What oil to break motor in

[screamindemon2]

I heard to use diesel oil to break in just wondering whats best..30 over TRW,212-212 comp cam,& cat forged crank ,gt6776 turbo ,vig 3500 stall, HOPE IT RUNS SOME GOOD NUMBERS JoJo

 

[WH1]

Use a good nonsynthetic straight 30 weight with a couple of bottles of GM EOS fluid. Don't use diesel oil.

 

[Steve]

Actually the diesel (HD) oil is highly recommended by some of the major cam manufacturers. The reason being is that the HD oils(like Rotella etc.) are not subjected to the same emssions standards as normal oils so they still contain the anitwear additives that all oils had years ago. According to the parts department at a local Chevy dealer the GM EOS has had a formulation change in the last couple of years so its little cloudy on what it has in it now compared to what it once had, no one really seems to knows for sure or at least no one I can find, but it still seems to be a good product. I used 30wt Rotella and a bottle of GM EOS just to be sure and so far so good. I researched it pretty heavily when I built my motor and I talked to 3 different cam manufacturers and they all named Rotella oil by name and recomended it. They also named a couple of different additives that could be used with normal oils.

 

[turbo nasty]

Straight 30 wt diesel and EOS is fine.

As far as the do not use diesel oil thing...
If you add EOS to a reg (non diesel) oil then you are changing its zinc/anti wear additive package, etc to resemble the diesel.
So why not run the diesel 30 wt and the EOS for a lil extra coverage

 

[screamindemon2]

How many miles before first oil change . I thought rotella only came in 15-40

 

[Steve]

I overkill mine but oil is pretty cheap(a lot cheaper than a motor anyway) so I cahnge mine after the 20 minute cam break in, then after 50 miles, then after 100, then after 500 and normal after that. Rotella comes in 30wt, 10w30, and 15w40, maybe others but that what I have seen. I used 30wt for the first two oil changes then went to 15w40.

 

[screamindemon2]

when do u go back to normal oil

 

[Steve]

Well my motor is still pretty fresh, but I am pretty much staying with Rotella. Really the only difference between Rotella and normal oils is the additive packages that are included and the additives are what makes it good for a flat tappet cam on break in and beyond. Rotella is freqeuntly used in truck fleets in both deisel and gas engines and it has a good reputation as a high quality oil. I've seen gas engine fleet trucks with over 200K on them and they lead a very hard life. There are other oils that have the necessary additives also. If you should be able to find them if you do a search. I think Royal Purple and Q Racing(Qauker State) oil both are pretty commonly used and have a good reputation. I am sure there are others.

 

[Nacho_WE4]

Ok so is the consensus to run Rotella first and then perhaps switch to Royal Purple??

I do not have a new motor but I haven't cranked her in 7 years so I am treating this as a new vehicle startup. I got a bottle of EOS and went to Walmart last night and noticed they sell a gallon of 30wt Rotella for 8$.

Should I use the Rotella first and after the motor is cranked and is running for a few miles, change the oil to Royal Purple????

Or should I do Royal Purple now, break it in, and after a few miles, change the oil and use Royal Purple again?

That may be an expensive route but I just want to be safe. What do you all think?

 

[machinegun]

I do not recommend break in on synthetic. Only use a good dino oil. The rotella would be a good choice. After the engine is broke in then go to a synthetic. Mobile1 is good although I may try the new penzoil synthetic to see how it works.

 

[Nacho_WE4]

I do not recommend break in on synthetic. Only use a good dino oil. The rotella would be a good choice. After the engine is broke in then go to a synthetic. Mobile1 is good although I may try the new penzoil synthetic to see how it works.

Very good point.

As a side note, Royal Purple kicks a$$. Back in the late 90's, a friend of mine owned a dyno at his shop and a rep from Royal Purple showed up. He had us pick out a car that we could do a before and after on. We chose an old LX Mustang and the owner always used mobile 1 synthetic. So we did a run on the dyno and the car made something like 230hp at the wheels. We then drained the oil, changed the filter and put in some of the Royal Purple. We did another run on the dyno and the car picked up 6hp at the wheels.

That was a great sales pitch hahaha.

Now for me the question becomes, which is better for performance AND longevity after the motor is cranked...Rotella or Synthetic oil.....

