white2lsr

iTrader: (1)

Im going to go to Halfords and get some mineral oile for running the car in. What grade should I be going for?

Cheers.

Joe91

Just ran mine In today on 10w/40 mineral. Does the job, just dont do to much milage on it and don't go on boost!

Thanks, Joe

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

10W/40 mineral 1000miles. gradually upping the boost and revs. Mine ran 12psi at 700 miles for very short periods happily.

Running in should take a min of 1000miles and be done on mineral oil.

Rob,

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

PS i got mine from halfords too did the job just fine. Spot of oil pressure and compression is dead on equal on each pot, couldn't ask for more.

Mk1 Mex

iTrader: (1)

10/40 as well.. Also buy yourself an magnetic sump plug from MSD will be your saving grace..

See below..

What they should look like.....









What it looked like after the first oil change......



and also looked pretty much the same after the third change as well..

Joe91

1000miles? ive only done 500, but then ive only had new rings, big end bearings..Not pistons or rods etc so i supose its a basic engine rebuild compared to new everything.

Thanks, Joe

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

Rings you might get away with 500, but bearings you should really see the whole 1000 out. Not running in doesn't always mean catastrophic failure, it can just mean a much shorter engine life.

Shit me MK1 Mex thats a lot of swarf mine didn't pick up anything like that at all! and i changed my oil after first start, 100miles, 500miles and 1000miles and never once saw that. Was the engine properly cleaned after machining was done?

Rob,

Jeffers_RST

Rob, When you say properly cleaned, what do u mean by this?
Cheers, Neil

parkus

Does the 'running in' oil get changed to normal running oil after 1000miles?

Canada1

Don't leave the original oil in for 1000 miles.

I change the oil after camshaft break in and ring seating.
This is after maybe 20 minutes.

The next oil change after 500 miles.

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

As in, i spent an hour or two scrubbing my block, and cleaning all the oil gallery's out and this was AFTER it had been in a cleaning tank. Amazing how much shite you get out, allot of it was from the machining.

I couldn't agree more, i was using my original cam etc so didn't need to break it in, but still changed the oil after its first run, just incase there was any machining swarf i had missed and to flush out all the build lube etc.

I changed the oil at 200 miles (or there abouts) again at 300 (involuntarily lol HUGE sump leak!) 500, 800 and then onto fully synthetic at around 1100 miles. So far the oil pressure if very good, on the relief valve when closed (70psi ish) and 20psi at 900 rpm idle (with hot oil) this is on 10w-40. Not bad for a cvh lol

A compression test shows all cylinders to be very even. So its run in well.

Rob,

RSandy

iTrader: (1)

1 of my car loving neighbours gave me a couple of new 5 litre bottles of running in oil, i take it this is just going to be the same as a basic 10w40 mineral oil? are there any particular ratings on a running in oil, or is it all just 1 and the same?

my plan was to do the usual cam break in 20 minute session, oil change, then do another oil change after 500 mile, then swap to synthetic at 1000? but im guessing i shud be doing a few running in/mineral oil changes before i hit the magical 1000 mile milestone?

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

Well you'll find a lot of different opinions on this, infact i used miller running in oil for a while, as far as i know its just a basic mineral.

If it were me, i would start the engine on halfords 10w/40 mineral (14 squid on trade i think...) and after running in the cam i would change the oil for the running in oil.

I would then do a few miles, after around 5-10 i would sort the rings.

With a warm engine, at low rpm in 3rd give it full throttle for a few secs and snap the throttle closed before you hit boost. Drive for a few mins and then repeat. Do this around 5 times never letting the engine get too hot. This supposedly helps tremendously when bedding in the rings.

Drive for a hundred miles or so and change the oil. Any swarf will now be flushed out etc. Then keep that oil until 5-600 miles, Change again. At around 1000 miles fully synthetic can now be used.

If you want to be really anal (like i was) you can do a compression check ever 100 miles or so and see how well the rings are bedding in. Oil pressure should remain consistent ie, somethings wrong if the oil pressure suddenly drops from say 30 to 25psi under the same conditions,

RPM in your enemy for the first 500 miles, i had a 3000rpm rev limit for the first 300 miles, the 4000 at 400 miles, and intermittent 5-5500 after 500 miles. High load is alos no good, keep your boost down. You also don't want a constant RPM as this can glaze bores etc.

Good luck lol, be nice to it and it will last.

Rob,

RSandy

iTrader: (1)

your running in knowledge is both impressive and scary haha. im thankful for all the tips and details, but then cant help but worry that maybe you had to kill a few engines to get to this point

only jokin man, cheers for the tips, least i know what im doing now

with the cam run in, am i right in thinking its 2500rpm for 20mins, and if it starts to overheat just switch off and cool down and continue, rather than let it cool down at idle?

Rob_DOHC

iTrader: (4)

Lol, so far i haven't killed any engines but i've always used the above to run them in, and taken my time building them. But like i said, if you do a search on google etc you will find so many different opinions on the subject its crazy, so i just stick with the OTT approach and its doing fine so far

Yep if your engine overheats with the cam running in you are better to stop the engine quickly and then carry on rather than idle the engine for a long time. I chose to refit my old cam for the running in as i couldn't face the thought of revving a new engine for 20mins lol (wimp).

Best of luck, tbh if you build the engine well and treat it kindly you probably don't need to go over the top with the running in.

Rob,