Excellent advice Eric! The only change I would make is not to let the car idle at all for the first few minutes but to rev it up and down from idle to about 1500/2000 and back again to make sure that the oil pressure stays above the minimum. I do that for about 10 minutes then switch off, check for leaks, check levels and repeat 4 or 5 times. Other than that, I agree with everything.
Nick Nakorn Spot on Nick that's called (Cycling a engine)...seating the Rings... it's a critical check,,!!! I've heard of three short block engines installed that were driven at 30 miles an hour 10 miles,,then increase to 40 miles an hour for 10 miles,, than 50 miles an hour for 10 miles, then 500 miles at 55 miles an hour, all 3 engins were 20 to 25 PSI under when compression check was given, the engine was losing roughly 4 to 5 Miles per gallon of gas. regardless if it's a new or rebuilt engine on any (engine) it's imperative that it's cycle, properly got to get that oil upon those cylinder walls for initial break-in.
I knew a couple of guys who built small block chevys flat tappet so 20 mins 2000 rpms then drive it but dont baby it not beat it to death but run it up to 4000 and down and then up and 3/4 throttle but run it a bit hard and I would not have believed it but those engines made a considerable amount more power later on than one that was exactly the same parts but broken in differently the two engines were exactly the same in every way except for the break in even built by the same guy can anyone explain that to me .
@@glennmanchester1568the high rpms, heat and repetitious scraping of cylinder walls with that more aggressive style of break in must enable the piston rings to seat better and provide more compression than their babied counterparts. I just watched a video from this nascar engine builder who advocAtes for a more aggressive approach to break in a motor, similar to your friend
Almost 1,5 million subscribers, and millions of views per video from a high-revenue audience. I bet he makes more money off of TH-cam than actual repairs :D
This is all good news. I have a 1999 Civic with a B16A2. It was just completely rebuilt with all new parts. This gives me a lot of knowledge about what to do and what not to do. There's been a lot of conflicting information I've heard from a lot of different sources. But this confirms what I thought in the first place.
When I bought my 2005 Camry new ...there was no "break-in" instructions in the manual. I asked the dealer about changing the oil after about 500 miles. They told me that was "outdated old school thinking." Well, as far as I'm concerned they were wrong. I changed the oil after about 500 miles...held a light right above the drained oil in the drain pan and saw thousands of tiny, tiny particles of metal in the oil. I saw proof that these particles would have been running thru my engine had I not drained the oil at around 500 miles. The next time I changed oil at the 5,000 mile interval...there was no such metal particles in the oil. Fast forward almost 12 years later...that engine now has 198,000 miles and still runs like it was new. I have done all the oil changes at 5,000 miles with Toyota filters and Mobil 1 synthetic. I believe it is a good idea to do this on any new or rebuilt engine...just to get rid of the tiny metal particles that will be in the oil from breaking in new metal parts within the engine.
I've watched you for one year now. Just started out how to see as an engine works really interesting always liked cars but now I really enjoy them and have never let anyone but me work on my car. Works like a charm. I'm a high school student in auto shop who just got a scholarship to Ohio technical institute. For classic car restoration I currently fix friends cars (brakes oil muffler some engine and other suspension work) I love what I do. Your the one that got me hooked thAnk you :)
Eric is a good guy, he doesn't have to make these videos for us, I've learned so much from him. So Eric don't stop doing what ur doing and don't listen to these jealous ppl.
When I rebuilt my 1st Chevy engine, I was told to get it started and leave it at about 1300 RPM (fast idle) for about 10 minutes to make sure it got plenty of oil flowing. Then to drive it at various RPM ranges for the first 500 miles. I got the car with 57,000 miles on it and the engine died at exactly 100,000 miles on the odometer. We rebuilt the engine at 263,000 miles after a valve spring broke. Not bad for some college shade-tree mechanic. That station wagon was run up to 6200 RPM at times. And my wife and I called her "Timex". Boy, I wish I still had her. I took great care of her with REGULAR fluid changes, and more preventive maintenance than it should have had. But it kept up with all I threw at her and then some. And at 263,000 miles, I rebuilt the engine a second time, but sold the car. Gasoline got over $1 a gallon, and getting 12 MPG on the highway at 55 MPH wasn't worth it.
In older engines like the Ford and Chevy V8s that still used the distributor to drive the oil pump you can prime the engine with oil by using a drill and special shaft to turn the oil pump before you install the distributor.
My parents recently purchased a 2014 BMW Z4 and the dealer said the break-in period was 1200 miles. Needless to say, anyone who can resist opening the throttle on that roadster for the first month deserves to be president.
Everyone chimes in with different ways to do the same thing. Mr. Eric has a firm grasp on what he's talking about. Pay attention because it is good advice on real word cars in real word situations.
thanks man, i have to drive my rebuilt car tomorrow on a 3 hour drive to bring it home. this really helped in figuring out how to keep the engine safe. lets just hope nothings wrong and it lasts that long LOL
I test drove a 350Z in LA several years ago; it was brand new with less than 100 miles on it. Halfway through, the sales guy insisted on switching seats to show me "what it could do"... which apparently meant pealing out into mock drag race (without a competitor of course) and later slamming on the brakes to avoid running a red light. I was shocked that this guy would abuse a new car like this in front of a potential buyer. Needless to say, he did not make a sale that day. I feel for the unsuspecting buyer of that car.
That is not abuse. You just pick another vehicle. As I seen the factory tell the dealers. To rev the shit out of an R7 rotary engine on demo drives. Just that everybody always said. I love it. I will take one over there!
Same exact thing I did. I was terrified when I did it for the first time. Definitely charged the battery up the night before I anticipated being ready for this. Nice idea to add oil down the spark plug holes (I did leave my spark plugs out though just so the engine could spin freely. I appreciate the sharing of information here.
Hey Eric. Totally agree on varying the load on the engine during break in. But I've got to wonder why they rev them up like hell, cold, in the factory just before they load them up for shipping.
hmm I work in motor coach industries yes its true that we rev the engine up to the redline but we do warm it up fist when its warm then we rev the hell out of it, i dont know why tho..
midgetboy I just wish carmakers spent the extra amount to actually pre-break in the cars on dyno's. Who knows, they probably do this at the exotic car factories like Ferrari, Lambo, Buggatti, or even Porsche.
ChuddleBuggy Everything I've read on breaking in engines (for bikes and "sports' cars) is that you need to run them hard to properly seat the piston rings. If you baby the engine, the pistons will seat improperly and you'll and up with oil consumption for the life of the engine. That's what seems to be the consensus anyways...
me and my dad just put a rebuilt stoker motor in my moms jeep. the company that made the cam said for a break in time of 30 min @2000 rpm,change the oil, and do it again. got to 20 min and the serpentine belt broke. sucks. we also have a rocker tap. i think its got to do with the lash caps being too short. i have complete faith in the man that set the head to fix that.
I've got a Honda Accord 2.4 Liter 4 Cylinder. I've beaten the living daylights out of that engine from the time I took it off the lot, and I don't religiously follow the owners manual recommendations for service intervals either, in fact sometimes I go 20,000 miles without changing the oil. 235K miles later, she runs beautifully with no issues. In fact when she idles you can hardly hear her running.
My best "safest" method on engine break in. 1) Make sure all fluids filled and topped to proper amount. 2) I never dry crank "any" motor. 3) Run engine until warm and do not run over 1,500 rpm 4) Check all fluids and leaks and address any issues. 5) Check OEM specs,valve adjustment "if any".Run engine until at operating temperature. Then road test up to and no more than 80/km hr. 6) Reinspection of leaks and then another road test. 7) Replace oil and filter to remove any possible debris, contamination etc. 8) Return vehicle to customet and have them return in 1,0000 to 1,500 km and stress not to drive beyond 100km / hr 9) Reinspection, replace oil and filter and follow manufacturer into. 10) Return in 5,000 km for service and then have at er. This is a never fail gaurnentee engine has a great new life. David
David, i know this is a old comment but i figured i ask this anyway, on a normal older engine with a distributor we just put a priming tool there and prime the whole engine and everything is copacetic, how do these folks with distributorless engines get away with turning a engine over without priming it first? is that how its supposed to be done? isn't that ruining bearings and things like that or does the assembly lube take care of that??
afaik : you want piston rings to seat you can do that only by building vaccum. so 4th and 5th gear pulls are ideal for that no wot no stuck in stable speed maybe 75-80% of throttle use... also there are good break in oils you no need thick oil for break in an engine. a magnetic drain plug and a filter magnet bracelet among with oil pressure gauge are good investments ! very useful video thanks Eric !!
