Break in oil

[PILOON]

Most of the close tolerance parts today are made to so tight tolerances that 'break in' is a thing of the past, or almost.

Exception might be off shore engines that seem to even be assembled with casting sand still in evidence.

 

[Texasmark]

Tin plating on piston rings keeps you from having to run the 500 mile easy does it break in. I have purchased quite a bit of new equipment since 2007 both highway and farm related. None of them got special break in treatment and none use oil. I use synthetic multiviscosity oils in everything but my old Ford tractors however, and the reason is that they don't breakdown like dino oils have done in my equipment....lawn mowers in particular. Rather than having to change oil several times per year in all my equipment I change once a year and seldom if ever have to add oil between changes. Buttttt I am retired and don't put a lot of miles on my truck nor hours on my off road equipment so what works for me may not work for you.

 

[rScotty]

Sounds like a couple of us tractor guys have an interest in break-in clearances, oiling, and anti-wear coatings. There is a really good old 8 page article on the subject by an SAE author (Society of Automotive Engineers) Title is, "Piston-Ring Coatings and Their Effect on Ring and Bore Wear".
I found a free copy to read on JSTOR.org.
Old info but very good. Fabulous photos.
rScotty

 

[big bubba]

also esp on those 1st few hrs (& generally good practice anyway): warm up engine a several minutes before applying load, & before shutting down, run at low rpm a few minutes to cool down.
abrupt starts & shutoffs are hard on a new engine. i do this w/all my 4 stroke engines, big & small (except vehicles) good luck

 

[MossyDell]

For those who use synthetic oil, at what point do you replace the dino oil in a new tractor engine with synthetic?

Decades ago, an experienced friend said to do it after break in. Which was 50 hours or a season, I can't remember.

 

[DEWFPO]

At the first oil change. I run whatever comes in the unit until it's due for a change based on Mfgr. recommendation then it goes to synthetic.

DEWFPO

 

[the old grind]

Break-in oil is much about what you drain with it at/after 50 hrs. Unless it's wet-stacking from not keeping rpm up it should be broke in by then.

After that we can fuss between cost and quality, and synthetics don't need to be proven.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

At the first oil change. I run whatever comes in the unit until it's due for a change based on Mfgr. recommendation then it goes to synthetic.
DEWFPO

Me too, My Vanguard has Mobil 1 in it...

SR