Correct engine break in

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Just drive it like you normally would. Trust me, the tech who test drives it following the pre-delivery inspection will have that needle kissing the redline the second he's out of sight of the dealership!
 
Originally Posted By: JerryBob
I had always heard that one way to break in an engine, in addition to taking it easy, was to maximize the number of heat-up and cool-offs of the engine.

The thinking was that the repeated expansion and contraction of the metals helped the break-in process.

Any truth to this?


There may have been some benefit to repeated heat cycles as long as full operating temp was reached, but not anymore.

the rotating assembly is either right or wrong, and the rings are set very quickly. Likely the dealer thrashed it also.

But the point is what you are really breaking in are driveline parts, not the engine...
 
The last rebuilt engine I installed had roller lifters and the remanufacturer had in their printed manual to baby it for 500 miles, use a dino oil, and have the RPMs all over the place. After 500 miles, the oil needed to be changed for the warranty to be in effect.
The next one I will be doing is a Jeep 4.0 with hydraulic non-roller tappets and they have in their manual to rev it between 2500-3000 for 30 minutes, varying the revs continuously. This engine will get John Deere 10W-30 BREAK IN oil, available from the local John Deere dealer. I'll also throw in a bottle of SLOB, street legal oil boost, for good measure.
Of course, your Subaru will be different than both of these engines.
 
Originally Posted By: hpb
Just drive it like you normally would. Trust me, the tech who test drives it following the pre-delivery inspection will have that needle kissing the redline the second he's out of sight of the dealership!


They take it out for PDI? I thought they just pulled whatever wrapping they had on it off, quick wash, and out on the lot.
 
I have "broken in" every new motor I have owned since 1976 the very same way I was going to be driving and using it after it was "broke in". From my personal vehicles all the way up to my commercial semi trucks. I have heard that babying a motor at the beginning doesn't seat the rings properly. I have no idea. I just know that I have had very long lasting motors with hardly any internal problems just by driving them the same from day one. This is one area where the owners manual and me digress.

True, there seems to be oil consumption issues with many new vehicle over their life times, especially the AFM controlled GM varieties. My 2013 Silverado with a 5.3L has been driven just like I normally use it, from day one. Just changed oil this last weekend with a hair under 7000 miles on the oil, at 10% OLM left. In that time frame, it used about 8 oz of oil, or 1/4 quart. A lot better than most folks I hear from. Granted, it only has about 25,000 miles on the motor right now.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: hpb
Just drive it like you normally would. Trust me, the tech who test drives it following the pre-delivery inspection will have that needle kissing the redline the second he's out of sight of the dealership!


They take it out for PDI? I thought they just pulled whatever wrapping they had on it off, quick wash, and out on the lot.


Well they do here...back when I was turning spanners for a living, we had tick and flick sheets for each part of the PDI, including the road test. It wasn't unusual to find, for example, an off centre steering wheel, or a vibration requiring a wheel balance, etc. Better to have that stuff rectified before the customer collects their new vehicle. And of course, no road test was complete without some WOT, redlinin' action!
 
TT, with GM easily exceeding one million V8's per year you are certain to find many who will complain about issues. Just so many units.

The overwhelming majority are not experiencing any problems.

Our latest AFM engine is a 6.0 V8 pulling a 9000 pound van since birth. It was broken in driving from Ludlow, MA to Florida in less than 24 hours!

Not exactly easy.

Absolutely no visible oil consumption between changes strictly by the OLM. I have used PP, M1, and now using QSUD. No detectable difference...
 
I think it depends on the engine in question. For example the BMW M54 was known to consume oil and one hypothesis was that automatics coupled with initial and constant low speed driving were a possible reason
 
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