Hello Eric! What kind of oil do you use for the break in period and what oil do you use after that? Is it true that you always break in an engine with conventional (mineral) oil and not synthetic? Thanks and advance! Keep the good work!
+Narat Siuaha really stop misleading people and reposting this synthetic oil shit. You really want to avoid any friction modifiers at the ring area till they seat hence the Mineral oil
I service my 2000 Vauxhall Astra Mk4 2x per year...I have just switched to an expensive 5w 40 fully synth oil and changed out the gear lube with good synth also wow its running sweeter and quieter... I would never flush my old engine...just change the oil and other parts at a regular service schedule...no probs! Thanks Eric for backing up what common sense means!
+Brad K If its rebuilt at a wreckers/shop and then sold to a mech it may have been sitting for a few months or if its a 99 civic potentially a year.. lube will follow gravity and return to the sump.. never hurts to oil
+Nick Palaroan In the old days we used oildag; colloidal graphite in oil as we rebuilt an engine. Even so it does no harm to get he oil around the engine and the oil pump and all the oil galleries full of oil before you start it.
When I rebuilt my first engine back in '76 the recommended build lubricant was STP oil treatment and engine oil mixed 1:1. The resulting mix is nice and sticky so it won't run out of bearings in a hurry, and I've still got some of that mix left. Other tips I've used are pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly (not grease), pre-fill the oil filter and take out an oilway plug as high up in the engine as you can find and fill the oilways.
he knows what hes doing and he did everything by the book. even in the new car I just bought the book says to do everything he just explained step by step for break in. break in does happen within 500 miles most real mechanics and engine builders will tell you that
Regarding your comment about not changing oil. Others say change it within 20-50 miles because of the metal shavings wearing off. What is your recommended first change mile and intervals?
This guy's information is 100% accurate. Unless of course you're dealing with a rebuit motor which utilizes a hydraulic non roller flat tappet camshaft....then you would pre prime the engine with a distributor oil pump tool....for example chevy 350....etc
Eric, when i used to play with Chevys back in the day i had an old distributor and i ground off the teeth on the distributor so it engaged with the oil pump only so when i was starting up a new engine i would use that and a drill to 'prime' the engine with the valve cover off, FYI small and big block distributors were interchangable- that way the engine was totally primed with out turning it over at all, as soon as the oil can out of the rockers that was sufficient.
Damn it I have a rebuilt diesel engine coming out of the garage in a matter of days, my manual says basically what eric says, don't race the engine, don't maintain same speeds for too long, do not drive high throttle or rpm for too long, but then people on here are stating that I should also go into a long gear like 3rd on a low speed, open up throttle gradually then foot to the floor half way through rev range till the redline then let it engine brake all the way to idle then do this with different gears. This is fair enough I could do this as well as what eric/my manual says, but then someone said let your engine idle for 30 mins but someone else said do not let it idle at all?! I mean wtf can someone help me? I would really appreciate it!
I know it's a late reply (but it might be helpful for anyone reading this in the future): It's a mix of both. You don't want to rev it out or put too much strain on the engine in it's break-in period. But if you never put any kind of strain on it, you have the chance of a tiny, tiny ring developing on the cylinder wall. This is due to that the pistons are not getting 'thrown around enough', i.e. they don't reach their maximum top in the cylinder, which they only reach during stresses being applied on the engine. So 98% of the time you want to drive it easy, but just sometimes (like once every 20-30 minutes of driving or so) you want to put a bit more stress on it. Don't rev it out, don't floor it, just give it a bit more, accelerate a bit harder. This stresses the engine and makes sure everything is in place for when you DO stress is later down the line. Obviously don't do this in the first couple of kilometers, but after a while (50-100 kilometers of driving or so) you can start to do this. Otherwise you're engine is not 'stretched' and it might hurt your engine in the long-term, since otherwise it's what we call a 'lazy' engine.
Haters gonna hate, nothing to do about it sadly, I love Erics skills and his way of doing the videos, who does not make mistakes? He is not a programmed machine, he is a human being, and the haters, well we cant change everyone. But if I could I would =P
andreboy1 no oil. that's why it's dry in there. If there is oil in there clean it out and dry it before putting the spark plug in. No oil on the threads and no grease on the boots.
Ya think? Your vasculature system leads from your hands to your heart. It is vital to protect your hands from dangerous fluids at all times, every time. Think before you talk/type. It can save your life and or someone elses. @EricTheCarGuy @ProjectCarTV
Have a honda civic si w/ a d16z6..... vtec kicks in at 4,800 rpm....hell it's a light ass car and it has a manual, it never needs to get that high in rpm to get up to speed lol....it's cool in concept, just reality is it never really needed it. I mean, breaking tires loose in 3rd gear? Sure. But useful? Meh.
To seat rings I like to take the vehicle out, shift the trans into manual if its an auto so it holds the gear, get it up to about 40mph and let off the gas so the engine braking slows the vehicle down to about 10-15mph. I do this 10 times. Supossedly this creates a vacuum which pulls the rings against the cyl walls and helps seat them much quicker.
The Vacuum will pull oil onto the rings to help cool them. Before you do the engine "braking", it is recommended to do WOT to about 80% of redline, and then allow the engine to slow you back down. The increased cylinder pressure will force the rings against the cylinder walls, and then the vacuum from the engine braking will pull oil onto them to cool them and keep them from glazing over. The method Eric uses is regarded to as an old school method, most likely learned from someone back in the day. The reason his way used to be the "correct" way to do things, was because the hones were supposedly more coarse, and you needed to give the rings more time and less force to seal correctly. If anyone is curious, or needs a more detailed explanation, google "Moto Man Method". While his article is specific to motorcycles, the information and principles still apply to all 4 stroke engines.
Daniel Jewell "Before you do the engine "braking", it is recommended to do WOT to about 80% of redline, and then allow the engine to slow you back down. The increased cylinder pressure will force the rings against the cylinder walls, and then the vacuum from the engine braking will pull oil onto them to cool them and keep them from glazing over." This is the Best method for rapidly seating rings, I lug an engine up, then engine braking back down, 10 times minimum... at least 1000 engines in my time...
@WhenImGoneCa it's the cam break in period if you put a aftermarket can in you idle it between 2000-3000 rpms for 20-30 mins. It prevents a flatt lobe.
Yeah, you can do that on older subarus too if you just dont want spark, it still might pump gas into the engine though, and you still have to remove spark plugs if you want no compression for easy turnover, but yeah you can remove the crank sensor and it stop the car from sparking
GM 3.1 3.4 and 3.9 V6s have TWO crank position sensors.... it will run if the high precision one goes out..... but if the low precision goes, it wont run
A subtle nuance that most of you are missing... oil isn't only there for lubrication. Prelubing is important for all the functions of motor oil. That is, it lubricates, cools, cleans and acts as a hydraulic fluid for certain engine components (especially modern vehicles with hydraulic timing belt/chain tensioners and VVT systems). Making sure all the oil passages are full of oil before actually starting the engine for the first time is the only way to ensure that everything will be functioning as intended. I've personally seen failure to prelube an engine with hydraulic timing chain tensioners cause the motor to immediately jump time, bend valves and punch a hole in the top of a piston.
...isn't this what assembly lube is for? ... I rebuilt my EJ22 with my friends help and I just coated my cylinders with motor oil and used the assembly lube everywhere else and put oil on the heads when I closed it up... sure motor chugged for a few turns of the key motor turned twice then coughed ... second pull I had it run for a few seconds then die again... third shot it roared to life and I got full oil pressure and all was good with the world... seems like this spinning piece is redundant if you do all the above when you reassembling it anyway...
