Burken01

iTrader: (88)

Long story short, I started my rebuilt forged 347 that has new piston rings on it the other day..

I used autozone 5w30 oil for the break in, I did two 3-5 min idle sessions to just bring it up to operating temps...


Now everyone is saying i need to go out and drive it and dont let it idle like i did, I want to drain the autozone oil and put Joe gibbs BR30 oil in it now and go drive it around to seat the rings properly...

My question is, since I started it already with autozone oil and let it idle twice to operating temperature and shut it off,, did I seat the rings already?
Or can i still put Joe gibbs oil in and get the benefit of it still as i drive it around to seat the rings under driving load.???

all help is appreciated.. thanks.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

The rings will seat regardless of what oil you're using-so long as it's not a synthetic. I would've used a better quality brand name dino oil like Pennzoil. Get that Auto Zone stuff out and pour something better in. If you already have the Joe Gibbs stuff, it should work fine. And do always use a top shelf oil filter such as a Mobil One Extended or K&N oil filter.

When you hit about 150-200 miles, make the move to a synthetic.

The extended high break-in idle is from pre-roller lifter times and really doesn't apply anymore.

Personally, I think all this about special "break-in" oils is bullshit. The need for high zinc lubricants is for engines without-you guessed it-roller lifters.

On a freshly built motor, I start it up and do one heat cycle than an oil & filter change. This gets out all the thick assembly lube and rag lint that'll be in the oil & filter. Then I do a full break-in on this second oil batch.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

Break in oils are meant primarily for old school flat tappet hydro cams, they might have benefits for breaking in a new engine but until the issues came about with old style cams going flat from lack of zinc/ phosphorous etc normal oil was even used for most break ins.

If you have it, it won't hurt to use it. If you don't, I personally wouldn't be inclined to spend the high $$$ unless someone here has some good reasoning it should be considered.

noice

http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28365

If you want to know a little bit about those break in oils.

A pretty good excerpt from the article...

"***NOTE: The zinc and phosphorus anti-wear levels of all oil in this list, are elemental values, which are NOT the same as ZDDP values. Earlier oil industry testing found that above .14% or 1,400 ppm, ZDDP INCREASED long term wear, even though break-in wear was reduced. And it was also found that .20% or 2,000 ppm ZDDP started attacking the grain boundaries in the iron, resulting in camshaft spalling.

But the correlation between elemental values and ZDDP values varies by motor oil manufacturer, and they do NOT publish their ZDDP values. That makes it difficult to impossible for the consumer to know how elemental and ZDDP values actually compare for any particular oil. However, these elemental values are so extremely high here, that this oil really is only suited for short life dedicated racing engines, as the name implies. Using zinc/phos levels this high in other engines could be cause for concern, since excessively high levels, used for more than just break-in, can “cause” engine damage rather than “prevent” it.

This by Brad Penn:
There is such a thing as too much ZDDP.
ZDDP is surface aggressive, and too much can be a detriment.
ZDDP fights for the surface, blocking other additive performance.
Acids generated due to excessive ZDDP contact will “tie-up” detergents thus encouraging corrosive wear.
ZDDP effectiveness plateaus, more does NOT translate into more protection. Only so much is utilized.
We don’t need to saturate our oil with ZDDP. "

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

So im safe with my autozone oil then?

and i didnt hurt my car by letting it idle twice?

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

I doubt the AZ oil hurt anything but if you just invested in a rebuilt engine, why go cheap on the oil? Store branded oils are known to be the bottom of the barrel.

Did you get it out yet? If not, do that oil & filter change now.

lady3bglover

iTrader: (3)

I have a new set up, and we didn't use the JG breaking oil, nor did I use the AZ brand. I used Castrol GTX. Drove 100 mi and changed, 2nd change at 500 mi mark. I'm not planning to switch to synthetic.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

not yet but i wont start it again till its drained and i have the new stuff in it...

JPH

iTrader: (2)

I would load "break in" the motor with BR30 JG for sure. For just a warmup/dump with AZ is ok, but I would run it now with what I suggested for optimum results.

ls1 1990 VN

As above, use something like GTX, change as suggested above. Keep using it for 2-3000miles even more, it won't harm your engine infact it will proberly benefit it by not changing to a synthetic to early.

lady3bglover

iTrader: (3)

I used the Castrol GTX High Mileage on the old set up and never had a problem. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Everyone has their opinions on the synthetic. I can see if I were running an import, I'd consider it. JIMO.