New engine break in- observations...
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 843
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From: Roseville, Ca.
New engine break in- observations... Hey guys!
There are a lot of different opinions on how to break in a motor and I've read them all.
I was a victim of the dreaded missing oil galley plug near the pump, but ran it for less than 20 seconds. After I fixed that, BOOM 70psi @ startup, then 50-60 after it reached operating temps. *whew* I did this alone, so I would rev to 2500 rpms for a few minutes, then dropped to idle to check for leaks, then repeated until I had about 25 minutes of runtime. The valvetrain was a little noisy at first, then quieted down with a uniform sewing machine sound. Lots of smoke from burnoff and lots of blue smoke from the tailpipes and breather. My neighbor came out with a fire extinguisher! LOL! One thing that looked cool is the headers glowed orange at a constant 2500rpms! So I killed it and let it sit overnight for my first heat cycle. This whole process was really *** puckering as I've never undertook anything like this before and had no idea what to expect. It ran ok on the old tune that was for a similar spec cam.
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n...14449_ORIG.flv
The next morning, I drained the oil, changed the filter and refilled with more penzoil 10-40, topped off the radiator. Time for a road test. The new clutch took a little geting used to, so after killing the motor over a couple of speed bumps I rolled out and kept the rpms under 2500 and rowed through the first 4 gears over and over, accellerating and decellerating, putting minimal load on the car and ran it for around 15 miles. The car felt ok, maybe a little sluggish. There was still quite a bit of blue smoke from the pipes and breather.
The valvetrain was decently quiet for a .600 lift cam. I parked it for another 8 hours or so. I now had 15 miles on the car.
Checked the oil and topped off the radiator again and saw no leaks under the car. So I repeated rowing and varying the rpms, this time up to 3000 rpms and increasing the load slightly. One thing I noticed was the car was getting more and more powerful at the the same throttle, as if it were waking up a little after every stop sign. Now I'm starting to smile... guess what? No more blue smoke out the pipes at idle!! (still some out of the breather). I guess the rings are starting to find their "happy place". Btw, no ses light.
Now I have 40 miles and will take it out again today and maybe take it to 3500 or so and slightly increase the load.
Have you all had similar experiences? Am I on track? What would you suggest over the next couple of hundred miles? I will be getting a tune asap, but it will be at least another week or so. BTW, thanks for everyone who has given help and advice throughout this process!
There are a lot of different opinions on how to break in a motor and I've read them all.
I was a victim of the dreaded missing oil galley plug near the pump, but ran it for less than 20 seconds. After I fixed that, BOOM 70psi @ startup, then 50-60 after it reached operating temps. *whew* I did this alone, so I would rev to 2500 rpms for a few minutes, then dropped to idle to check for leaks, then repeated until I had about 25 minutes of runtime. The valvetrain was a little noisy at first, then quieted down with a uniform sewing machine sound. Lots of smoke from burnoff and lots of blue smoke from the tailpipes and breather. My neighbor came out with a fire extinguisher! LOL! One thing that looked cool is the headers glowed orange at a constant 2500rpms! So I killed it and let it sit overnight for my first heat cycle. This whole process was really *** puckering as I've never undertook anything like this before and had no idea what to expect. It ran ok on the old tune that was for a similar spec cam.
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n...14449_ORIG.flv
The next morning, I drained the oil, changed the filter and refilled with more penzoil 10-40, topped off the radiator. Time for a road test. The new clutch took a little geting used to, so after killing the motor over a couple of speed bumps I rolled out and kept the rpms under 2500 and rowed through the first 4 gears over and over, accellerating and decellerating, putting minimal load on the car and ran it for around 15 miles. The car felt ok, maybe a little sluggish. There was still quite a bit of blue smoke from the pipes and breather.
The valvetrain was decently quiet for a .600 lift cam. I parked it for another 8 hours or so. I now had 15 miles on the car.
Checked the oil and topped off the radiator again and saw no leaks under the car. So I repeated rowing and varying the rpms, this time up to 3000 rpms and increasing the load slightly. One thing I noticed was the car was getting more and more powerful at the the same throttle, as if it were waking up a little after every stop sign. Now I'm starting to smile... guess what? No more blue smoke out the pipes at idle!! (still some out of the breather). I guess the rings are starting to find their "happy place". Btw, no ses light.
Now I have 40 miles and will take it out again today and maybe take it to 3500 or so and slightly increase the load.
Have you all had similar experiences? Am I on track? What would you suggest over the next couple of hundred miles? I will be getting a tune asap, but it will be at least another week or so. BTW, thanks for everyone who has given help and advice throughout this process!
Last edited by Steve Gunn; May 10, 2009 at 08:13 AM.
I sure didn't do it like you LOL. I've got around 200 miles on mine. Already done a few WOT pulls on mine while tuning it and a race here and there. On a closed course of course haha. I believe in the saying that if you drive yw **** out of it during break in, that's the ways it's going to always run!
Since LSx engines all have roller lifters, there is no need to vary the RPM's for any duration at initial startup. Flat tappet cams rely mostly on splash oil from the crank and rods, which is the theory behind varying the RPM's (splashing different areas for lifter/lobe break in). That said, you've got your heat cycles taken care of for the springs.
In case you haven't seen this in the stickies:
Engine Break in Theory and a direct link to the method discussed.
Sounds like now is a good time to start putting a load on that engine and getting the rings to fully seat.
Good luck!
In case you haven't seen this in the stickies:
Engine Break in Theory and a direct link to the method discussed.
Sounds like now is a good time to start putting a load on that engine and getting the rings to fully seat.
Good luck!
Last edited by hammertime; May 10, 2009 at 12:47 PM.
The only thing I did was run the car up in the RPM's, to say like 4-5k, and let it slow back down on its on. Like engine breaking. I've always heard that puts a good bit of pressure on the rings and helps them to seat fully. Dunno if it really works tho.
the reason its getting more power, is the rings are seating in properly. do be afraid to take it up to 4000 rpms the more you thrust the rings out, the better they will seal. good job on the install!!!
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 843
Likes: 0
From: Roseville, Ca.
Ok,
Changed the oil again at 60 miles.
I sacked up and started loading more and more. After 20 more miles I let it rip 2 or three times in a row, smashing it to around 6500 or so and decellerating in gear. Seemed to pull harder and harder each time. I pulled over to check everything and walked around the car. It just looked at me like "is that all you got?" Everything was quiet... just purring, as if begging me for more.
So I railed it through 3 gears to 6800 rpms. OMFG! It's hard to shift and steer with a boner, but I managed. The car now has 100 miles and seem to yank me more with every pass!
I finally regained my ******** after nine months of this thing being in my garage. I'm getting an "in car" tune tomorrow, then off to the dyno in a few more days for a final tune. I'll post up the results.
Thanks again to everyone here who has guided and advised through this whole process! LS1 tech rocks!
Changed the oil again at 60 miles.
I sacked up and started loading more and more. After 20 more miles I let it rip 2 or three times in a row, smashing it to around 6500 or so and decellerating in gear. Seemed to pull harder and harder each time. I pulled over to check everything and walked around the car. It just looked at me like "is that all you got?" Everything was quiet... just purring, as if begging me for more.
So I railed it through 3 gears to 6800 rpms. OMFG! It's hard to shift and steer with a boner, but I managed. The car now has 100 miles and seem to yank me more with every pass!
I finally regained my ******** after nine months of this thing being in my garage. I'm getting an "in car" tune tomorrow, then off to the dyno in a few more days for a final tune. I'll post up the results.
Thanks again to everyone here who has guided and advised through this whole process! LS1 tech rocks!
These motors loved to be pushed! 
