Break-in oils

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Searios said:
I'm about to crank up a new naturally aspired diesel engine which specifies ACEA E3- E5 (high power engines), API CF - CH4...No special break-in oil is required.

:confused:why do not you act like john dere recommends, how much you will save, or any other idea?
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do as the user's book says ...It often happens in normal oil change interval short.


JD perhaps smaller clearances because the oil 10W30 and 15W40 general marine diesel. maybe help JD oil piston rings, bearings, etc. to settle better.
 
Searios,
What's much more important during break in is how you run the engine. How you warm it up. How you apply load. How much rpm when. And of course the oil should be drained soon as it will be charged w metal particals and as a result the filter changing is important.
Break-in oil is just the first oil and need not be different that the normal oil cecomended if the manufacturer says so.
Just my opinion but I think the most important part of break-in is how load is applied. Frequent short bursts of increasing amounts of load/throttle becoming more frequent as time goes on is my prefered method.

The above is just my opinion but you can't go wrong following the manufacturers recomendations. Primarily just do that. That means nix on the JD oil. It could be formulated for some feature of the JD engine that your Iveco does not share. What are the engine details?
 
Nomad Willy said:
The above is just my opinion but you can't go wrong following the manufacturers recomendations. Primarily just do that. That means nix on the JD oil. It could be formulated for some feature of the JD engine that your Iveco does not share. What are the engine details?
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+1

I am not a mechanic nor an engineer. I may be silly but I would defer to the engine manufacturer on how to break in the engine.
 
Yup +2
Always follow the manufactures break in directions and Lube Oil. Doing otherwise, ie. pouring snake oil or additives into the crankcase, may result in the OEM warranty being voided if something goes wrong.:thumb:
 
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If it was mine.
A new engine may have stood a long time and bearing surfaces can be dry.
If it's mechanical injection, hold stop solenoid in stop position and crank until you have oil pressure on the gauge. Then start it.
Don't know how to achieve similar with electronic injection.

No special oil is needed.

Follow the handbook for initial loading regime....but....you have to be sure all is well before you cast off so this can be a dilemna.

Just dont let it idle for hours and it should be ok....&...it is better (for cams) to run at say 1000/1200 rpm rather than idle rpm during this period.

If handbook doesn't state an earlier change, I would change oil after 50 hours or so.
 
Do what the book says. If I don't have any guidance, this is my general protocol:

If galleries are dry, prime with clean oil. Outboard squeeze bulb comes in handy, again.

No special oil.

Crank up engine and as soon as pressure registers, raise rpm to 1000-1200.

Bark throttle to get some pressure on rings.

Check for leaks, smoke, smooth running. If all seems well, shut it down, do final valve lash check, and put it in the boat.

You want to minimize light load running and minimize idling.

Once boat is capable of getting under way, start it up, get off the dock and warm it up in gear at 1000. Once at full temp, add some power, then back down to 1000. Do this repeatedly going gradually higher power and for longer periods of time. After an hour or two of this, give it a quick burst of full power and check that it can make the desired turns.

Then for next 50hrs or 100hrs, try to vary load, minimize long term idling, and do not be afraid to run it hard. Hard running beds in the rings. No load running glazes liners. Low rpm hard on cams.

I change the oil on a new build after about 10-20hrs. Not much more material is going in the oil after that, back to normal change interval.

Many performance engine builders swear on running the snot out of new engine right out of the box. There is sound theory to back up their plan, but I am a little to gutless to do it on a customer's engine!!

Every engine guy has a different strategy with running in, but the above has worked well for me.
 
Searios some engines require a break in/run in oil to bed piston rings etc. Its normally a low or no detergent oil. If your engine manufacturer says it doesn't require it I don't see any advantage to using it. Normally it's only used for the first 100 hours of operation anyway.
 
Ski,
"Every guy is different" implies everybody is'nt exactly following the book. Haha but my methods are almost 99% what you've spelled out. "Controlled wear" is what I've been taught and used ever since my motorcycle days.
 
All great replies, which even covered how to break it in...

I will stick with the Iveco recommendations.

I do have a Reverso oil prime pump so I will run that pump before starting the engine to ensure that the engine is well oiled before cranking.
 
I've got an interesting variation on this problem. My wing engine is a Deere, and calls for running their break-in oil for the first 100 hrs. Like others, I figure the manufacturer probably knows more about the engine than me, my neighbor, and Bubba-on-the-dock, so I follow their break-in guidelines.

Here's the dilemma. I struggle to put hours on the wing. After 2.5 years, I'm only up to about 20hrs. Deere also calls for annual oil changes regardless of hours. So when it's time for an oil change, do I keep using break-in oil, or switch to regular oil?

The first change I put in normal oil, but that was before I realized the conundrum. I then checked with the dealer and distributor and they both agreed I should keep using break-in oil until I hit 100 hrs, so I switched back to break-in oil for the second oil change.

It's just a situation I never envisioned.
 
Twisted,
The break in oil may not have the additives you need over time like detergents, anti foaming, multi-vis and numerous other additives not needed for break-in. The additive to keep fuel from mixing into the oil likely is missing. I suspect many of these additives are missing in break-in oil (like racing oil) because they won't be needed in the break-in protocall. What's needed is high quality oil and of the best viscosity to lubricate the engine.

When some parts are dangerously close to being too close together one needs oil where some slight metal to metal contact happens and the maximum ability to luericate moving parts is pretty much the only priority.

So break-in oil is probably a good thing .. closer to the ideal lubricant. But using JD break-in oil on another make may not be best either. It would probably be a good idea actually IMO but the JD oil may not be compatible w another engine make so it would be hard to recomend safely. Other makes may not recomend break-in oil because they don't take time to test it and feel recomending the unknown is folly.
 
I find it interesting that Deere uses a beak in oil while Cummins (for instance) recommends NOT using a break in oil but to use the oil the engine will run on normally. Shows that it is not a simple subject. All this oil stuff has been complicated by the EGR and after treatment stuff too. Different oil is required if the engine has a DPF installed in the exhaust system than if the engine is just EGR.
Seems that reading the engine manual is more required than ever.
 
In cars, the big concern is flat-tappet motors, and they require higher levels of ZDDP/Zinc that are not present in off-the-shelf oils. Without enough zinc, you wipe out a cam lobe.

My motor that was built for my camaro is a 383 stroker motor, and I'll use Brad Penn break-in oil that was designed specifically for that purpose.

So in some cases, break-in oil IS very different.

Doubt your motor has a flat tappet cam though.
 
Lots of diesels use flat tappets, but they tend to be much bigger with lower valve spring pressures as compared to gassers. Especially high performance gassers. Cam break in a big deal with those. Not so much with diesels. Rare to wipe a cam on a diesel.

No idea if the Iveco is flat or roller cam.
 
I think Iveco is one of the biggest diesel engine manufacturers in the world.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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