Vehicle break-in time

emr

emr

Cheesehead Treehouser
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Neenah, Wisconsin
Are there any special things that we should be doing with our new Ford 550 during the break in time? Also, how long is the break in time considered?

We have had it for a week now and have out on about 1200 miles. I referenced the owners manual and it says absolutely nothing about a break in and doesn't require any maintenance until 5000 miles.

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emr said:
Are there any special things that we should be doing with our new Ford 550 during the break in time? Also, how long is the break in time considered?

We have had it for a week now and have out on about 1200 miles. I referenced the owners manual and it says absolutely nothing about a break in and doesn't require any maintenance until 5000 miles.

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Click to expand...

Ive got 2000 miles still. Your not supposed to tow the first 500 to wear in the axle.

Im running the snot out of mine. Pulling hills loaded, varying rpm. Im a firm believer if you dont run it, it wont perform in the future. Wear those metals in.

Just vary the rpms, bring it through everything. Ive seen motocross bikes slowy run, at idle when new. All those bikes smoked and lacked performance in the future.

Pin it to win it, imo.
 
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  • #3
The diesel guy told me to run our new engine hard as well.

How about an oil change? I remember with my pickup and the wife's van they told us to change the oil after 1000 miles to remove any crud that might be left over from the manufacturing process.

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  • #4
I forgot to mention that my Ford is gas not diesel.

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We are going to put Amsoil in it as well. A buddy of mine, who also happens to be an Amsoil dealer, says that all the oils, lubes, etc that dealers use are cheap and not real good. He recommended changing everything to synthetic. I think I'm going to do the engine oil and wait on the rest as I'm not so sure it really makes a difference.

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Synthetic oils are great, but I have never been told that they are good for break in. Almost universally, it seems to be recommended after the first few oil changes. What ever you do, use the recommended grade of oil. The V-10 does not seem to tolerate lighter or heavier grades of oil. The State found that out the hard way.

I would agree with the "put her to work" mentality. Thats what the 550 was designed for.
 
Actually, upon some more research, the split between synthetic and conentional oil during break in is about 50-50, and some engines come from the factory with synthetic.

Personally, I would run conventional for the first couple of oil changes, but I guess I am old school.

Good Luck!
 
The most important thing about breaking in a new engine is to vary the RPMs. Keep it out of the red obviously, but basically just drive it normally. In my personal truck, I put 1000 miles on the factory oil, and then went Mobile-1 ever since. 150,000 miles without a problem. I'm looking to get 350,000 out of this motor.
 
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  • #10
What does varying the rmps do?

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emr said:
We are going to put Amsoil in it as well. A buddy of mine, who also happens to be an Amsoil dealer, says that all the oils, lubes, etc that dealers use are cheap and not real good. He recommended changing everything to synthetic. I think I'm going to do the engine oil and wait on the rest as I'm not so sure it really makes a difference.

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Your buddy is blowing smoke up your ass. Ford cuts no corners with 3 things. Fluids, filters, and glass. Motorcraft fluids are absolutely top shelf.
 
When I saw the title of the thread, I thought you meant something entirely else.

A surveillance camera at Esbjerg harbourfront recorded two kids breaking into a ferrari.
It took them only 30 seconds to bypass the alrm system and start the car.
Unfortunately ( Or maybe fortunately) the car accelerated faster than they expected and they went over the edge of the quay and into the water.

Still, 30 seconds!!!
 
Varied speeds help to seat the rings in the engine. However, with moder moly plasma rings, they are damn near seated in the bores when the engine is assembled. I'd break out the owners manual for new engine break in, as every manufacturer is a littlke different. Mainly for warranty's sake.

Me? I break in everything hard... from saws, dirt bikes, trucks, to hot rods... break it in like a pussy, and you will have a dog. :)

Amsoil dealers are pushing product... so they will tell all kinds of goofy tales to get you to buy their stuff. Don't get me wrong... Amsoil is good stuff... but there is stuff on the market just as good or better.

Gary
 
emr said:
What was the debacle?

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When the 7.3 Powerstroke came out International spec'd a oil filter with a much smaller micron rating than was normally available. The reasoning behind the small micron filter was to keep the injection system clean, as the Powerstroke depends on high pressure oil to fire the injectors. Ford refused to alter the filter and got sued when owners started having trouble with the engines. Ford eventually complied and changed the filter.
 
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  • #20
It's pretty interesting stuff. Tons of debate about the synthetic v. conventional oil (obviously) but it's pretty universal that you should run your stuff, both gas and diesel, pretty hard right off the bat.

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When I was growing up, going to Inglewood might cause respiratory death because of the smog. Hope it is much better now.
 
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