You forgot to include the "percieved" part.

I'll check that out later and reply.

Rich

 

EZGZ

Your correct in your understanding of how rings seat. HOWEVER your only looking at one piece of the 1,000 piece pie. (so to speak)

The oil provided from the factory on an OEM level will pretty much take care of seating the rings as long as the motor is'nt run at a constant speed for a great length of time. I really would'nt worry about seating the rings.

It's all the other parts that I generally focus on. The first few thermocycles are pretty important. There are a few parts that we even put through a cycle before putting on the car just to aid in longevity.

Rich

 

Richl, You state a strong case and make some good points.

Would you mind clarifying how exactly one should break in a new Lightning?

How specificaly do you do your thermolcycle's?
Oil change schedual?
Load and speed?
At what point you allow WOT and for how long?
What mileage or timeframe for what phase?

Any other early Maint. tips that would prolong the life and power?

*************************************************

I am not trying to trap or nit pick you. I will select from your answers what I think is practical for my application.

Like I said early on I respect every ones idea's and experiences.
You have access to a lot more specific information.

It does concern me however that dispite the efforts we still get leaky intercoolers 99-00, fewer spark plug threads 99-02, connecting rod issues 01-02, ETC.
Thanks
Greg

 

Well lets see...This is how my JDM motor was broken in...

Initial start, one complete heat cycle, drove for about 10-15 miles in stop-n-go traffic + some highway time, and then straight to the dyno!!!

Makes around 680RWHP in good air and runs 10.70's at full weight in 90 degree high humidity air...I'd say it'll atleast go 10.50's at full weight with good air....10.40's or 10.30's if stripped down alittle!!!

Just my .02

 

did they use any special LUBE on the surfaces to help with break in and prevent excessive wear?

 

How specificaly do you do your thermolcycle's?

My only point is to take it easy at first. Heavy loading causes big spikes in temp. The faster and harder the load the more the motor parts are acting like a bi-metal strip. And during break in this is important til the iron gets "seasoned".

Oil change schedual?

800 to 1000 miles for the first.


Load and speed?

Light throttle with city driving. Do this 2 or 3 times if possible for about 100 miles.

At what point you allow WOT and for how long?

250 miles minimum. And I would'nt do a full 1/4 mile run til after the OE oil was changed.

What mileage or timeframe for what phase?
See above.

Any other early Maint. tips that would prolong the life and power?

I'd stick with the 5w-20 oil til over about 2000 miles or so. You should see the most consistant power levels around the 5000 mile mark. From there it's a very slow down hill ride as deposits build up and rings/seals loose thier tension.

Rich

 

Then what oil?

I used dino and changed it several times in the first few hundred/thousand miles. Then I switched to heavier wieght syn (can't remember, maybe 10-30?).

Problem: piston slap (I assume that's what it is) got louder and louder. Even when engine was warmed up. Engine sounded like a relatively quiet diesel when idling. Very pronouned when next to a reflecting surface like the wall at a drive-through window.

So, with about 15K on the odo, after reading some threads here, I recently switched to Mobil 1 0-20. That stuff is THIN. But my "piston slap" is about five times quieter now. I did not change the large dual filters that I run, so there is still a quart of two of the old oil in the system. With pure 0-20, the "piston slap" may even disappear.



Any words of wisdom? Any dangers in sticking with 0-20?

 

I bought my L in June '03, 500 miles later I installed my KB and everyother mod I could get my hands on. 8000 miles later my L runs harder now than it ever did and not one, not one mechanical problem!

Oh, one blown fuse when I installed the electric fan. As mentioned above there are different opinions and results - quite frankly I don't think it makes a difference. If there is something mechanically wrong with your L you are going to find out in the first months of purchase regardless of how you drive her.

D-Day

 

I don't consider a truck with 8000 miles to be a testiment to anything. Tell me how she's doin when you got 50, 60, 80000 miles on her.

 

Mobil 1 is very good stuff. I think the 0w-20 will work ok. But that stuff is awfully thin. It's great for making dyno numbers, cold weather, and improving gas milage. But whaen it comes to high loads on the rod bearings..... A thicker oil is smarter.

Personally I switched to 5w-30 mobil1 at 2500 miles (and I too had piston slap after the first change)

A week later I went to 10w-30 (M1) and now it's as quiet as can be.

BTW: 5w-30 and 10w-30 are not exactly the same viscosity at full temp. FYI

Rich

 

Whip..................... who asked your opinion any way............. listen here Mr. Miles considering the way I hammer my L - 8,000 miles is like "dog miles", 8 x 7 = 56 add a few zero's and we're there = 56,000 actual "whip" miles.

Have a beer a chill out.................it's Friday......LOL

D-Day

 

Holly Sheet dude.....Chill out? I'm not all that worked up. No harm intended...I'm just saying, 8000 miles is barely broken in. If you really do hammer it that hard, and are aware that your a bit more abusive than the average driver, more power to ya. I got 46000 Whip miles on my truck and hope my motor is good for another 54000 whip miles anyway we'll see what happens. As far as chilling....I'm on vacation, have been for a month, will be till at least September...I'm very chill....and yes, I will be having plenty of beers tonight.

 

It's hard to joke on email isn't it - I'm with ya, we're on the same page, except I am jealous - one month vacation, nice!

I did respond to your earlier request re the KB, hope you got the email. Have a great vacation!

D-Day

 

More than likely, but I'm not sure!!!

 

wydopnthrtl:

Excellent information…

A question for you if you don’t mind. First I have about 1,900 miles on my L now. Bought it new last Feb. I did as Fast Gator recommend because of the great respect I have for him and changed my oil and filter at 500 miles, 1,000 and then 1,500.

The first two oil changes I used Ford’s 5W-20 and on my 1,500 oil change I changed over to Mobil One 5W-30 full synthetic. Now, after my first oil change I noticed what seemed to be “piston slap”. Was NO noise what so ever until after the first 500 mile oil change. When I switched to the Mobil 5W-30 it did seem to dampen the noise. It wasn’t real load to begin with and you could only hear it if you were standing in front of the truck.

Question is, and I have searched and read many post on this, but since you seem to have a good background in the mechanical aspects of motors, just how bad is “piston slap” for the motor? I am not sure that is even what I have, it sounds like marbles in a can (not a continues noise, just random like marbles bouncing around in the cylinders) but if I give it just a bit of throttle is seems to go away and after the truck is warm it seems to go away. I only really notice the noise if I have not driven the truck for a week or so and at the first start up. If I drive it, park it for a few hours and drive again I don’t notice the noise.

Tim maybe you too have some input on this. From all the post I have read on this (yes from searching) the earlier post from around 99 make it seem like it is the end of the world and it seemed Ford was replacing motors back then. Today, again from all the post I have read, it seems to be an acceptable issue with nothing to worry about.

Perhaps this is not the right thread to bring this up but it did seem related since this is something that is noticed in a new motor.

I only ask because I do have experience with tight tolerances in mechanical applications however I am trying to understand how this mass of weight bouncing against the cylinder wall is ok and just why it happens, just looking for a little more education…