break in oil questions

[deepgrooves74]

Is it alright if I ask in this thread what you guys have used to break in a newly built motor?

I have a mechanical 1.6 turbo diesel. It has all new pistons and rings, and bushings…

Thanks for letting me drop in this side topic!

[theman53]

Brad Penn 10w-30 diesel rated or Rotella 10w-30 conventional

[deepgrooves74]

Brad Penn 10w-30 diesel rated or Rotella 10w-30 conventional

Should I use that for the break in period? Is there one on this motor when it's being reestablished?

I know when I was breaking in American V8 motors at the machine shop that I used to work at in high school (1 million years ago…) they would start up the motor for a certain amount of minutes, and then dump the motor oil and put in new oil and filter.

[theman53]

I run it for a few oil changes. After 20 miles running I put a new filter on and top it up. I change it fully at a few hundred miles and 1,000 miles after that. Then every 3,000 for a few changes. It is a bit much but I have not had any issues.

[deepgrooves74]

Thanks for the suggestion! So I don't need to run the motor at a specific RPM when I first fire it up? I can just start driving it if it's timed correctly?

[sgnimj96]

        I think i've read break in period should be (after warm up) of a varied rpm's and to actually drive with some "hard" accelerations to help seat the rings.     Varied rpm's means, for example,  to not get on the highway and drive at the same speed for long periods of time.       I'm sure you can find a lot of discussions on engine break-in if you want more info/opinions.    I do know a lot of metal particles are visible in those first oil changes of any new engine.

[deepgrooves74]

        I think i've read break in period should be (after warm up) of a varied rpm's and to actually drive with some "hard" accelerations to help seat the rings.     Varied rpm's means, for example,  to not get on the highway and drive at the same speed for long periods of time.       I'm sure you can find a lot of discussions on engine break-in if you want more info/opinions.    I do know a lot of metal particles are visible in those first oil changes of any new engine.

Yeah thanks for the input… I will definitely start looking into what other people have done to decide.

[TimpanogosSlim]

engine break-in is a matter of much argument, even among guys with engineering degrees.

I did some research and settled on rotella t1 straight 30 weight dino diesel oil, plus a 2oz bottle of zddp max.

I have something like 35 miles on the build so far (no exhaust!) so perhaps I'm gonna put a new filter on it soon.

[deepgrooves74]

I love it you guys took my questions out and made a new thread… Thank you very much!

I have now done a bit more research on the matter… most of the threads are in agreement that you need to put pressure against the rings so that they are pushed against the cylinder walls to help them seat.

If the motor is allowed to idle for too long during the break in process it will have an adverse effect. The hatch marks that are left behind on the cylinder walls when it's originally bored will get filled in with a heavy duty carbon that is very difficult to get rid of once it's there. Thus allowing for oil to pass by and to be burned in the combustion chamber at an early age.

Bad things happen... So I guess without getting too technical (which I will let the articles that I have below do that) you have to have a load on the motor at an early age to break it in.

Here is the article that I read that talked about not allowing your motor to idle (or run very gently during break in) otherwise you will get a glazing on the cylinder walls

http://www.foleyengines.com/resources/product-guides-forms-tags/how-break-remanufactured-deutz-engine

From the diesel stop.com:

http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Breaking%20in%20a%20Diesel%20Engine

From my turbo diesel.com:

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/engine-break-in.htm



Here is an article about the additive zddplus

http://zddplus.com/how-it-works/

Rosella oils:

http://www.shell.com/rotella/products/t1.html

The one concern I have about using the additive above would be whether or not you could use the additive with that oil…

[theman53]

Rotella and Brad Penn especially have zinc in them.