 

[breiter]

Castrol Start Up Oil

I just installed a fresh 3.8 in my 87GN. I am using Castol Start Up oil as recommended by my engine builder. Copy and paste this link to check out the benefits. On sale at Advanced Auto for around $3.00 a quart.
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/productdetail.do?categoryId=82915467&contentId=6030788 I will change to regular Castrol 5Wx30 after about 50 miles then Mobile1 synthetic after 5000 miles.

 

[JDEstill]

Hey, another Houston guy... which side of town are you on screamindemon2?

Anyway, my machine shop has been trying this stuff out:
http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?form_prod_id=890,587_4360&action=product
and so far he likes it a lot. Got stuff in it to help protect flat tappet cams.

My machinist says that when using this oil on the dyno it only takes 2 pulls or so to get the rings broken in (as shown by power jumping up to max and no blowby out the breathers), as opposed to 4-5 pulls with the oil he was using. His cost on this stuff was only ~$3.50/qt, so 6 qts for break-in is a very reasonable $21, which seems to be worth it to me if it does what it says it does. The website price doesn't sound like quite such a good deal, but it might still be worth it if it helps. I'm going to give it a try whenever I get my engine back in place (month or so from now I hope).

John

 

[Brer Rabbit]

New motor and...

Just started my roller camed motor and used Rotella non synthetic 15w40 with a bottle of EOS. changed the oil and filter after initial startup with the same formula as start up. The guys at Harland Sharp told my engine builder to use a supplement like EOS or a similar product to protect the rocker shafts which is the only reason Im using it. Rotella is a good deal and available everywhere---even Walmart. A gallon is like 8 bucks. Better to be safe then sorry even if it doesnt really matter it aint gonna hurt to use it.

 

[Reggie West]

I would suggest using synthetic oil on break in for a new motor.

1. Read a bottle of Mobil 1. It says right on it that it is recommended for break in on new motors. If you are planning on using synthetic for the car you wont have any seals leaking from switching from conventional to synthetic.

2. I have killed one turbo bearing on a new motor using conventional oil. That was on a dyno too and you probably wont be working the motor that hard but the extra $20 bucks will save you $150 for a turbo rebuild.


My 2 cents

 

[Steve]

There are lots of good oils out there but the most important thing to remember is if you are using a flat tappet cam there are no normal engine oils that contain the anti-wear additives that protect the cam. The all once had these additives but now the EPA has mandated that they must be removed for emission purposes. ROtella and other HD oils are basically formulated like all motor oils were 10 or so years ago because the HD oils are not required to meet the same emission standards which is also the case for racing oils. WHich ever you deicide on make sure it contains the anitwear additives to make sure the cam is protected. If the oil has the SL designation it does not have the anitwear additives.

 

[231Turbo]

Comp reccomends the cam breakin with Rottella T 15 w 40

 

[SloGN]

Comp reccomends the cam breakin with Rottella T 15 w 40

thats all i would do no eos needed


you need some friction to help the rings to set properly

 

[VadersV6]

Do not ever use synthetic for break in! Otherwise, it wont BREAK IN.
Use a non synthetic oil with alot of moly in it. Dont use any oil with the starburst symbol, before or after break in, on any engine with a flat tappet cam. Those are the oils that had the zinc and phosphorous reduced. The quaker state Q oils have alot of moly, but use the regular one, not synthetic Q oils. I ran royal purple for many years and beat the living hell out of those engines, and never saw a shred of damage. The longer you use RP, the better cause it gradually coats everything in moly. But the Q oils, like the semi synthetic Q oils, have more zinc and phosphorous and moly than RP. Thats what Im running now. But dont use it for break in. Use 2 CANS of EOS during break in, with a decent dino oil. After cam break-in, drain it all and throw in 5 more quarts of cheap dino oil, with NO EOS supplement and a new filter. Get out there, warm up the engine, and do some low boost (about 10psi), WOT runs up to 5000rpm. Maybe about 5 passes. After that, drain it, and throw in some Quaker State Q high rpm oil, or your favorite synthetic with another new filter. I personally HATE Mobil 1. Valvoline SYN sythetic is an excellent synthetic, as are all the Q oils, redline and RP. A supplement that is way better than EOS is valvoline SYN oil treatment...they make a SYN oil, and a SYN oil treatment, in case that confused you. But the SYN oil treatment is a full synthetic oil treatment, so dont use it on break in. The main reason you want EOS, is to coat the flat tappet lobes with moly, since the moly assembly lube wipes right off after the engine gets fired up. EOS has lots of moly.
Half a bottle of SYN treatment has enough moly, zinc and phosphorous to protect the lobes with each oil change, although running Q oils by themselves will be fine cause they are really fortified. Hope this wasnt too much info. The break in advise came from what I learned on the dyno and with our race motors. The guys at that place knew their stuff, and after tearing engines down, with flat tappet cams, that came in first place in every race through a whole season, to find every bearing, cam lobe, cylinder wall, piston skirt, all looking brand new..I tended to follow their advise. A HARD break in with clean dino oil, seats all the valves properly and breaks everything else in properly. No glazed cylinder walls, leakdown or blowby. No flat lobes, worn valve guides, scuffed skirts, etc.
Its too late for you now unless you're careful, but one of the best things you can do with a new motor is to spray all the casting flash all over the block and heads with carb cleaner...LOTS of carb cleaner. It gets out so much old dirt, abrasive materials, fine metal particles that hot tanks dont get out that you wouldnt believe it. There is a HUGE amount of crap embedded in that casting flash, and it finds its way into your new bearings, rings and skirts...well....everything. Normal solvents, brake cleaner, soap and water...nothing gets that stuff out like carb cleaner does.

