Break-in with CJ-4 Rotella

[synormin]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
Originally Posted By: synormin
...this will be my wife's primary transportation taking kids to school, etc and used daily
Can you find a vehicle that offers more protection if another car hits you? I don't think you can find one that offers less protection, except maybe an older VW.

My wife did a fair amount of research on the safety of the Vanagon prior to our purchase and what she found surprised both of us. Bottom line...you take a chance driving regardless of what your ride is, certainly there are some vehicles that are safer than others but the Vanagon design is an excellent one. There are many articles about Vanagon safety, here's one http://www.vanagon.com/info/safety/volvo-crash/index.html
The boys are seated right in the middle of the vehicle which helps in side impacts. Rather not think about accidents I guess but we trust (have confidence in) this vehicle and I think Johnny can back me up on this, they're built for a good time, not a fast time
As far as the break-in goes....everything went fairly well. I cooked the ECU when I disconnected the coil wire and didn't ground it(from the distributor) to build oil pressure...rookie mistake..cost me $200 for a used ECU but now I know! Again here's the pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/28057395@N00/sets/72157610855749903/ the last two pics were taken just prior to start up. I left the a/c belt off as there are some hoses that need replacing...a job for another day.

 

[Johnny]

Job well done young man.

I tried to copy a couple of those finished pictures but you must have it locked so no one can copy them.

 

[synormin]

Thank you much Johnny! Send me a PM and I will send you a jpeg.

 

[daves66nova]

One site that i will follow in regards to breaking -in an engine is http://www.moto-tuneusa.com ,He gets on the freshly rebuilt engines like he was racing them,and races or months later, he shows pics of piston tops that are a lot cleaner than manufacturer broken-in engines.Have you broken in the engine yet?

 

[synormin]

Originally Posted By: daves66nova
One site that i will follow in regards to breaking -in an engine is http://www.moto-tuneusa.com ,He gets on the freshly rebuilt engines like he was racing them,and races or months later, he shows pics of piston tops that are a lot cleaner than manufacturer broken-in engines.Have you broken in the engine yet?


I checked out that web site also and it is in-line with what Doug and bullwinkle recommend for break-in procedure. The initial break-in went well and currently there are about 200 miles on the motor...and my wife is happy to have her vehicle back!
To answer your question I'm not sure if the break-in is complete. Fuel consumption is a little higher now than before the new motor but I expect that to improve. I'm keeping a close eye on coolant temp and oil level and so far everything seems fine. Maybe some body else can chime in on how long engine break-in typically takes.

 

[Johnny]

Actual break-in should be done somewhere around 500 miles, but to start noticing better economy could take up to 20K. I know on the Vanagon we had that somewhere around 18K everything just changed. Engine ran quieter, smoother, the the gas mileage picked up.

My break-in procedure since 1962 has always been to just drive the vehicle when it's new like you would when it's 5-years old. I don't baby them and I don't abuse them.