Bob Villa if you didn't assemble it yourself and bought it as a rebuild from a company, you can't assume they used assembly fluid. Also, assembly fluid will do the same this as regular if the engine was rebuilt and sat for an extended period in a warehouse. There's a ton of other reasons too, like lubricating the main bearings, cam bearings, wrist pins, etc at low rpms without much resistance and heat prior to staring the engine. Every rebuild from an aftermarket company suggests priming the oil pump and filling the oil galleries for this reason, no matter how recent the build was. Also, there's many engines that have high pressure oil systems (usually diesels for passenger vehicles) that have oil reservoirs for higher demand times within the engine. The 6.0L PSD I'm rebuilding for a friend is a fantastic example of that. Basically, to err on the side of caution is never a bad thing.
i heard that you should under no condition ever let it idle after you just started it up. you obviously didnt do this and definitely seem to know what youre doing, so what was up with that?
There are a few myths and a bit reasoning behind not letting a cold car idle. First off is the car is not at peak engine temp and the fuel may not combust all the way causing excessive carbon buildup in the cylinder (bad cases can lead to improperly seated/sealed valves which is a loss of power) that can also foul spark plugs. The other main one is that the oil pump is engine-rpm dependent and people believe that the low oil pressure at idle does not adequately provide enough protection on a cold startup after it has sat (not such a big issue on a car that has been driven a bit and gushed a substantial amount of oil into it's bearings). Those are the main ones people believe (at least that I have run into). If your managing a vehicle "fleet" you will hear things like 1 hour idle is equivalent to 30 miles driven. which doesn't sound like much, but it adds up pretty fast if the vehicle is in constant use.
A long time ago I bought a brand new van. I drove it cross country on the highway right off. Almost constant RPM's. Really stupid of me but I was young and dumb. It always burned oil after that as the rings never did seat properly. Town driving is the ticket. Vary the RPM's.
The ticking sounds at the 5:00 mark is actually the fuel injectors cycling. The injectors on most D-series engines are very loud, and make more noise than the valvetrain if it's adjusted properly. This is perfectly normal, and sounds NOTHING like knocking.
dude, change your gloves when you touch the key. The first thing your customer will touch is the key, and no matter how perfect the repair is, the first thing they are going to think when the key is slimy is, "eeeewww gross!"
+donsbarkingdogs3 Considering this is the second time this person has replaced the engine.... For the exact same reason both times.... I doubt they care
Yep. I took my car to a new (to me) oil change place (didn't have time to do it myself and didn't want to get greasy) which had very high ratings. They got oily fingerprints all over my door panel. Never going there again.
i know what you're saying as the particle size is generally very small but i don't take any chances. at the 1500 mile service we open the oil filter to see what kind and amount of metal particles have been worn off so in the rare event anything is wrong with the engine we can diagnose and rectify the fault before it becomes terminal. it's over what's expected but saves us money and the customer the inconvenience of a breakdown. also it allows us to check the installation for any leaks or faults.
Why does the engine look so dirty for a rebuilt engine . when I rebuild engines they look like straight from the factory ,and no grease or hand prints all over them seems like this would keep the smoke and smell down. I also noticed when you make a video for whatever is wrong with a car or whatever you're working on ,I noticed most of the cars are foreign, such as Honda or Lexus or whatever . you should be called Eric the( foreign )car guy . otherwise I believe you are very informative . good videos , and working as a millwright for 36 years believe me I stayed dirty lol , take care ,,seeeee yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!
even if you paint up your engine and make it all nice and clean, that engine enamel will have to break in with the engine. there's going to be smell weather it's new galv burning in on your exhaust or anything.
also to add to logans comment. the outside isnt nearly as important as the inside. i would and have taken the time to clean mine inside and out because im a neat freak but priority is the inside. you can always degrease/wash is after its built and tested. :p
I have heard so many variations to this each one has valid points... take a look at a race car engine do they put around for 500 miles before raceday? No, but they dont get the life expectancy that a passenger car does. When I rebuilt mine I never went WOT but I didt take it up to mid-high rpm and let it coast back down in gear cause it helps seat the rings.
Another method I've used is to make a 'preoiler'. Use a pumpup garden sprayer, attach a barb fitting into where the oil pressure switch is and attach to the flexible line from the sprayer, having removed the reg handpiece. Pump it up and rotate the engine slowly by hand/plugs out etc, you will hear the oil displace the air in all those empty passages. Have measured 40psi doing this Once oiled, reattach/install and should be ready to start. Cheap as well. Should leave sump empty when you do this.
With ref' to what you were almost saying, I think you meant "every crook and nanny', I think??? New en rebuild very good ideas, thanks. I did the same thing to the first rebuild I did alone. It was a 1250 cc engine so not huge, so I actually turned it over by hand with a spanner to the big-end at the front of the engine. Then started the engine on the shed floor, and as will yours no drama as you say. Thanks for the very handy advice here, and of course the upload. Take care. mrbluenun
Right on bother. like what u said around minute 9. And yes it helped and the only video on the entire interwebs that answered a logically standar phrased and typed google search, unless i, the only idiot that doesnt know how to phrase the search term 'what to do after installing or replacing an engine in car vehicle". So thanks man.
@Eric, your videos are the best. It's clear your not a professional actor, you just get the important facts across. Keep up the good work dude! thanks a million. @venomrx - If the engine was running fine, it probably is leaking oil past the cover grommets. I have to replace mine just about every time I change the plugs. I probably could permatex them but I want to be able to get the cover off easy and not have to clean that up so I just keep replacing them theyr'e cheap.
simplyconnected is correct. once the correct engine break-in has been performed, which is usually in the first 5 miles, there is no need as it will have already seated all the necessary parts, piston rings, valves etc. i would just change the oil after the first full tank of gas has been used to ensure all microscopic metallic particles are flushed. also, i would use a standard oil for the first few thousand miles.
Hey Eric, can you please show us a step by step procedure for overhauling an engine? Thanks man. Your videos are really helpful for a DIY mechanic like me.
Excellent technique. I do something similar to prime the oil pump and filter following an oil change. Although I turn the engine via a road wheel rather than the starter motor; because being unaware of the relevant circuitry, I'm unsure as to whether disconnected plugs and coil will have a benign effect on the electronic ignition and computer control. Safe than sorry. Not forgetting the advantage of the resultant physical exercise!
Great video! Your channel has taught me a lot, so, THANK YOU! I have a 2000 civic DX and now realize I have a valve problem simply from a comment you made on first startup. Could that be the reason mine is burning oil?
Noticed you said that when the vehicle overheated and cooked the new water pump. I'm changing my radiator because it is busted. I was going to check the entire system but was about to ignored the pump. Thanks for this tip. I would have hated doing all that work and then have to get in there because of being lazy and not checking the pump. (Chico)
I agree with everything you said except the oil in the cylinders, it will glaze the cylinder walls and take longer to seat the rings, its no big deal and probably makes very little difference but just thought I'd mention it. The factories stopped doing this back in the 60's because they found the engines took to long to break in.
I intuitively did my first crank and first startup exactly as he did. The unloaded crank speed almost doubled the instant the oil light went off when all the assembly lube got flushed out of the bearings and displaced with oil.
I rebuilt my h22a with turbo (rebuilt the turbo as well), and how I broke it in was drove it on the free way to the dyno shop and they ran the sht outa it lol.. Thing held like a beast, they even complemented me on the who setup..
Excellent vid, now in short, the break in process requires the process shown in the vid and then running the engine to allow all the parts to sea in and get together. right?
@IHcubcadet It's because all the engine oil has drained back into the sump after being parked for a period. When you start up a cold engine, cold oil are being pumped through the system, re-lubing everything. As the oil heats up it gets thinner, which in turn lubricates better and will make the ticking go away. If it takes substantial time for the ticking to go away, you need to change your oil. I change mine every 10000km (gasoline engine) as a rule.