 

[Nacho_WE4]

I do appreciate all the info... So is this acceptable for my situation (not cranking motor after 7 yrs):

Step 1.) 2 bottles of EOS + 5 quarts of Rotella 15w-40. Crank motor and rev to 2500 rpm and leave the car running for 30-45 minutes

Step 2.) Drain oil, and replace filter and use Rotella 15w-40 for a few passes. This may take a couple months to do.

Step 3.) Drain it all and go back to Royal Purple. (10w-30? 15w-50?)

Do not ever use synthetic for break in! Otherwise, it wont BREAK IN.
Use a non synthetic oil with alot of moly in it. Dont use any oil with the starburst symbol, before or after break in, on any engine with a flat tappet cam. Those are the oils that had the zinc and phosphorous reduced. The quaker state Q oils have alot of moly, but use the regular one, not synthetic Q oils. I ran royal purple for many years and beat the living hell out of those engines, and never saw a shred of damage. The longer you use RP, the better cause it gradually coats everything in moly. But the Q oils, like the semi synthetic Q oils, have more zinc and phosphorous and moly than RP. Thats what Im running now. But dont use it for break in. Use 2 CANS of EOS during break in, with a decent dino oil. After cam break-in, drain it all and throw in 5 more quarts of cheap dino oil, with NO EOS supplement and a new filter. Get out there, warm up the engine, and do some low boost (about 10psi), WOT runs up to 5000rpm. Maybe about 5 passes. After that, drain it, and throw in some Quaker State Q high rpm oil, or your favorite synthetic with another new filter. I personally HATE Mobil 1. Valvoline SYN sythetic is an excellent synthetic, as are all the Q oils, redline and RP. A supplement that is way better than EOS is valvoline SYN oil treatment...they make a SYN oil, and a SYN oil treatment, in case that confused you. But the SYN oil treatment is a full synthetic oil treatment, so dont use it on break in. The main reason you want EOS, is to coat the flat tappet lobes with moly, since the moly assembly lube wipes right off after the engine gets fired up. EOS has lots of moly.
Half a bottle of SYN treatment has enough moly, zinc and phosphorous to protect the lobes with each oil change, although running Q oils by themselves will be fine cause they are really fortified. Hope this wasnt too much info. The break in advise came from what I learned on the dyno and with our race motors. The guys at that place knew their stuff, and after tearing engines down, with flat tappet cams, that came in first place in every race through a whole season, to find every bearing, cam lobe, cylinder wall, piston skirt, all looking brand new..I tended to follow their advise. A HARD break in with clean dino oil, seats all the valves properly and breaks everything else in properly. No glazed cylinder walls, leakdown or blowby. No flat lobes, worn valve guides, scuffed skirts, etc.
Its too late for you now unless you're careful, but one of the best things you can do with a new motor is to spray all the casting flash all over the block and heads with carb cleaner...LOTS of carb cleaner. It gets out so much old dirt, abrasive materials, fine metal particles that hot tanks dont get out that you wouldnt believe it. There is a HUGE amount of crap embedded in that casting flash, and it finds its way into your new bearings, rings and skirts...well....everything. Normal solvents, brake cleaner, soap and water...nothing gets that stuff out like carb cleaner does.