Breaking in a new engine
Breaking in a new engine
To start with we are going to assume that your engine has been inspected, and is
in fact clean and ready to run.
1) Do not use synthetic lubricants during break-in. Synthetics are great to run
in a working engine that has settled in, but you will cause yourself unending
headaches if you start out with a synthetic oil.
2) Do not use a high detergent oil during break-in.
3) Do not use multi-viscosity oil during break-in. My personal recommendation
for breaking in a Listerclone would be to use straight non-detergent 30W or 40W
and I would lean to the 40W during my own break-in.
4) It helps if the oil is pre-warmed for the initial startup (a small immersion
heater in the crankcase could be used), and do not start up a dry engine... You
should pre-lube everything. Get a pump oiler, put it in a crockpot with a couple
inches of water; once hot shoot a squirt of hot oil into the tops of the
cylinders, cam bearings, crank bearings, etc. while slowly turning over the
flywheel. Be sure to manually prime the oil pump if so equipped, and shoot some
oil on all external moving parts. Make sure the fuel rack is clean of paint or
gum and put a drop of hot oil on all the linkage points.
5) It does not hurt to put an ounce or two of oil in the fuel tank.
6) It does not hurt to put a couple of strong magnets in the crankcase to
collect metal filings.
7) Do not start an engine without water in the engine cooling jacket. People
think that they can fire up a dry engine and run it for 2-3 minutes without
overheating... This is a mistake. Most of these engines have "wet" cylinders,
and hot spots can form nearly instantly... 2-3 minutes can result in damage
without coolant. If you wanted to be really gentle on an engine, you would
pre-heat the water as well as the oil.
Do not run a new engine, even for a short time,
without a load. Diesel engines, especially new diesel engines, have to have a
load on them in order to keep the rings from chattering. The pressure created
when a load is applied and the rack is open is essential for seating the rings
and ensuring that they stay seated and don't scuff and vibrate in the bore. This
is especially important during break-in.
9) Don't grab the rack and race the engine up or otherwise permit it to
overspeed... Instead, pile a load on it and gradually work the rack open to
develop power... These are not racehorses.
10) After a few hours cumulative running with varying loads applied, drop the
oil while the engine is hot, open the access panel and mop out the sump, clean
the magnets. You can fine filter (2-5 micron) and burn your used engine oil so
don't feel bad about making frequent oil changes during break-in... These
engines have virtually no filtration system and unless you have modified things
with the addition of a bypass filter system for the crankcase sump you will want
to remove metal, water emulsion, and any sand frequently. Let used oil settle
before filtering and mixing with fuel, and toss the bottom sludge.
11) I would consider the break-in period pretty much over after 100 hours under
a load, but some of these pointers can be applied every time you start your
engine.
12)
One item that is left out during routine maintenance is the camshaft oiling hole
accessed to the left of the push rods with a small removable bolt, please ensure
you squirt some oil done here.