Break-in, and oil usage

[Biggs2004]

I've got a "new" (bored, all moving parts are new) KA24E coming in, in a week. What's the best break-in schedule (not too sure on the terminology) to let the rings seal the best possible? Also, what's the best oil to use to break it in, then which synthetic to use afterward? Keep in mind; this is a daily driven/street car. I've never been lucky enough to break-in a new motor, so any info from experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

[Asleep Altima]

different schools of thought will tell you different things. generally on a rebuilt engine, break-in is dependant on the type of rings that were used. some seat quickly, some take more time. a good rule of thumb is to use a good dinosaur based oil for the first 500 miles. you also dont want to go over 55mph for the first 500 miles. if its my car, id change the oil at this point and again at 1500 miles. 10w30 is a good oil to go with. at 3000 miles you can switch over to full synthetic, like mobile one. i use 5w40 synthetic and ive been using it since the 3000 mile mark. like i said though, someone else may tell you different, but this is a good rule of thumb to follow.

[deviousKA]

Just go with some standard 10 40 oil, no need to change it untill it gets a dark tint. If you have moly rings they take a bit longer to properly break in so you should go easier on it for the first few hundred miles. If you have standard cast rings they break in rather quickly and there is no need to overly baby the engine. Make sure you have a good oil pump, and prime it before you install. Your hydraulic lifters if in good condition and installed correctly will tick tack for about 10-25min or so, you probably know the procedures for that by now. Other than that just make sure your oil level is right in the middle, and set your timing to 15 degrees btdc.

Remember to fill it up with coolant immediately and not let it run to long on the first start up (get all air pockets out of coolant system). Make sure your water pump is fully operational and all belts are in order.

[Rex]

If its newly rebuilt you still wanna break in, not on a full syn oil.Say the first couple thousand miles on ValvolineDurablend 5w-30.Then switch to either,Castol Syntec 0w-30 ( ONLY the german kind, <not> the one that says ACEA A1 on back, but only the one that says ACEA A3) or M1 0w-40.

Neither are easy to find (usually only Autozone's carry them sometimes MB/Porsche dealers, and not all autozones either) but are among the very best in cold start ( which you will need in your winter climate) while still giving good hartd running protection.

Fred..

A post of Fred's in a thread about oil, go figure.

It was in response to this...[quote=" Altiman94

Fred, what do you recommend for my new rebuilt kaE for over the winter here in Iowa. I would like to go synthetic if at all possible.[/quote]There's the whole thread.

<Searched All Forums for "oil AND break AND in" by palmerwmd>

[Nathan]

I don't know if this is the BEST way or not, but it's certainly a pretty safe one: Get a good dino oil (Castrol GTX 10W40 or so should be good) buy a case of it because your going to need it (just bought a case, 22 dollars). Start your car up, bleed the coolant system, check belts etc, and let it run at about 2000rpms for 20-30 minutes then drain the oil, change the filter. Run the next batch of oil for 50 miles before you change the oil and filter again. Refill and then run it until 500 miles, while not revving much over 4000rpms and not holding any prolonged higher rpms. At 500 miles, drain and replace your filter again, with dino oil still and run it for a good 3000 miles, after 1000 you can start revving it and driving normally again. After 3000, you can switch over to a full synthetic if you want too. This is the break in procedure I'll be using, as recommended by the machine shop that built my motor. The only difference is I'll run a thicker oil since it's now a KA-T.

[Biggs2004]

Thanks guys, like I said I've never been lucky enough to get to break-in my new engine, I appreciate all your inputs.

[Altiman94]

I broke in my newly rebuilt ka24e with 5w30 dino oil for hte first 500. Changed it to the same. Then after 1500, I went to mobil 1 5w30. Let me say, the lifters are definitely a battle. I finally got mine to stop tickin after 3 months of struggling wtih my mechanic and warranty work. 2 sets later, they are now silent.

[Structure240sx]

so nathan are u sayin that full syntheic oil is not good for my kat? if so what oil will u ben using? my built ka has about 12k mi on it