rpm and use NO BOOST!!! Once you've done 500 miles, change the oil and filter again.

Now the next 500 - 1000 miles you can gently increase the load on the engine and slowly increase the revs. No hard accelorating or making the engine struggle, but until when you've done 600 miles apply a little boost and let the revs climb to say 3500rpm, and slowly build up until you reach 5000rpm by the 1000 mile mark.

At 1000 miles, change the oil and filter again, and drive as you would normally. You might notice the engine feels a little tight still and probably will have a flat spot mid range, but that will sort itself out when you've done 3k miles or so.

Your engine isn't a motorbike nor a race car, so no trashing it straight after a rebuild as already has been suggested. If you do you could be set for another rebuild in no time.

 

[turblio]

If the crank has been reground with nice new bearings I would not load it uphill in 4th and as for revs in each gear it depends on bore tolerence/type of rings/pistons and type of honing finish gentle normal driving without sustained red line is the norm
Frank
ps Sound advice Ben

 

[Innovate Performance]

Would make sure it has run on idel for about half hour or so.
Drive it like anormal car then slowly put more load on the engine and build up the engine RPM would try to stay under about 4500-5000 for the first 200ish miles.

hope this helps as the man above says it is all down to personal prefrence.
I prefere to run engine in on a dyno.

 

[ashills]

james how long do u normally have them run in for on the dyno as mines probably going on norris engine dyno for running in and autotronics i think he said they only run for about 3 hours ??

 

[campbellju]

There's a lot of good advice above (except maybe the 4th gear uphill thing???? WTF) but to add :

Remember to use deccelaritve load as well (eg. Change into 2nd so it goes from 3500rpm down) to wear both sides more equally.

When in neutral, blipping the engine to 3-4000rpm is a good way to wear the engine under no load as you get accelarative and deccelrative wear.

I use 2/3 tank of fuel before I even took it near a road. The difference between the first time the engine fired and doing this showed how tight the engine originally was.

Jim

 

[skiddusmarkus]

I've done 100miles on mine so far and have been driving it as I did on the old engine.A mix of in traffic and bursts of acceleration with no redlining.
On roads where you're at a steady speed I keep changing up and down the gears so it's not sat at constant revs.
It doesn't feel like a new engine though,it already feels practically run in but this could be down to it wanting to rev due to the amount of weight taken off the rotating mass-approximately 7-8kg(lightweight flywheel,alloy pulleys,lightened/balanced/knife edged crank).

 

[Rishi]

james how long do u normally have them run in for on the dyno as mines probably going on norris engine dyno for running in and autotronics i think he said they only run for about 3 hours ??

Does he run in engines that have been built elsewhere...????

 

[ashills]

mines been built elsewhere and he has no problems hes not even doing mapping etc im having sheady do autotronics on it

Dyno Costs 400 quid to hire for a day plus either him to map at 250 for day or whoever u want and what they cost etc
i know thats not cheap but when u think u can inspect all round engine easily etc while it running etc and what ud save in 1000 miles of fuel etc
also if things like cams or turbo need altering its alot easier with out an engine bay around it

 

[Nad]

Yes. After the build let the engine idle for 20 minutes and change both the oil and filter.

Do that and u will be forever filling it up with oil as it will leak past the rings like a goodun. This was already proved on Ivans ages ago. The first 20mins are most important, the engine needs to be put under load straight away otherwise the rings will match to the bore grooves and leak. Extreme pressure will ensure a smooth match between ring and bore.

Nad

 

[AJ4]

I'd say pretty much the opposite to what everyone else says

Lots of quick high rpm and then shutting off the throttle ( creates a vacuum which helps suck oil up past the rings to lubricate them as they are bedding in ) Only do short bursts of speed, ( no sustained high rpm ! ) but constantly changing up and down the whole rev range.

If you pi$$ it about and treat it like its made of eggshells it will never bed in properly.

 

[ashills]

I'd say pretty much the opposite to what everyone else says

Lots of quick high rpm and then shutting off the throttle ( creates a vacuum which helps suck oil up past the rings to lubricate them as they are bedding in ) Only do short bursts of speed, ( no sustained high rpm ! ) but constantly changing up and down the whole rev range.

If you pi$$ it about and treat it like its made of eggshells it will never bed in properly.

totally agree with u and NAD on this one thats how my last engine was bedded in and never used a drop of oil

 

[ex-gtir]

agree with nad you need to get the rings to bed before th hathing is worn off cause once the hatching has gone its too late
you can pussy foot about learnt the hard way in past

 

[Innovate Performance]

james how long do u normally have them run in for on the dyno as mines probably going on norris engine dyno for running in and autotronics i think he said they only run for about 3 hours ??

about 4 hours or so it depends as it varies from people to people we normally do 4 hours.
Also using a normal oil will help to run the engine in better as it does not have the same protection as a good synth oil. You could use running in oil also.

 

[coxie]

sorry for it being long-i need to know as my engine ill be rebuilt soon :twisted:

in the case of full rebuilds what is the best way to run it in if you have new cams fitted from first start up.as from what i remember you have to bed the cams in at 3000 ish rpm this means that the engine will be revving but the car will be stood still. :? :? :?

will that wreck the running in period or is it best to just start it ,idle it for 5 mins then go and drive using the engine breaking to bed the rings in :? :?: :!:

 

[AJ4]

If you let it idle for 5 mins first, the walls will be smoother than a babies bum ( and also very dry... ). Don't be shy, get your foot in from the off !!

Seriously, I'd worry more about bedding the engine in than the cams. The first 20 minutes are absolutely critical, the cams ( if they need bedding in ) would happen over a much longer period.

 

[coxie]

so from the first turn of the key you would get straight out on the road where the engine will be under load. :?:

 

[Innovate Performance]

so from the first turn of the key you would get straight out on the road where the engine will be under load. :?:

Check for oil and water leaks first and get the engine to running temp to see if the fans cut in, or you may need another rebuiuld if you lose you oil or it over heats.

 

[coxie]

thats what i thought but in one statement it says five minutes warming up and the bores will be smooth=no good :? :? :?: