Drivetrain Break-in 101

[alf45]

If you understand how the ring seal the compression chamber From the oil pan and how they use High compression to do this you know why ? "hard break in" is needed. then again you need to use your head like always. The scratch hone in the cylinder are only good like 140 miles. I personnaly did ? in between. No High rev but did slow down on compression to help seat the ring Nice. No hard break at first no rough shifting. But in the motor properly speaking their is nothing apart the rings to seat. No gear or bearing . If everithing is mount to spec you should have no problem. If it breaks it was wronghly mounted. Better break it under warranty .

 

[jamal_crawford]

Hey guys

So i read the manual when i first got my ST earlier this week, and it just said the basic 'dont drive it the same speed so much' stuff. I now have about 120 miles on it, and have definitely not broken it in correct according to this thread

I took it up in the mountains to take a couple cool drives on some twisty roads and get a feel for the car, definitely took it above 2500 rpms.

My question is, now that i'm at 120, what can i be doing to salvage any potential for a 'good' break in outside of whats suggested for the 100-500 marks?

Don't let the car idle, stay under 3k, go through the gears at differing speeds, Hey guys

So i read the manual when i first got my ST earlier this week, and it just said the basic 'dont drive it the same speed so much' stuff. I now have about 120 miles on it, and have definitely not broken it in correct according to this thread

I took it up in the mountains to take a couple cool drives on some twisty roads and get a feel for the car, definitely took it above 2500 rpms.

My question is, now that i'm at 120, what can i be doing to salvage any potential for a 'good' break in outside of whats suggested for the 100-500 marks?

Don't let the car idle, stay under 3k, go through the gears at differing speeds, dont lug the engine, limit short drives, etc?

 

[pelotonracer2]

Generally speaking, pretty much everyone that has had oil in their intakes/charge pipes were claimed to have been broken-in with this long and slow break-in process whereas both of my ST's and many of my friends' ST's were broken-in hard and have dry intakes/charge pipes. That alone has told me plenty. There's always more to the story than just that, but it has definitely been a common theme.

As an aside, changing synthetic oil every 3-4k miles is a huge waste of money and time. But that's a whole other never-ending discussion that doesn't necessitate so many words either.

That's your opinion and I respect it. My opinion is based on 16 years of beating drivetrains to death and resurrecting them. My recommended break-in is not "long and slow" as you suggest. babying an engine is just as bad as beating it senslessly. I just don't recommend beating the crap out of a new drivetrain and other moving parts before they bed in. This especially important on a new and cold motor. Like I said there are many other considerations, not just the "engine" (although to most people that's all anyone seems to give consideration to when it comes to break-in). 90% of your ring seal is accomplished in the first 30 minutes of run time. Most of that is done at the facory (or on a post manufacturing track). As for oil *IF* your car is under warranty you must change it according to the factory recommendations. Manufacturers could care a less about "extended interval" oil changes. If you go beyond the manufacturers mileage recommendations they don't or won't have to honor a warranty claim on any lubricated part that fails. The plus side is that a quality 100% synthetic still provides better cold start up protection and in some cases severe use like racing, severe cold/hot conditions etc. There are noted benefits to using synthetics in turbocharged applications too, but as you say that is another discussion entirely. It's important to note that these days very few claimed synthetic oils are really "synthetic". They are just super refined base stock which comes out of the ground, not a lab. This is mainly due to changes in U.S. regulations regarding the meaning or definition of "synthetic". There are a few exceptions (I believe Amsoil is still 100% ester based).

 

[pelotonracer2]

Hey guys

So i read the manual when i first got my ST earlier this week, and it just said the basic 'dont drive it the same speed so much' stuff. I now have about 120 miles on it, and have definitely not broken it in correct according to this thread

I took it up in the mountains to take a couple cool drives on some twisty roads and get a feel for the car, definitely took it above 2500 rpms.

My question is, now that i'm at 120, what can i be doing to salvage any potential for a 'good' break in outside of whats suggested for the 100-500 marks?

Don't let the car idle, stay under 3k, go through the gears at differing speeds, Hey guys

So i read the manual when i first got my ST earlier this week, and it just said the basic 'dont drive it the same speed so much' stuff. I now have about 120 miles on it, and have definitely not broken it in correct according to this thread

I took it up in the mountains to take a couple cool drives on some twisty roads and get a feel for the car, definitely took it above 2500 rpms.

My question is, now that i'm at 120, what can i be doing to salvage any potential for a 'good' break in outside of whats suggested for the 100-500 marks?

Don't let the car idle, stay under 3k, go through the gears at differing speeds, dont lug the engine, limit short drives, etc?

Nah, don't baby it. You can definately rev it out from 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear on occasion. Don't over do it. Just be sure the engine and rest of the drivetrain is at normal operating temps before doing so. That means it would be of big benefit to get a Cobb AP so you can monitor coolant temps. Lugging and extended idling is not good. If you want to see how break-in effects metal and other contaminents in your oil (ie: accelerated wear with your own eyes) get your oil changed and send it off to have it analyzed. After a few hundred miles do it again and compare the analysis. Larger sized metal particles tend to not stay suspended in oil which means they can and will get deposited in other areas of your motor. This over time can create more friction, less power and more heat being generated. This shearing is normal. You just want to see a decrease in particulates as the engine beds in. Accelerated wear happens in the first 500 miles. At 1,000 miles, the particulate analysis should come back with reduced amounts of metal particulates (and other less important particulates). During break-in, alloys, aluminum, iron, boron, silica and others will be very high. As the motor runs in, this (wear) and the particulates should stabilize. Short trips should be limited in severe conditions (especially sub 60 degree days) and or temps over 90 degrees. Differ your speeds. Don't be afraid to rev that engine out. Just don't powershift and do alot of full accelerations from a stoplight or whatever.