After I rebuilt the top end of my BMW 540i's engine, I had a lot of lifter ticking, so I had to essentially bleed the lifters by holding the engine at 3,000 RPM for about 3 minutes at a time, several times in a row. Interesting how the procedures vary per engine.
Hey Just thought ide share. The rotax 600 ho Etec and 800r Etec motors used in ski doo snowmobiles do thier own break in's. Meaning the ecm controlls and limits engine during hte brake in period, by litming engine rpm eithier limiting advance or retaring of timing and the electril oil pump delivers 50% more oil to the motor and rave valves. So you drive it "normaly" and the sled will do the rest. THey also have auto summerization features
the reason behind changing the oil and filter after 1500 miles or as recommended is to remove any metal particles that wear off the new components during the bedding in process. you don't want metal particles circulating and contaminating the bearing material or causing excess wear on other sensitive components. i rebuild engines and i don't warranty any engine unless the oil and filter has been changed after 1500 miles (for car engines) and at the recommended service intervals thereafter.
If you want my tip! crank it perhaps u have to take this in 2 turns with a brake inbetween, but you wanna do this until the oil pressure light goes out! that means that you have pumped the engine with oil! what builds oil pressure? its the internal restriction between parts! as oil is more dense then air you wont get oil pressure before there is oil in every bearing and cam "spoke" "bridge" "and so on"....
I have had several opinions on this (from professionals) and they all vary. So I'd like yours EricTheCarGuy. I just finished a rebuild. It has all high end performance parts. Normally I would just baby it for the break in period, but the ring manufacturer (Hastings) says to do WOT from 35-55mph 3-5 times to break in the rings. What's your thought? Please note that this is a street legal vehicle and will visit the track and is currently expected to run 12.3 in the 1/4 mile until it is procharged.
One thing you really want to avoid is endless cranking of a new engine. Find out why it is not starting without cranking on that starter over and over. The points in the engine (hey not ignition points) that you have lubed up with assembly lube will not stay lubed throughout endless cranking. You would think it would be easy to see if you have fuel and spark and quickly come to a conclusion why you have a "no-start" condition but it does not always go so easy. You also need compression to get it started. If you are sure you have spark and fuel pull those plugs and squirt oil in the cylinders, it may be a lack of compression keeping the new engine from starting. I have seen a cam lobe go flat on a 351 Cleveland and it was due to long cranking after a rebuild. I have only seen this once so I tend to believe the cam was not "treated" correctly when it was manufactured,very odd.
filling the cooling sytem with hot as heck water, just before start will help also, and if you can pre heat the oil, just before pouring it in, break em in with castrol 10 -30
you can use synthetic oil, but I would recommend using mineral oil for the first 1000/2000 kilometers, mineral oil is very good for the materials to get ''adjusted to each ohter'', but after that, synthetic is better because of it being more long lasting
I did a complete rebuilt on a 2000 subaru b 4 twin turbo 4 years ago that had oil ring problems. I oil up pistons and rings, bearings, crank and cam channels fill up oil filter and oil during assembling throw it in connect all the electrics, it fired up first pop still boost hard.
My mother got a new car, and in the manual it actually said to use high gears, low engine speeds and high load (WOT) as much as possible during the break-in period.
Great video. I have an '00 G20 SR20DE engine. Original owner. I followed the owner's manual break in period and 15 years later, no engine problems. Question.... do you think a '99 Civic or '99 Sentra or '99 Corolla has a more reliable, long lasting engine? Thanks!
Nice work buddy I'm working on honda we keep getting blue smoke ugh so we going to do top in rebuild then hopefully we fix it love watching yo vid really good help. thank for taking the time to make the vid.
Really great information. So many baby an engine thinking it's a proper way. Like coming back from a broken leg, not the same! Drive it like you stole it!
The fact of the matter is many mechanics have there own opinion on engine break in for me I just bring the engine from low rpms to high many times and that will seat the ring just fine, or in other words I find a long stretch of road and go from 15 mph to 65 mph as fast as possible and no oil ever goes past the ring. And all the bearings need to be broken in the same way you will find out quick if your gonna have any problems, instead of 5000 miles down the road.
I can see letting the engine idle for a short time to warm up and bleed the cooling system. But Eric never talks about in favor of putting a partial load on the engine to seat the rings in the beginning. Other people say to hold the engine at 3500 rpm for 15 minutes, change the oil, go out and drive it 20 mile hard break in, change oil again and you're good. Having water pump issues really would delay things.
Kilmer's "repair" vid:Drives around the cam screaming stuff from different angles...shows a problem and what caused it this time without telling you what else could be the cause,unscrews everything in a "uhmm" and ends up with a cinematic 2 min repair that took him 4 hours and maybe has a good tip,while Eric always gets into everything that could be causing it and makes you understand how shit works and eventually why it could go wrong!Though I always prefer tie-wraps...
I would recommend fully throttle on the first drive, keeping RPM below 4,000rpm for the first 100miles due to heat caused by the friction of the new piston rings bedding in against the harsh cylinder bores (honed/rebored). As much full throttle and engine deceleration as possible to aid the piston ring sealing. Also, DO NOT run synthetic based engine oil until after the first oil change as it will 'over lube' the cylinder bores lowering the piston ring sealing ability
in the world off 2stroke motors i've heard that its better to rev the engine up and run it hard so the rings can seat properly and that with new engineering engines are made with better tolerances so you dont have to worry about revving the engine high when its new
![Engine Break-In Myths Dispelled | Engine Break-In Tips And Tricks [GOLD WEBINAR]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5Ruk6GLJgbA/mqdefault.jpg)
Its a breath of fresh air when you watch a video with somebody that knows what they are talking about. This guy is so so so knowledgable.
Excellent advice Eric! The only change I would make is not to let the car idle at all for the first few minutes but to rev it up and down from idle to about 1500/2000 and back again to make sure that the oil pressure stays above the minimum. I do that for about 10 minutes then switch off, check for leaks, check levels and repeat 4 or 5 times. Other than that, I agree with everything.
Nick Nakorn Spot on Nick that's called (Cycling a engine)...seating the Rings... it's a critical check,,!!! I've heard of three short block engines installed that were driven at 30 miles an hour 10 miles,,then increase to 40 miles an hour for 10 miles,, than 50 miles an hour for 10 miles, then 500 miles at 55 miles an hour, all 3 engins were 20 to 25 PSI under when compression check was given, the engine was losing roughly 4 to 5 Miles per gallon of gas. regardless if it's a new or rebuilt engine on any (engine) it's imperative that it's cycle, properly got to get that oil upon those cylinder walls for initial break-in.
I knew a couple of guys who built small block chevys flat tappet so 20 mins 2000 rpms then drive it but dont baby it not beat it to death but run it up to 4000 and down and then up and 3/4 throttle but run it a bit hard and I would not have believed it but those engines made a considerable amount more power later on than one that was exactly the same parts but broken in differently the two engines were exactly the same in every way except for the break in even built by the same guy can anyone explain that to me .
@@glennmanchester1568the high rpms, heat and repetitious scraping of cylinder walls with that more aggressive style of break in must enable the piston rings to seat better and provide more compression than their babied counterparts. I just watched a video from this nascar engine builder who advocAtes for a more aggressive approach to break in a motor, similar to your friend
Eric is totally different now! He seems happier now days.
Almost 1,5 million subscribers, and millions of views per video from a high-revenue audience. I bet he makes more money off of TH-cam than actual repairs :D
Just think about now. He seems so much more tired to me.
This is all good news. I have a 1999 Civic with a B16A2. It was just completely rebuilt with all new parts. This gives me a lot of knowledge about what to do and what not to do. There's been a lot of conflicting information I've heard from a lot of different sources. But this confirms what I thought in the first place.
