Posted by Daryl in Oz [58.178.233.31] on Monday, December 23, 2013 at 22:24:06 :
In Reply to: need advice but few will help on correct engine break in posted by dave [71.84.187.147] on Monday, December 23, 2013 at 21:09:28 :
Don't Sue me - not my name ;-) Back in the day the advice was to take it real easy for the first 1000 miles to give everything a chance to bed in. Follow the head gasket manufacturers advice and re-tension the head when it's supposed to be done (I usually run the engine up to temp and re-tension when it's either hot or cold depending on the gasket type). I've found with the new type rings you want to seat them sooner rather than later, so some low rpm heavy foot application for a short burst, then foot off to draw more oil up to the pistons and repeat during the first 100 miles - tends to have the engine good to go after 500 miles and an oil change. If you have some hills around you it makes life a bit easier, accelerate up, decelerate down, don't exceed 40 mph for the first couple of hundred, then ease it up in short bursts. By the time you get to 500 you should be able to run it at 3200 rpm for longer periods. Have you got a governor fitted? They are often set at what the military calls maximum operating speed (for run-in engines), so designed for the loaded vehicle to run with the pedal on the metal for extended times. I don't run governors as I expect my engines (251's 237's) to handle 3600 rpm any time I want it - personal choice of course and if it pops, my problem.