 

[BoostBumps]

 

[FistSt215]

My car had 80 miles on it when I bought it last sept .

 

[alf45]

Nah, don't baby it. You can definately rev it out from 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear on occasion. Don't over do it. Just be sure the engine and rest of the drivetrain is at normal operating temps before doing so. That means it would be of big benefit to get a Cobb AP so you can monitor coolant temps. Lugging and extended idling is not good. If you want to see how break-in effects metal and other contaminents in your oil (ie: accelerated wear with your own eyes) get your oil changed and send it off to have it analyzed. After a few hundred miles do it again and compare the analysis. Larger sized metal particles tend to not stay suspended in oil which means they can and will get deposited in other areas of your motor. This over time can create more friction, less power and more heat being generated. This shearing is normal. You just want to see a decrease in particulates as the engine beds in. Accelerated wear happens in the first 500 miles. At 1,000 miles, the particulate analysis should come back with reduced amounts of metal particulates (and other less important particulates). During break-in, alloys, aluminum, iron, boron, silica and others will be very high. As the motor runs in, this (wear) and the particulates should stabilize. Short trips should be limited in severe conditions (especially sub 60 degree days) and or temps over 90 degrees. Differ your speeds. Don't be afraid to rev that engine out. Just don't powershift and do alot of full accelerations from a stoplight or whatever.

This i totally agree..

 

[pelotonracer2]

This i totally agree..

Yeah, just common sense really....

 

[pelotonracer2]

Is that horse... ummm, DEAD? lol

 

[BoostBumps]

Is that horse... ummm, DEAD? lol

I'm afraid not yet...LOL!!

 

[pelotonracer2]

I'm afraid not yet...LOL!!

LMAO

 

[dyn085]

 

[STewpid]

Alrighty then. Yesterday I reached the 1000 mile mark on the FIST. I have kept close to the PR2 break in protocol.I did oil changes at 100, 400 and 1000 miles. I have seen reduced metallic particulate matter with each OC. The 100 mile OC was an eye opener. I think I mentioned it in an earlier thread. It was a silver miners dream pan! I learned a lot about my FIST. 3 K rpms in 6th gear works out to 78 mph. I live in SE PA so of course I have no direct knowledge that this is possible with our congested highways! Today there was some guy who did a pull to 100 mph. who knew? This little ECOBEAST is giving me more smiles per mile than my HD.

How much does break in matter? I don't know. I do know that there is truth that it can make a difference. I have had several vehicles that ended up with over 100000 miles. I still have one of them. It's a 1998 F150 with 231000 on the clock. My fater bought the truck new and gave it a kid glove break in. He gave it to me with 6200 on the clock in 03. It's using oil now, about a quart between each 3000 mi OC. I"m thinking of refreshing the motor this winter. I'm hoping everyone enjoys their FIST as much as I do mine. At 63 , my toy will likely outlast me.

 

[62champ]

Thanks for the write up - going to follow as closely as possible.

Got the FiST three weeks back and although it was ordered and did not sit on the lot, the dealer could not explain why the odometer had 25 miles on it. Had a small tear in a front tire and chunk out of the rim and the radio EQ had been changed with the bass and treble turned all the way up. It appears to me someone along the chain wanted to try it out so I have no idea how it was driven during those 25 miles - so first oil change was done at 80 and second will be done @400. I have been turning wrenches since before I was a teen and have a family who played with cars a lot (maternal grandfather worked for a Ford dealer for 25 years) - do not abuse what I drive so I am thinking things will be fine just have to keep an eye on things...

 

[jahaziel]

JESUS CHRIST!!!!!! wish i saw this before i got my car....i got mine delivered from la to oc with 70 miles arriving to me then drove it normal not hard at all till 500 miles then i did oil change at 2k does that mean my car is going to be fucked

 

[mentokk]

JESUS CHRIST!!!!!! wish i saw this before i got my car....i got mine delivered from la to oc with 70 miles arriving to me then drove it normal not hard at all till 500 miles then i did oil change at 2k does that mean my car is going to be fucked

Nah. Extensive break in periods are not really necessary anymore. I drove mine easy for the first 400 miles or so, then drove it hard after that. First oil change was at 5k.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Manta Ray]

JESUS CHRIST!!!!!! wish i saw this before i got my car....i got mine delivered from la to oc with 70 miles arriving to me then drove it normal not hard at all till 500 miles then i did oil change at 2k does that mean my car is going to be fucked

it depends on how long you are keeping the car. Some preventative measures will not hurt for long term, but short 3-5 year ownership, the car will be gone long before any "break-in" issues come up. cars and engines are made to be disposable now a days.

im trying to follow the break in procedure because I'd like to keep the car for as long as i possibly can. which also means my mods will be mild and conservative.

 

[haste]

just be glad you aren't the guy that ordered the car and it had 25 miles on it the first time he saw it. i would be PISSED!

 

[Manta Ray]

just be glad you aren't the guy that ordered the car and it had 25 miles on it the first time he saw it. i would be PISSED!

is it FORD test miles? It can happen, but rare. they also have to state that it left manufacturing with a QC test. I purchase my lot car at 25, im sure someone test drove the crap out of it, but i think its fine.

 

[jahaziel]

Well I do want to keep it for as long as I can so I'm sad I didn't follow this break in