When I bought my 2005 Camry new ...there was no "break-in" instructions in the manual. I asked the dealer about changing the oil after about 500 miles. They told me that was
"outdated old school thinking." Well, as far as I'm concerned they were wrong. I changed the oil after about 500 miles...held a light right above the drained oil in the drain pan and saw thousands of tiny, tiny particles of metal in the oil. I saw proof that these particles would have been running thru my engine had I not drained the oil at around 500 miles. The next time I changed oil at the 5,000 mile interval...there was no such metal particles in the oil. Fast forward almost 12 years later...that engine now has 198,000 miles and still runs like it was new. I have done all the oil changes at 5,000 miles with Toyota filters and Mobil 1 synthetic. I believe it is a good idea to do this on any new or rebuilt engine...just to get rid of the tiny metal particles that will be in the oil from breaking in new metal parts within the engine.
Yes I did this with my old 1982 toyota 1.5L and then it rusted apart on me :(
The engine was just starting to "hum". Now I have a '98 Ford Escort Sport SE... heh beats the old "Corolla-Tercel"
Great to know this. Thank you
Put a powerful lil magnet on the outside of the pan. To grab small pieces of metal in the oil.👍🏻
It's actually in the auto manual . Says break in procedures lol
The face you make when you say "Now that's more like it" ..... Priceless! Nice work
You are a natural teacher, Eric. Always nice to see your videos!
I've watched you for one year now. Just started out how to see as an engine works really interesting always liked cars but now I really enjoy them and have never let anyone but me work on my car. Works like a charm. I'm a high school student in auto shop who just got a scholarship to Ohio technical institute. For classic car restoration I currently fix friends cars (brakes oil muffler some engine and other suspension work) I love what I do. Your the one that got me hooked thAnk you :)
Eric. You inspire me as someone with a curious mind about my car and how to work on it. Thank you for the good work. Keep it up.
Eric is a good guy, he doesn't have to make these videos for us, I've learned so much from him. So Eric don't stop doing what ur doing and don't listen to these jealous ppl.
When I rebuilt my 1st Chevy engine, I was told to get it started and leave it at about 1300 RPM (fast idle) for about 10 minutes to make sure it got plenty of oil flowing. Then to drive it at various RPM ranges for the first 500 miles. I got the car with 57,000 miles on it and the engine died at exactly 100,000 miles on the odometer. We rebuilt the engine at 263,000 miles after a valve spring broke. Not bad for some college shade-tree mechanic. That station wagon was run up to 6200 RPM at times. And my wife and I called her "Timex". Boy, I wish I still had her.
I took great care of her with REGULAR fluid changes, and more preventive maintenance than it should have had. But it kept up with all I threw at her and then some. And at 263,000 miles, I rebuilt the engine a second time, but sold the car. Gasoline got over $1 a gallon, and getting 12 MPG on the highway at 55 MPH wasn't worth it.
very cool. what year was it
@@heatherdurish2542 1975
In older engines like the Ford and Chevy V8s that still used the distributor to drive the oil pump you can prime the engine with oil by using a drill and special shaft to turn the oil pump before you install the distributor.
My parents recently purchased a 2014 BMW Z4 and the dealer said the break-in period was 1200 miles. Needless to say, anyone who can resist opening the throttle on that roadster for the first month deserves to be president.
Everyone chimes in with different ways to do the same thing. Mr. Eric has a firm grasp on what he's talking about. Pay attention because it is good advice on real word cars in real word situations.
I run a high quality synthetic oil after a break in. I did it on my Nissan. Sold it for a good price afterwards and ran like a top.
thanks man, i have to drive my rebuilt car tomorrow on a 3 hour drive to bring it home. this really helped in figuring out how to keep the engine safe. lets just hope nothings wrong and it lasts that long LOL
I test drove a 350Z in LA several years ago; it was brand new with less than 100 miles on it. Halfway through, the sales guy insisted on switching seats to show me "what it could do"... which apparently meant pealing out into mock drag race (without a competitor of course) and later slamming on the brakes to avoid running a red light. I was shocked that this guy would abuse a new car like this in front of a potential buyer. Needless to say, he did not make a sale that day. I feel for the unsuspecting buyer of that car.
That is not abuse. You just pick another vehicle. As I seen the factory tell the dealers. To rev the shit out of an R7 rotary engine on demo drives. Just that everybody always said. I love it. I will take one over there!
Real Dog that stupid salesman!
Same exact thing I did. I was terrified when I did it for the first time. Definitely charged the battery up the night before I anticipated being ready for this. Nice idea to add oil down the spark plug holes (I did leave my spark plugs out though just so the engine could spin freely.
I appreciate the sharing of information here.
Hey Eric. Totally agree on varying the load on the engine during break in. But I've got to wonder why they rev them up like hell, cold, in the factory just before they load them up for shipping.
hmm I work in motor coach industries yes its true that we rev the engine up to the redline but we do warm it up fist when its warm then we rev the hell out of it, i dont know why tho..
midgetboy seat the piston rings?
krap101
No, I think it's to make sure everything is working properly.
midgetboy
I just wish carmakers spent the extra amount to actually pre-break in the cars on dyno's. Who knows, they probably do this at the exotic car factories like Ferrari, Lambo, Buggatti, or even Porsche.
ChuddleBuggy Everything I've read on breaking in engines (for bikes and "sports' cars) is that you need to run them hard to properly seat the piston rings. If you baby the engine, the pistons will seat improperly and you'll and up with oil consumption for the life of the engine. That's what seems to be the consensus anyways...
me and my dad just put a rebuilt stoker motor in my moms jeep. the company that made the cam said for a break in time of 30 min @2000 rpm,change the oil, and do it again. got to 20 min and the serpentine belt broke. sucks. we also have a rocker tap. i think its got to do with the lash caps being too short. i have complete faith in the man that set the head to fix that.
When the check engine light is off, i get worried... :)
Every car but my 2016 CRV had the check engine light on.
Yeah it's like always waiting for the check engine light to come on ... When it happens it's like dang
I have been using 85 in my car since forever but I checked and it takes 87 🤦♂️ I put 87 in and no more check engine light
I've got a Honda Accord 2.4 Liter 4 Cylinder. I've beaten the living daylights out of that engine from the time I took it off the lot, and I don't religiously follow the owners manual recommendations for service intervals either, in fact sometimes I go 20,000 miles without changing the oil. 235K miles later, she runs beautifully with no issues. In fact when she idles you can hardly hear her running.
My best "safest" method on engine break in.
1) Make sure all fluids filled and topped to proper amount.
2) I never dry crank "any" motor.
3) Run engine until warm and do not run over 1,500 rpm
4) Check all fluids and leaks and address any issues.
5) Check OEM specs,valve adjustment "if any".Run engine until at operating temperature. Then road test up to and no more than 80/km hr.
6) Reinspection of leaks and then another road test.
7) Replace oil and filter to remove any possible debris, contamination etc.
8) Return vehicle to customet and have them return in 1,0000 to 1,500 km and stress not to drive beyond 100km / hr
9) Reinspection, replace oil and filter and follow manufacturer into.
10) Return in 5,000 km for service and then have at er.
This is a never fail gaurnentee engine has a great new life.
David
David, i know this is a old comment but i figured i ask this anyway, on a normal older engine with a distributor we just put a priming tool there and prime the whole engine and everything is copacetic, how do these folks with distributorless engines get away with turning a engine over without priming it first? is that how its supposed to be done? isn't that ruining bearings and things like that or does the assembly lube take care of that??
afaik :
you want piston rings to seat you can do that only by building vaccum.
so 4th and 5th gear pulls are ideal for that no wot no stuck in stable speed maybe 75-80% of throttle use...
also there are good break in oils you no need thick oil for break in an engine.
a magnetic drain plug and a filter magnet bracelet among with oil pressure gauge are good investments !
very useful video thanks Eric !!
Hello Eric!
What kind of oil do you use for the break in period and what oil do you use after that?
Is it true that you always break in an engine with conventional (mineral) oil and not synthetic?
Thanks and advance!
Keep the good work!
+Narat Siuaha really stop misleading people and reposting this synthetic oil shit. You really want to avoid any friction modifiers at the ring area till they seat hence the Mineral oil
I service my 2000 Vauxhall Astra Mk4 2x per year...I have just switched to an expensive 5w 40 fully synth oil and changed out the gear lube with good synth also wow its running sweeter and quieter...
