engine run in/first start.. Now with smoke

[HAVABEER]

hi everyone i have a recently rebuilt suzuki carry engine (1ltr 4 cyl F10a) that i had re built with new pistons, rings, bearings etc.

this is my first time dealing with a freashly rebuilt engine and my question is about running the engine in. (sorry i tried to search but most of the titles i could think of are to short to search for)

i've read a few pages saying that i should just gun the engine for a bit or drive it hard and not really let it idle. but what should i do before i crank it? i was just going to give it a few cranks with the dizzy unplugged to try and build up oil pressure is that all i really need to do?

once its started do i just let the engine get up to temperature and then give it a few good hard flogs??

any other info would be appreciated.

thanks

shane

[pandaah]

basically your on the right track mate, i use mineral oil and definetly not synthetic oil for running a motor in..

- mineral oil
- crank with no spark to build oil pressure
- let it run for a few mins revving it up (dont have to rev the shit out of it)


its only really the initial warming it up the first time you dont wanna let it idle doing the same revs.. if you rev it up and take it for a drive then itll be fine from then oil, the mineral oil is abit rougher so to speak and that will help everything bed in..

[lexsmaz]

Ideally the oil system should be primed by an external source, engine builders have them or you can hook up a flexible line to the oil pressure switch port & pump in oil via an oil can, messy & time consuming but works ok .. If you dont want to do the above methods you should at least pull the spark plugs out & then crank over to get oil pressure, less loading on the bearings & higher cranking speed which is better for the oil pump to prime ...

As has been said a low idle is not good, but running at around 1200 to 1500 range is more than enough ...

The main thing with a mineral type oil is to get one without friction modifiers in it so it allows the rings to bed in properly to the Bores ..

[HAVABEER]

yeah i've got it written down on my little list of things to do was to get some mineral oil.

how long should i run it before dumping it and switching back to synthetic stuff?

i'll just have to guess what revs the engine is doing as it doesn't have a taco

[pandaah]

bout 1000km's should be plenty.. i did that in the ls1 i built and used castrol edge since then.. goes awesome

[dangdang]

An interesting article on engine break in, whilst written for bikes it is the same theory. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

More people I know run their engines in this way than the soft take it easy method, babied engines die IMO.

I have 1/8th 2 stroke nitro cars that I race and the engines in those I run in by driving them fairly hard (but not brutal) straight away.

Its all about getting the rings to bed asap, so constantly varying revs, driving but not cruising at one speed in top for example and lots of vacuum overun in third and fourth for instance to draw the rings out against the bores.

Use a good mineral oil but I would change it pretty much after the first short drive to be sure of any debris possibly in the engine from machining and assembly is gone and then go for your thousand odd kay before switching to your favourite synthetic.

[TERRA Operative]

revs is not the key, engine load is. Take it for a gun through tthe hills and you'll be fine.

You need to load it up as you go up the hills to build up cylinder pressure and press the rings into the bores to properly bed them in, then engine brake on the downwards slope to build up vacuum in the engine and suck the metal particles off the bores.

First oil change lasts for about 100 - 200kms, this is when the bulk of the bedding in process occurs, don't leave it in much longer. You don't need that junk circulating through the engine, plus there will be a lot of fuel in there thinning it out. Swap the oil out for more mineral oil and leave it in until the 1200km mark for the remainder of the bed in process (drive normally, but keep alternating the load and engine braking. Freway driving is your enemy) then swap to synthetic of your choice.

As for priming, I just pull the fuel pump relay and crank it a bit (that way tou won't flood the engine). If you used a good amount of moly assembly lube, that should be fine (I just found residual moly lube in oil seals on a 2000km old engine today, so it does the job). I just pull a cam cover off to check for oil in the head then start the engine. Drive it easy until it warms up then go for it as detailed above.




[edit] that link above pretty much sums it up, it's what I follow.

[smiley_666]

An interesting article on engine break in, whilst written for bikes it is the same theory. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

i used this method to break in my drz400. recently opened the motor up to fix the gearbox and the bores and piston look brand new after 36k kms

[Hurricane]

penrite make a RUN IN oil just for useing when u run the engine in for the first 200k's or so.
dont forget to change the oil filter when u change the oil, as it will have all the metalic from run in inside it.

i also fill the cooling system with warm water so it is closer to opertating temp when first started. have a oil pressure gauge on the motor, note that to high oil pressure can be a bad thing also (block'd some were, bearing shell not in corectly)


i normally do hill runs like TERRA Operative was talking about. loading the motor up the hill (not full throttle to start with) then do a long desell down the hill.

or go up the road and do some 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear load/deselaration runs, starting with less throttle to start with and working up to 3/4 throttle.
note when i mean load runs that its not a full RPM load run, i go to about 4 -5k RPM max depending on the motors full RPM level to start with.

what every u do dont let the motor idle to long, stay on the same RPM for periods of time (highways) or bby the motor.

all new merc's that i see at work that have been babyed go slower, use mote fuel and burn more oil.

the new 63 v8 motors are like this, there not build to baby around in town, and we have need to replace pistion/ring in motors that have done very little k's.

hope this helps u out with the other ifo above.

ps i dont rebuild motors for a job every day but these ways seem to work out for me ok.

cheers, dan

[MWP]

... ok so giving the engine some shit in the first 50kms seems like the way to go.

How can you do that though if the engine doesnt have a good tune which is often the case?

For example, ill be building my 5SGTE soon which will hopefully be run by a new Vipec 88.
How can i possibly get the Vipec tuned up well enough to push the engine in that first 50kms?

[TERRA Operative]

tune on the dyno and give it a few good runs. There is a procedure for running in on a dyno in that link above.

[HAVABEER]

thanks for all the info guys.

off to get some oil, fuel and filters and see if she'll start up and hopefully take her for a quick drive.

[OnAll-FOUR]

Interesting read. I was watching a build video on the Audi R8 and it seemed to back up the bed in procedure

All the new engines go straight onto their dynos and are run through their paces hard to check all the systems and I assume bed it all in (although the video didn't say this explicitly). The theory also seems to makes some sense.

[o_man_ra23]

The idea of loading up is to force the rings hard against the bores, while the hone marks are still sharp. This removes excessive ring material and shapes the rings to the bores. First short while is when the hone marks are sharp enough for this to work properly. Hence the need to change the oil after the first 100-200kms.

Warming up the coolant just prior to first start is a good idea, I'll be keeping that one in the memory banks for 18R-GTE MkII. If you can run your oil pump manually (ie 18R-G) then this should be done to prime the oil.

I'll also back up the Penrite run in oil. Good McShit.

[HAVABEER]

yeah well it all went well as the little engine started and spluttered to life, and then i realised i had one spark plug lead off. so took it for a quick splurt around the block a few times and up a few smallish hills, now i'll just tidy her up and get her ready for rego