For any new motor to "break in" one of the common techniques recommended is to use dino oil for the first "x" number of miles, or in the case of Ford, the 5w20 blend for our trucks.

The usual recommendation is to drive mildly, no reving of the motor, don't drive over 55mph, or similar, for so many miles.

Then there's the flip side where some motor gurus actually recommend a very high rpm, close to redline over and over that this does the job and does it much quicker.

So, the question I have is regarding the latter. Can a motor not be broken in by just reving the motor even mild to moderate rpms while in neutral?

The motor doesn't actually require driving does it? Or does the extra work put on it help it break in sooner? I wondered about just putting it in neutral and running it about 2500 rpm for up to 10 minutes at a time.

I spoke with one of the builders at John Barrett motors and he said they use Rotella T in the motor, run it 20 minutes and it is considered broken in. He said you can put whatever you want in after that, but he did recommend synthetic.

Thoughts?

 

I think you're worrying about something that doesn't need any worrying about. Basically, there are about a million opinions on how to handle breaking in the engine, but no one has proven one to be better than the next.

I would suggest simply driving the truck normally, and don't do the "neutral revving" BS. The only thing I have heard that could make sense is to avoid driving at the same speeds or RPMS too much early on- instead try to vary it for even break-in.

But even that is probably not even necessary. As for oil- whatever you want as long as it is within spec.

 

I believe the 20 min you are talking about is for the cam break in,then change the oil.
I agree about the worrying to much.Drive the truck normally the first 500miles and then change the oil.I have been told run it the first 500 miles without full synthetic and switch after 500miles.
Maybe an engine builder can help you on here.

 

I'd be more concerned about getting the break-in oil out of the crankcase quickly (I change mine at 500 miles on a new vehicle) than I would about a specific break-in procedure.

Obviously, don't drive the thing like a raped ape right out of the blocks, but don't feel like you have to baby it either. I also concur that avoiding long hauls at a constant speed is probably a smart move.

The reality is that break-in procedures were much more important on cars manufactured back in the 50's and 60's than they are on today's modern vehicles.

 

"Break-in" on what type of engine? Just a factory rebuild I would suggest driving it like you normally would. A mod engine and you would need to follow the cam "break-in" specs per cam manufacturer. Then, I would drive it at or above 3000 rpms for the first 500 miles. So it's back to what kind of engine?

 

Not really, I'm just incredibly bored.

 

New factory Ford.

 

Drive it like you would if it had a bunch of miles on it. I would avoid WOT for the first 500 miles, though. I would suggest oil changes at 500 and 1500 miles and then around 5000 miles.

 

 

I believe there does have to be slight load on the engine for it to break in properly. Not alot, just a slight. I don't think revving it in neutral will be enough of a load.

The key to breaking engines in is to vary the throttle as much as possible the first couple hundred miles. Don't want them to idle for any periods of time.

Like others have mentioned don't hold it at a certain rpm for extended periods either.

 

i beleive u wanna go 5-6,000 miles on the oil that comes in the truck. and run dino oil for atleast first 10-15K miles then switch to a blended or a synthetic