I would never flush my old engine...just change the oil and other parts at a regular service schedule...no probs!
Thanks Eric for backing up what common sense means!
Your supposed to lube everything when you build it though, it shouldnt be bone dry.
+Nick Palaroan Exactly.
+Brad K
If its rebuilt at a wreckers/shop and then sold to a mech it may have been sitting for a few months or if its a 99 civic potentially a year.. lube will follow gravity and return to the sump.. never hurts to oil
+Nick Palaroan In the old days we used oildag; colloidal graphite in oil as we rebuilt an engine. Even so it does no harm to get he oil around the engine and the oil pump and all the oil galleries full of oil before you start it.
+Nick Palaroan
Better sorry than safe eh?
When I rebuilt my first engine back in '76 the recommended build lubricant was STP oil treatment and engine oil mixed 1:1. The resulting mix is nice and sticky so it won't run out of bearings in a hurry, and I've still got some of that mix left.
Other tips I've used are pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly (not grease), pre-fill the oil filter and take out an oilway plug as high up in the engine as you can find and fill the oilways.
he knows what hes doing and he did everything by the book. even in the new car I just bought the book says to do everything he just explained step by step for break in. break in does happen within 500 miles most real mechanics and engine builders will tell you that
Regarding your comment about not changing oil. Others say change it within 20-50 miles because of the metal shavings wearing off.
What is your recommended first change mile and intervals?
Anything big enough to cause damage should be picked up by the oil, but yeah I would think to change it once or twice within the break in period.
Is it normal for very very fine glitter metal chavings to appear after rebuild?
This guy's information is 100% accurate. Unless of course you're dealing with a rebuit motor which utilizes a hydraulic non roller flat tappet camshaft....then you would pre prime the engine with a distributor oil pump tool....for example chevy 350....etc
Awesome video Eric, keep em coming! I was waiting for this one :D
Eric, when i used to play with Chevys back in the day i had an old distributor and i ground off the teeth on the distributor so it engaged with the oil pump only so when i was starting up a new engine i would use that and a drill to 'prime' the engine with the valve cover off, FYI small and big block distributors were interchangable- that way the engine was totally primed with out turning it over at all, as soon as the oil can out of the rockers that was sufficient.
Damn it I have a rebuilt diesel engine coming out of the garage in a matter of days, my manual says basically what eric says, don't race the engine, don't maintain same speeds for too long, do not drive high throttle or rpm for too long, but then people on here are stating that I should also go into a long gear like 3rd on a low speed, open up throttle gradually then foot to the floor half way through rev range till the redline then let it engine brake all the way to idle then do this with different gears. This is fair enough I could do this as well as what eric/my manual says, but then someone said let your engine idle for 30 mins but someone else said do not let it idle at all?! I mean wtf can someone help me? I would really appreciate it!
I know it's a late reply (but it might be helpful for anyone reading this in the future):
It's a mix of both. You don't want to rev it out or put too much strain on the engine in it's break-in period. But if you never put any kind of strain on it, you have the chance of a tiny, tiny ring developing on the cylinder wall. This is due to that the pistons are not getting 'thrown around enough', i.e. they don't reach their maximum top in the cylinder, which they only reach during stresses being applied on the engine.
So 98% of the time you want to drive it easy, but just sometimes (like once every 20-30 minutes of driving or so) you want to put a bit more stress on it. Don't rev it out, don't floor it, just give it a bit more, accelerate a bit harder. This stresses the engine and makes sure everything is in place for when you DO stress is later down the line. Obviously don't do this in the first couple of kilometers, but after a while (50-100 kilometers of driving or so) you can start to do this. Otherwise you're engine is not 'stretched' and it might hurt your engine in the long-term, since otherwise it's what we call a 'lazy' engine.
Haters gonna hate, nothing to do about it sadly, I love Erics skills and his way of doing the videos, who does not make mistakes? He is not a programmed machine, he is a human being, and the haters, well we cant change everyone. But if I could I would =P
How much oil would you squirt down the spark plugs holes?
andreboy1 no oil.
that's why it's dry in there.
If there is oil in there clean it out and dry it before putting the spark plug in. No oil on the threads and no grease on the boots.
Pull a Whole quart down all of the Spark Plug holes, install plugs and crank it over as much as possible lol
@@TRX450RVlogger thats funny as hell man i had to read it twice
Ya think? Your vasculature system leads from your hands to your heart. It is vital to protect your hands from dangerous fluids at all times, every time. Think before you talk/type. It can save your life and or someone elses. @EricTheCarGuy @ProjectCarTV
VTec just kicked in too hard yo.
+Gillespie4444 but its not a vtec engine only a d16 y8 xD
+HeyItsSway the d16y8 is a VTEC engine.......
only some of them are i have a d16y8 that is not
+HeyItsSway all d16y8 are vtec. the non vtec is d16y7.
Have a honda civic si w/ a d16z6..... vtec kicks in at 4,800 rpm....hell it's a light ass car and it has a manual, it never needs to get that high in rpm to get up to speed lol....it's cool in concept, just reality is it never really needed it. I mean, breaking tires loose in 3rd gear? Sure. But useful? Meh.
He's a very talented mechanic but my only complaint is he nut shells everything, but his videos are fun to watch.
"no noises and drama free" as there is a bad clicking in the backgroun
d
Yea i hear that too lol
lmao No noises cept that Loud ass knocking noise, sounds like lifter
A newly rebuilt engine will possibly need the valves readjusted it's nothing to worry about. Now if it was knocking that would be a issue
therealrellik he even said he needed to adjust the valves etc... Easy done on that engine.
heard so many different opinions on break ins for engines but this one seems the safest..
To seat rings I like to take the vehicle out, shift the trans into manual if its an auto so it holds the gear, get it up to about 40mph and let off the gas so the engine braking slows the vehicle down to about 10-15mph. I do this 10 times. Supossedly this creates a vacuum which pulls the rings against the cyl walls and helps seat them much quicker.
can you repeat this, i don't quite understand.
The Vacuum will pull oil onto the rings to help cool them. Before you do the engine "braking", it is recommended to do WOT to about 80% of redline, and then allow the engine to slow you back down. The increased cylinder pressure will force the rings against the cylinder walls, and then the vacuum from the engine braking will pull oil onto them to cool them and keep them from glazing over. The method Eric uses is regarded to as an old school method, most likely learned from someone back in the day. The reason his way used to be the "correct" way to do things, was because the hones were supposedly more coarse, and you needed to give the rings more time and less force to seal correctly.
If anyone is curious, or needs a more detailed explanation, google "Moto Man Method". While his article is specific to motorcycles, the information and principles still apply to all 4 stroke engines.
Daniel Jewell "Before you do the engine "braking", it is recommended to do WOT to about 80% of redline, and then allow the engine to slow you back down. The increased cylinder pressure will force the rings against the cylinder walls, and then the vacuum from the engine braking will pull oil onto them to cool them and keep them from glazing over."
This is the Best method for rapidly seating rings, I lug an engine up, then engine braking back down, 10 times minimum... at least 1000 engines in my time...
@WhenImGoneCa it's the cam break in period if you put a aftermarket can in you idle it between 2000-3000 rpms for 20-30 mins. It prevents a flatt lobe.
Couldn't you just unplug the crank position sensor like we do on the Fords? Nothing works then and you are free to crank and build that oil pressure.
same as GM's
You can but sometimes the sensor is hard to get to. I'd have to pull the lower timing cover off to get to it on my Lancer.
Oh wow ok I see.
Yeah, you can do that on older subarus too if you just dont want spark, it still might pump gas into the engine though, and you still have to remove spark plugs if you want no compression for easy turnover, but yeah you can remove the crank sensor and it stop the car from sparking
GM 3.1 3.4 and 3.9 V6s have TWO crank position sensors....
it will run if the high precision one goes out..... but if the low precision goes, it wont run
Outstanding video! EricTheCarGuy is my favorite Mechanic online! Thanks Bro
heres a tip for cleaning greasy hands. baking soda+soap any kind. works very good and doesnt leave hand smelling like grease.
