Engine run-in oil???

[-Bruce-]

Ok I have heard alot from alot of peaple on this topic. And still not fully convienced what to do? What oil do i put in the engine after it has been fully rebuilt? What have you guys that have got fully rebuilt engines like mine used for first 1000 miles? (1600 8v)

And after i run the camshaft in for the 10-20min peroid, I have heard that i should give it full throttle and up to 75% of its rev range then back off. Do this afew times, then drive normally but under 3-4k for the rest of the 1000 miles or so?? Whats the gen?

Is it realy essentional that I run the cam in for the time peroid?

Cheers guys.

Bruce

[Stuart]

it is essential to run it in for that long because it makes sure that the oil pressure is high to let the bearings and lobes get lubed.


id say run halfords economy oil for the first 100ish miles then to a decent ish mineral then to a semi synth

there are all sorts of different methods for running in an engine, jsut dont keep it at high load or constant revs.

[-Bruce-]

it is essential to run it in for that long because it makes sure that the oil pressure is high to let the bearings and lobes get lubed.


The only reason i asked was i have heard that basiclly as soon as you turn the key you need to put the engine underload!! This would mean you could not run the cam shaft at 2.5k for 10-20mins. But I will do this and then do the nessesary engine run-in procedure!

What have other people done when running in??

Stu you say halfords economy? is this 10w40 or 20w50 or what? Have heard to use both so not sure??

Bruce

[Stuart]

im pretty sure its 20/50 nice and thick to give everything a good coat and shit enough to let stuff bed in ;)

just be sure to prime the system first, ie unplug the coil pack and injectors then crank for 10-15seconds and reconnect and start


mind you i dont remember jims engine being revved unloaded to run the cam in. hmmmmmm cant remember how lol

i belive in a "new" engine you can get away without the completely lairy run in procedue as the oil pressure should be good. oh i cant remember

found this http://www.pumaracing.co.uk/cam1.htm might help

[Stuart]

http://www.peter-burgess.com/page45.html

and that lol

suggest s a mega thin runnig in oil

[-Bruce-]

http://www.peter-burgess.com/page45.html

and that lol

suggest s a mega thin runnig in oil

Yes a straight 30 weight oil it says.

Cheers for the links stu.

What oil did jim use to run in?

And when running the cam in you dont run it under load, just keep it at 2.5k and for 10-20 mins. So piper say.

Bruce

[mowgli]

the reason you have to run the cam at high revs is to actually harden the lobes.

If you have just lavished lots of care on your engine, why not just put in some good oil. what's a tenner compared to another rebuild.

running in oil stopped being relevant back in the days when you could buy 4 different grades of petrol (with lead) and you had to readjust the tappets, and retorque the head after 500 miles on every new car. and flares were in for the first time.

my family's car (mitsubishi) goes for 9000 miles before its first oil change.

[-Bruce-]

If you have just lavished lots of care on your engine, why not just put in some good oil. what's a tenner compared to another rebuild.

lol i have spent allot of time and money on it, and will be running very goos oil in it when its run in. All i was asking was what sort of oil do i use in the run-in?? as i was sure you used different stuff to when the engines completed its run-in.

Bruce

[Snowface]

i was told to use 'Running in Oil' so i used it.

Looking at a paragraph from the above link:


Running in oil

? Modern oils are excellent at preventing engine wear..........
unfortunately!......you need the engine to wear in a controlled manner.
Running in oil is usually a straight 30 weight oil with no additives.
? If the engine is run in using oil with additives there is a good chance it
will burn oil for the rest of it's life! The additives prevent the rings bedding into the bores,
the high spots in the bores bend over and work harden......these little pockets retain
oil which burns when exposed to the burning mixture!


i was told this, and it makes sense.

Wether or not it actually matters a lot in practice i don't know, but better to be safe...

[-Bruce-]

Yeh snowface this does sound very logical to use somthing like a straight 30.

As for the run in procedure, i dont think its set in stone. It seems to me that you dont want to be giving it 8k from the start lol.

After camshaft run-in, keep the engine under load, dont rev it past say 4k, Change oil every 300 miles say untill you have covered the miles that you feel nessesary for the run-in??

That about right?? come on guys afew of you have done this before!!

Bruce

[-Bruce-]

Sbd say:
We would normally run an engine in for 500 miles (1000 miles if you want to be really cautious). We use the running procedure which is detailed on our web site for the camshafts under set ups. We would normally suggest you run you engine up to about 3,500 rpm for the first 50 to 100 miles and then progressively increase the revs by about 500rpm every 100 miles. I would also suggest you use a good running in oil for the first 100 miles, then change to a mineral oil (no synthetic) then after 500 miles, change to a fully synthetic oil.

This sounds good to me?? Im just looking for others veiws and what they have done!!

Jim + Dan + Russ + MC + CP etc what oil did you use and what run-in procedure?

Bruce

[j1400]

You don't have to have constant revs at 2.5k when running a cam in, as long as yo don't fall bellow this and got masses above it, it's to let it all lube up and also at idel is when the highest forces are present on the tip of th elobe, not good for a brand new cam to experince that.

Cheapest nastiest 20w-50 mineral oil you can find, ?4 a gallon stuff bruce.

I'd run in as per 4-stroke perf tuning's guide lines

[-Bruce-]

Yeh you said that to me before james, but its just others have said different things to me. Some saying thin oil some saying thick?? But everyone is saying mineral/no aditives!!

Bruce

[getlost29]

shouldnt you just use the oil the car came with from the factory when it was fisrt made. i dont see manufactures puting 30w oil then telling you to change it.

and ur not running the cam shaft in, ur only runing the rings in, what ur actual doing is getting the rings to scrap the bores of the cylinder so that a seal is made

plus all moveable components should be well lubricated before the engine is put together

and just let the engine rev frealy up to 75% of the revs and dont got to low

try not to rev it to hight when its cold though. the best thing to do is probably avoid 5th gear up and down the mototway.

[Stuart]

camshafts do get run in, look at the link to the puma racing site ;)

[-Bruce-]

Getlost29 as stu says camshafts do get a run-in. Puma racing site says and so do both my manuals from kent/piper.

As for the other things you said, thanks its all coming together, i just dont want to damage the engine at all!! :o

Bruce

[getlost29]

i suppose ur right, ive never realy related to camshafts being run in, when used with hydrolic tappets, although i do know you should with mechanical ones.

but i still stick by what i said about running the rest of the engine in

ive never heard of a manufacture to use 30w oil

and i onow for a fact that ford and vw will rev the tits of an engine on a bench once its been built. if it holds to gether it gose in, and if it dosent its in the skip

[Stuart]

indeed, ford pull at random about 10 engines from the batch they make and bench test em at varying loads/speeds for 30 hours. if one fails then the whole batch gets pulled for rebuild/inspection.

also the end of vehicle build "run in" is facking scary!!!


on the flip side of "you dont see manufacturers using run in oil" the last combine harvester that the farm i worked on bought ran on a special run in oil for 100 hours and then they had to drop that out with the oil filter and then use a normal oil. and that was on a V6 turbocharged diesel thats designed to run forever and a day lol