rebuild engine break in oil

[atjunkie]

What are you all using for the first fire up? Any tips here are welcome also. How would you break it in, assuming it'll start? Now after the break in and oil change what oil would you put in next?

[RossT]

Originally Posted by atjunkie

What are you all using for the first fire up? Any tips here are welcome also. How would you break it in, assuming it'll start? Now after the break in and oil change what oil would you put in next?

Any 5w30 will be ok. Before your fire it up the first time, I would manually turn the crank several times to get the oil to the upper part of the engine, before you fire it up. You can also pull the FI fuse and turn the car over a few times. This will also circulate the oil without it starting.

There are many thoughts about break in oil and mileage. I would start with a regular 5w30 oil and change it 500 miles. Then again after another 500-1000 miles. After that you could go synthetic. My metro likes penzoil platinum 5w30 synthetic from walmart.

ONLY USE 5W30 PER TSB ISSUED DUE TO VALVE BURNING ISSUES... your owners manual may say you can go heavier, but the tsb sayn not to.


others will have different opinions. Check out the forums at bobistheoilguy.com for more info than you can handle about oil

[Woodie83]

Very good advice from RossT. Fill up the Oil filter before screwing it on, and definitely pull the FI fuse and crank it until the oil light on the dash goes out before starting it the first time. I do this on oil changes too, but I'm a little bit crazy.

[atjunkie]

Nah Woodie just cautious.

[91Caprice9c1]

I agree with what the gentlemen before me have advised.

I, personally, have never been one to use synthetic oil but that is because the engines in my personal vehicles have never been fresh, and as an engine ages with non-synthetic oil, it becomes less advisable to make the switch to synthetic (would make the seals and gaskets more prone to oil leaks). When I was managing the fleet, we were using the cheapest oil possible, so synthetic was not an option after break-in.

I agree that an engine must be broken in using non-synthetic (first 1,000 miles). After that let your research and budget lead you toward or away from synthetic lubricants.

I hold the controversial opinion that a new engine should not be babied for break-in.

0.02

-Matt

[atjunkie]

Well so far so good, about 160 miles on it now. Took 2 days to build it and get it in. So after 1000 miles you all would go with synthetic? I've never used syn. before and don't really know much about it. 1 More ? Does this 92 3 banger read miles or kilos on the odometer? Thanks fellas

[91Caprice9c1]

Originally Posted by atjunkie

Well so far so good, about 160 miles on it now. Took 2 days to build it and get it in. So after 1000 miles you all would go with synthetic? I've never used syn. before and don't really know much about it. 1 More ? Does this 92 3 banger read miles or kilos on the odometer? Thanks fellas

If I were on the fence regarding whether or not to go synthetic, I would do a lot of research on engine lubricants and decide how it will impact your budget. Your odometer should read in miles.

-Matt

[riverat440]

With the tight clearances todays engines are built with there is no "break in" like yesteryear. Why do you think they are using such a light viscosity oil? If the oil pump was primed and assembly lube was used to assemble the engine there is no real need to prime the engine either but as a precautionary measure it won't hurt anything by doing it. Synthetic oils are where it is at! Manufacturers nowadays use synthetic oil in a lot of their top of the line models right from the start, just don't forget to use an oil filter that will go the distance as the oil will. With a new engine 7k to 8k on the oil is being conservative as there shouldn't be any residue inside the engine to even make the oil dirty, just don't be afraid to spend $15 on an oil filter. Any time is a good time to change to synthetic oil so long as the engine doesn't have leaks as it will cost a fortune to keep the oil level up to full. I've seen studies, and you can believe what you want, where engines were run the equivilent of 300,000 miles, torn down and tolerances checked only to find no appreciable wear.
I have my own success stories as most people do and one of the biggest myths is that synthetic oil will cause seals and gaskets to start leaking. I have yet to see anything that supports this. I bought a '95 Jeep GC Limited 3 years ago and did as I always do with a "keeper", changed to synthetic and a complete tune up with good parts. The Grand Cherokee had right around 150,000 miles with absolutely no leaks in the engine or transmission. A Carfax report showed it had been serviced at the stealer ever since new. I am getting right around 8k on an oil change before the oil looks dirty enough to change. It could probably go a lot farther but I like knowing the inside of my engine is clean so I change it when it starts to become dirty. I know I rambled on a bit but got tired of hearing so many conflicting stories about synthetic so I did my homework and have been using it in many different vehicles with nothing but good to show for it.

[atjunkie]

Thanks rat, no leaks here. Now I'm just wondering about the odometer, miles or kilos. Like to know how what I'm gettin out of a gallon with me new engine.

[Woodie83]

Depends on whether it's a Canadian or US car. If the speedo reads in miles, with kilometers in smaller numbers, then the odometer reads in miles. If the speedo reads in kilometers, with miles in smaller numbers, then the odometer reads in kilometers.