I suppose anything gritty works. The soap I use has bits of sand from different minerals as well as a degreasing soap
Washing up liquid and caster sugar works really well too.
A subtle nuance that most of you are missing... oil isn't only there for lubrication. Prelubing is important for all the functions of motor oil. That is, it lubricates, cools, cleans and acts as a hydraulic fluid for certain engine components (especially modern vehicles with hydraulic timing belt/chain tensioners and VVT systems). Making sure all the oil passages are full of oil before actually starting the engine for the first time is the only way to ensure that everything will be functioning as intended. I've personally seen failure to prelube an engine with hydraulic timing chain tensioners cause the motor to immediately jump time, bend valves and punch a hole in the top of a piston.
...isn't this what assembly lube is for? ... I rebuilt my EJ22 with my friends help and I just coated my cylinders with motor oil and used the assembly lube everywhere else and put oil on the heads when I closed it up... sure motor chugged for a few turns of the key motor turned twice then coughed ... second pull I had it run for a few seconds then die again... third shot it roared to life and I got full oil pressure and all was good with the world... seems like this spinning piece is redundant if you do all the above when you reassembling it anyway...
Bob Villa if you didn't assemble it yourself and bought it as a rebuild from a company, you can't assume they used assembly fluid. Also, assembly fluid will do the same this as regular if the engine was rebuilt and sat for an extended period in a warehouse. There's a ton of other reasons too, like lubricating the main bearings, cam bearings, wrist pins, etc at low rpms without much resistance and heat prior to staring the engine. Every rebuild from an aftermarket company suggests priming the oil pump and filling the oil galleries for this reason, no matter how recent the build was. Also, there's many engines that have high pressure oil systems (usually diesels for passenger vehicles) that have oil reservoirs for higher demand times within the engine. The 6.0L PSD I'm rebuilding for a friend is a fantastic example of that. Basically, to err on the side of caution is never a bad thing.
Soo glad I watched this as I just bought a ford territory titanium n was about to take it on a big run on cruise control. Thanks for your video :)
i heard that you should under no condition ever let it idle after you just started it up. you obviously didnt do this and definitely seem to know what youre doing, so what was up with that?
There are a few myths and a bit reasoning behind not letting a cold car idle. First off is the car is not at peak engine temp and the fuel may not combust all the way causing excessive carbon buildup in the cylinder (bad cases can lead to improperly seated/sealed valves which is a loss of power) that can also foul spark plugs. The other main one is that the oil pump is engine-rpm dependent and people believe that the low oil pressure at idle does not adequately provide enough protection on a cold startup after it has sat (not such a big issue on a car that has been driven a bit and gushed a substantial amount of oil into it's bearings). Those are the main ones people believe (at least that I have run into). If your managing a vehicle "fleet" you will hear things like 1 hour idle is equivalent to 30 miles driven. which doesn't sound like much, but it adds up pretty fast if the vehicle is in constant use.
thats not true, it shouldnt warm up fast or raise rpm. idle is good idea
A long time ago I bought a brand new van. I drove it cross country on the highway right off. Almost constant RPM's. Really stupid of me but I was young and dumb. It always burned oil after that as the rings never did seat properly. Town driving is the ticket. Vary the RPM's.
"No noise, no drama..." My man... That shit sounds like a mini knock D:
Yeah I heard knocking sound too lol
The ticking sounds at the 5:00 mark is actually the fuel injectors cycling. The injectors on most D-series engines are very loud, and make more noise than the valvetrain if it's adjusted properly. This is perfectly normal, and sounds NOTHING like knocking.
Sounds like lifter needs adjusted or just fuel injectors cycling no big deal
dude, change your gloves when you touch the key. The first thing your customer will touch is the key, and no matter how perfect the repair is, the first thing they are going to think when the key is slimy is, "eeeewww gross!"
+donsbarkingdogs3 or.... just use a clean paper towel to handle the key
agreed! everything is filthy
+donsbarkingdogs3 Considering this is the second time this person has replaced the engine.... For the exact same reason both times.... I doubt they care
Yep. I took my car to a new (to me) oil change place (didn't have time to do it myself and didn't want to get greasy) which had very high ratings. They got oily fingerprints all over my door panel. Never going there again.
i know what you're saying as the particle size is generally very small but i don't take any chances.
at the 1500 mile service we open the oil filter to see what kind and amount of metal particles have been worn off so in the rare event anything is wrong with the engine we can diagnose and rectify the fault before it becomes terminal.
it's over what's expected but saves us money and the customer the inconvenience of a breakdown.
also it allows us to check the installation for any leaks or faults.
Why does the engine look so dirty for a rebuilt engine . when I rebuild engines they look like straight from the factory ,and no grease or hand prints all over them seems like this would keep the smoke and smell down. I also noticed when you make a video for whatever is wrong with a car or whatever you're working on ,I noticed most of the cars are foreign, such as Honda or Lexus or whatever . you should be called Eric the( foreign )car guy . otherwise I believe you are very informative . good videos , and working as a millwright for 36 years believe me I stayed dirty lol , take care ,,seeeee yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!
even if you paint up your engine and make it all nice and clean, that engine enamel will have to break in with the engine.
there's going to be smell weather it's new galv burning in on your exhaust or anything.
also to add to logans comment. the outside isnt nearly as important as the inside. i would and have taken the time to clean mine inside and out because im a neat freak but priority is the inside. you can always degrease/wash is after its built and tested. :p
I have heard so many variations to this each one has valid points... take a look at a race car engine do they put around for 500 miles before raceday? No, but they dont get the life expectancy that a passenger car does. When I rebuilt mine I never went WOT but I didt take it up to mid-high rpm and let it coast back down in gear cause it helps seat the rings.
Shouldn't bother breaking in this engine. Owner is going to blow it anyway.
Another method I've used is to make a 'preoiler'. Use a pumpup garden sprayer, attach a barb fitting into where the oil pressure switch is and attach to the flexible line from the sprayer, having removed the reg handpiece. Pump it up and rotate the engine slowly by hand/plugs out etc, you will hear the oil displace the air in all those empty passages. Have measured 40psi doing this Once oiled, reattach/install and should be ready to start. Cheap as well. Should leave sump empty when you do this.
The only way to fix a d motor is to throw it away..
Lol pussies swap out their motors sohc all the way
Very good job, agree and do this same procedure in all my new/rebuild engines. Good luck.
With ref' to what you were almost saying, I think you meant "every crook and nanny', I think??? New en rebuild very good ideas, thanks. I did the same thing to the first rebuild I did alone. It was a 1250 cc engine so not huge, so I actually turned it over by hand with a spanner to the big-end at the front of the engine. Then started the engine on the shed floor, and as will yours no drama as you say.
Thanks for the very handy advice here, and of course the upload.
Take care.
mrbluenun
Right on bother. like what u said around minute 9. And yes it helped and the only video on the entire interwebs that answered a logically standar phrased and typed google search, unless i, the only idiot that doesnt know how to phrase the search term 'what to do after installing or replacing an engine in car vehicle". So thanks man.
@Eric, your videos are the best. It's clear your not a professional actor, you just get the important facts across. Keep up the good work dude! thanks a million.
@venomrx - If the engine was running fine, it probably is leaking oil past the cover grommets. I have to replace mine just about every time I change the plugs. I probably could permatex them but I want to be able to get the cover off easy and not have to clean that up so I just keep replacing them theyr'e cheap.
This. Erics videos are way more detailed with step by step instructions. Scottys are flashy and useful sure, but nowhere's as detailed.
Yea but he still knows what he's doing. If I lived near ETCG or Kilmer I'd be very happy to be a customer of them
simplyconnected is correct. once the correct engine break-in has been performed, which is usually in the first 5 miles, there is no need as it will have already seated all the necessary parts, piston rings, valves etc. i would just change the oil after the first full tank of gas has been used to ensure all microscopic metallic particles are flushed. also, i would use a standard oil for the first few thousand miles.
Hey Eric, can you please show us a step by step procedure for overhauling an engine? Thanks man. Your videos are really helpful for a DIY mechanic like me.
you mentioned about readjusting the valves. is there a video on how to do this. thank you by the way been enjoying your vids.
