Rear gear break-in
Rear gear break-in I'm wrapping up a major rebuild of my Chevelle that involved a new rear end and some engine upgrades. I am trying to set up a dyno tune to get the engine running right but the rear gears have not had time to break in yet. Do I need to get some miles on the gears before I can get on the dyno or should I just go for it?
Thanks,
David
Thanks,
David
On The Tree
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 109
Likes: 1
Why take a short cut on a major build with the chance of having to do it over again....Absolutely put some miles on them.
I think they usually suggest 500 miles. With my rigs I can't drive 500 miles so I run it on jack stands gradually increasing speed. Then drive it around my yard as much as I can and finally change the fluid.
Awesome car by the way, Chevelles are one of my favorites
I think they usually suggest 500 miles. With my rigs I can't drive 500 miles so I run it on jack stands gradually increasing speed. Then drive it around my yard as much as I can and finally change the fluid.
Awesome car by the way, Chevelles are one of my favorites
Break-in procedure for street gears: No harsh acceleration! Drive the vehicle 50 miles then allow a 1/2 hour for the differential
to cool down. Repeat this sequence for a total of 250 miles. At 500 miles remove the differential cover, fully clean the
inside, seal the cover and reinstall.
Hope this helps,
Carl
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I think the legitimate concern here is that if you can't dyno the car can you safely drive it with the base tune? I'd rather be stuck swapping out gears in a year than blowing up the motor. If you can drive it without that risk before a tune then absolutely go through break-in, might be a good chance to break in the motor before an aggressive tune as well.
I did 2 sets of gears last summer (two different cars, ones my own) and didnt do the 250 or 500 mile break in.
After finishing the install, I drove easy for 20 miles, then parked the car and let the rear end cool off. I did this 3 times, or 3 heat cycles. Still havnt changed the oil in either of the cars and they are silent, no whine. The gears were motives. Not saying this is the correct method, but if you could put a few heat/cool down cycles on the gears before the dyno it wouldnt hurt.
After finishing the install, I drove easy for 20 miles, then parked the car and let the rear end cool off. I did this 3 times, or 3 heat cycles. Still havnt changed the oil in either of the cars and they are silent, no whine. The gears were motives. Not saying this is the correct method, but if you could put a few heat/cool down cycles on the gears before the dyno it wouldnt hurt.
fortunately I have 700 miles or so on the street on my gears now, so they should be good to go to the track.
Why do you need to worry so much about a long break in period if you re build the rear end with new gears, but not when the cars brand new from the factory?
Why do you need to worry so much about a long break in period if you re build the rear end with new gears, but not when the cars brand new from the factory?
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
fortunately I have 700 miles or so on the street on my gears now, so they should be good to go to the track.
Why do you need to worry so much about a long break in period if you re build the rear end with new gears, but not when the cars brand new from the factory?
Why do you need to worry so much about a long break in period if you re build the rear end with new gears, but not when the cars brand new from the factory?
Thanks for the advice, y'all. I guess I'll plan on doing the slow 50 mile heat cycles for the first 250 miles then do some heat cycles on the highway until the 500 mile mark. How does that sound?