Excellent technique.
I do something similar to prime the oil pump and filter following an oil change. Although I turn the engine via a road wheel rather than the starter motor; because being unaware of the relevant circuitry, I'm unsure as to whether disconnected plugs and coil will have a benign effect on the electronic ignition and computer control.
Safe than sorry. Not forgetting the advantage of the resultant physical exercise!
Great video! Your channel has taught me a lot, so, THANK YOU! I have a 2000 civic DX and now realize I have a valve problem simply from a comment you made on first startup. Could that be the reason mine is burning oil?
Make every thing haaappy, I like how you said it Eric, this vid has really good info I really appreciated it's like a jewel..
Noticed you said that when the vehicle overheated and cooked the new water pump. I'm changing my radiator because it is busted. I was going to check the entire system but was about to ignored the pump. Thanks for this tip. I would have hated doing all that work and then have to get in there because of being lazy and not checking the pump. (Chico)
I agree with everything you said except the oil in the cylinders, it will glaze the cylinder walls and take longer to seat the rings, its no big deal and probably makes very little difference but just thought I'd mention it. The factories stopped doing this back in the 60's because they found the engines took to long to break in.
I intuitively did my first crank and first startup exactly as he did. The unloaded crank speed almost doubled the instant the oil light went off when all the assembly lube got flushed out of the bearings and displaced with oil.
I rebuilt my h22a with turbo (rebuilt the turbo as well), and how I broke it in was drove it on the free way to the dyno shop and they ran the sht outa it lol.. Thing held like a beast, they even complemented me on the who setup..
Excellent vid, now in short, the break in process requires the process shown in the vid and then running the engine to allow all the parts to sea in and get together. right?
@IHcubcadet It's because all the engine oil has drained back into the sump after being parked for a period. When you start up a cold engine, cold oil are being pumped through the system, re-lubing everything. As the oil heats up it gets thinner, which in turn lubricates better and will make the ticking go away.
If it takes substantial time for the ticking to go away, you need to change your oil. I change mine every 10000km (gasoline engine) as a rule.
After I rebuilt the top end of my BMW 540i's engine, I had a lot of lifter ticking, so I had to essentially bleed the lifters by holding the engine at 3,000 RPM for about 3 minutes at a time, several times in a row. Interesting how the procedures vary per engine.
Hey Just thought ide share. The rotax 600 ho Etec and 800r Etec motors used in ski doo snowmobiles do thier own break in's. Meaning the ecm controlls and limits engine during hte brake in period, by litming engine rpm eithier limiting advance or retaring of timing and the electril oil pump delivers 50% more oil to the motor and rave valves. So you drive it "normaly" and the sled will do the rest. THey also have auto summerization features
Also he is very good about answering questions within 24hours, better than Eric on that end.
the reason behind changing the oil and filter after 1500 miles or as recommended is to remove any metal particles that wear off the new components during the bedding in process.
you don't want metal particles circulating and contaminating the bearing material or causing excess wear on other sensitive components.
i rebuild engines and i don't warranty any engine unless the oil
and filter has been changed after 1500 miles (for car engines) and at the recommended service intervals thereafter.
If you want my tip! crank it perhaps u have to take this in 2 turns with a brake inbetween, but you wanna do this until the oil pressure light goes out! that means that you have pumped the engine with oil! what builds oil pressure? its the internal restriction between parts! as oil is more dense then air you wont get oil pressure before there is oil in every bearing and cam "spoke" "bridge" "and so on"....
I have had several opinions on this (from professionals) and they all vary. So I'd like yours EricTheCarGuy. I just finished a rebuild. It has all high end performance parts. Normally I would just baby it for the break in period, but the ring manufacturer (Hastings) says to do WOT from 35-55mph 3-5 times to break in the rings. What's your thought? Please note that this is a street legal vehicle and will visit the track and is currently expected to run 12.3 in the 1/4 mile until it is procharged.
One thing you really want to avoid is endless cranking of a new engine. Find out why it is not starting without cranking on that starter over and over. The points in the engine (hey not ignition points) that you have lubed up with assembly lube will not stay lubed throughout endless cranking. You would think it would be easy to see if you have fuel and spark and quickly come to a conclusion why you have a "no-start" condition but it does not always go so easy. You also need compression to get it started. If you are sure you have spark and fuel pull those plugs and squirt oil in the cylinders, it may be a lack of compression keeping the new engine from starting.
I have seen a cam lobe go flat on a 351 Cleveland and it was due to long cranking after a rebuild. I have only seen this once so I tend to believe the cam was not "treated" correctly when it was manufactured,very odd.
filling the cooling sytem with hot as heck water, just before start will help also, and if you can pre heat the oil, just before pouring it in, break em in with castrol 10 -30
you can use synthetic oil, but I would recommend using mineral oil for the first 1000/2000 kilometers, mineral oil is very good for the materials to get ''adjusted to each ohter'', but after that, synthetic is better because of it being more long lasting
I did a complete rebuilt on a 2000 subaru b 4 twin turbo 4 years ago that had oil ring problems. I oil up pistons and rings, bearings, crank and cam channels fill up oil filter and oil during assembling throw it in connect all the electrics, it fired up first pop still boost hard.
Senia. Samoata. These are sick, I own a '01 GT-B, same thing. It has 131,000kms, really hoping a rebuild isn't on its way anytime soon
My mother got a new car, and in the manual it actually said to use high gears, low engine speeds and high load (WOT) as much as possible during the break-in period.
Great video. I have an '00 G20 SR20DE engine. Original owner. I followed the owner's manual break in period and 15 years later, no engine problems. Question.... do you think a '99 Civic or '99 Sentra or '99 Corolla has a more reliable, long lasting engine? Thanks!
Nice work buddy I'm working on honda we keep getting blue smoke ugh so we going to do top in rebuild then hopefully we fix it love watching yo vid really good help. thank for taking the time to make the vid.
Really great information. So many baby an engine thinking it's a proper way. Like coming back from a broken leg, not the same! Drive it like you stole it!
The fact of the matter is many mechanics have there own opinion on engine break in for me I just bring the engine from low rpms to high many times and that will seat the ring just fine, or in other words I find a long stretch of road and go from 15 mph to 65 mph as fast as possible and no oil ever goes past the ring. And all the bearings need to be broken in the same way you will find out quick if your gonna have any problems, instead of 5000 miles down the road.
I can see letting the engine idle for a short time to warm up and bleed the cooling system. But Eric never talks about in favor of putting a partial load on the engine to seat the rings in the beginning. Other people say to hold the engine at 3500 rpm for 15 minutes, change the oil, go out and drive it 20 mile hard break in, change oil again and you're good. Having water pump issues really would delay things.
Kilmer's "repair" vid:Drives around the cam screaming stuff from different angles...shows a problem and what caused it this time without telling you what else could be the cause,unscrews everything in a "uhmm" and ends up with a cinematic 2 min repair that took him 4 hours and maybe has a good tip,while Eric always gets into everything that could be causing it and makes you understand how shit works and eventually why it could go wrong!Though I always prefer tie-wraps...
Thank u etcg,I just rebuilt my 03 CRVs engine I appreciate the advice 👍
If you don't check your oil I'll be seeing you. I like that. Good job on the vid. You know your stuff
I would recommend fully throttle on the first drive, keeping RPM below 4,000rpm for the first 100miles due to heat caused by the friction of the new piston rings bedding in against the harsh cylinder bores (honed/rebored). As much full throttle and engine deceleration as possible to aid the piston ring sealing. Also, DO NOT run synthetic based engine oil until after the first oil change as it will 'over lube' the cylinder bores lowering the piston ring sealing ability
in the world off 2stroke motors i've heard that its better to rev the engine up and run it hard so the rings can seat properly and that with new engineering engines are made with better tolerances so you dont have to worry about revving the engine high when its new
"And guess whose batter chargers is in the other car?"
LMFAO!!! Classic.
Keep up the good work ETCG1.
eric and i uploading at the same time! im honoured.