Engine break in?

[94fordguy]

Breaking in a rebuilt motor, how much oil do most people put in the first tank of fuel, 1 pint (100:1) 1 quart (50:1)?

Any other tips the more experienced sledders or wrenchers would care to share on the topic of engine break in?

Thought this might be a good thing to bring up before the season starts

Happy sledding

 

[pipes]

Breaking in a rebuilt motor, how much oil do most people put in the first tank of fuel, 1 pint (100:1) 1 quart (50:1)?

Any other tips the more experienced sledders or wrenchers would care to share on the topic of engine break in?

Thought this might be a good thing to bring up before the season starts

Happy sledding

I add a pint of Blendzall castor based bean oil to the first tank then 1/2 a pint every tank after that. had good results with that.

 

[maxwell]

50:1

bleed oil injection

beat the heck out of it

dont go wide open throttle for to long

 

[Modman]

50:1

bleed oil injection

beat the heck out of it

dont go wide open throttle for to long

Yep. add 50:1 oil for the first tank so that the motor gets double the oil (from oil injection as well).

Motor break in is a funny subject - very strong opinions on both sides. Some guys never break it in, just go wide open from the moment they pick it up from the dealer. Other guys (like me) are religious about it. Don't worry about heat cycling it too much, some say this is good for it, mostly this will help the gaskets settle in IMO, its not going to "temper" any of the metal parts, they see much higher temps during their creation process than during the motor operation.

Load the motor good for the first while, on and off the throttle, no long pulls for the first 100 kms. You need to load the motor so that the rings seat properly. Loading the motor forces pressure behind the rings and presses them against the cylinder walls, helping them to seat and seal better. Most of the newer rings/pistons and nickasils will seat a lot faster than the '75 chev pick up your dad had, so its important to bring the motor up to operating temp and then load it (don't trail ride it for 100 kms then start trying to seat the rings). There has been some speculation that with the newer coatings on rings and pistons and cylinders that rings will seat even after as little as 20-30 kms, which is why it is important to load it sooner rather than later.

Do a quick ride (1-2 kms) and then stop and check everything to make sure there are no leaks, loose parts, etc. Then progress to longer distances IMO.

Hope that helps.

 

[kgr]

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

 

[maxwell]

yeah motor break in is a touchy subject alot of theories. but like mentioned dont be easy on it like you naturally would think with something "new"

 

[Alberta Boy]

drive it like you stole it... good warm up and cool down and don't hold WOT for too long... or you can do what I do and ignore that suggestion because your buddies told you that they took your sled out a couple of weekends prior and did the break in! I probably would have rode it differently if I knew the truth... this was a good lie!

 

[Billy Boy]

50:1 and don't be afraid to pin it once in a while. Try not to keep it at a constant speed for a prolonged period of time. My

Billy Boy

 

[dirtball08]

Like stated earlier, 50:1 on the 1st tank then just gas after that. I've used the same brake in as new; rarely full throttle for approx the 1st 10 hrs. No problems so far on either the Doo or the Poo and it's been 4 seasons on both motors. FWIW.

 

[94fordguy]

Great responses in here everyone

I'm actually seeing more consistent replies than I was counting on.

Here's something I would like to bring up as another point to consider. Have any of you heard of or experienced a plugged fuel injector as a result of using too much oil in the tank upon break in? Also, might you experience an oil related bog if you are running that much oil? I think the factory sets the machines up somewhere in the neighborhood of about 35:1 give or take a little, so could running an additional 50:1 cause poor throttle response or stumbling with this much oil in the system?

A couple more points to keep the discussion going:d

 

[maxwell]

ill be honest. seems to me the extra oil is a precaution. not going to say any names. but a "guy" that builds motors for a friend of mines jackson hole hillclimb racers doesnt use ANY extra oil in the tank after a rebuild. after breaking those motors in with no extra oil and a couple seasons we tore them down. same results as the motors i have done with extra oil. i was supprised as i was shocked when he said "what are you doing dont put that in there" haha. 2000km and no score marks and 150psi both holes. i was very suprised.

but as for the extra oil bogging or clogging injectors....not going to happen.
it wont even smoke that much more.

i wont say it WONT happen. but it wont happen

never seen it happen anyways. then agian im only 23 LOLOL

shouldnt bog either with the extra oil. and remember its only the first tank the break in period is short might feel a bit slower but its not for very long

 

[Modman]

Great responses in here everyone

I'm actually seeing more consistent replies than I was counting on.

Here's something I would like to bring up as another point to consider. Have any of you heard of or experienced a plugged fuel injector as a result of using too much oil in the tank upon break in? Also, might you experience an oil related bog if you are running that much oil? I think the factory sets the machines up somewhere in the neighborhood of about 35:1 give or take a little, so could running an additional 50:1 cause poor throttle response or stumbling with this much oil in the system?

A couple more points to keep the discussion going:d

You might foul a plug or two depending on just how much oil you are injecting and adding, but I agree with Maxwell, probably not going to cause a big issue. Injector pressure should be high enough to spray it through anyway, even if it was pure oil since sled oil is pretty thin viscosity anyway (not like you are using 80W90). If you are worried about fouling plugs, just run one plug range hotter.

As for the oil related bog, never experienced it. I'm not sure where you are getting that idea that you would "bog" at a certain RPM based on oil %, since the motor will be getting the same oil % at all throttle positions, the oil/gas mix is always consistent. Maybe its heat related and that it would burn up more at the higher operating temps, but again, as stated, its only one tank of fuel, so even a slight bog if you experienced it, will go away. Again, you can run a hotter plug to help reduce this.

 

[sledderdoc]

Great responses in here everyone

I'm actually seeing more consistent replies than I was counting on.

Here's something I would like to bring up as another point to consider. Have any of you heard of or experienced a plugged fuel injector as a result of using too much oil in the tank upon break in? Also, might you experience an oil related bog if you are running that much oil? I think the factory sets the machines up somewhere in the neighborhood of about 35:1 give or take a little, so could running an additional 50:1 cause poor throttle response or stumbling with this much oil in the system?

A couple more points to keep the discussion going:d

On my last two new sleds I did not add any oil to the first tank and they have been fine. I did however put the first 500K on in meticulous fashion changing the RPM every minute from very slow to pinned!!! Lots of laps around the lake. Not until that was done did she see the mountains. I personally don't think its necessary to add oil anymore but to each his own!

 

[DaveB]

I'm in the "ride it like you stole it" group. 50:1 in the first tank (with oil injection)...good warm up and driv'er Mcgyver. If all you ride is mountains, how can you never hit WFO for 100 miles? It gets 5 to 10 miles of trail, then it's into the alpine and WFO all day.

 

[maxwell]

true. broken so many motors in on the mountain. i just try to stay away from long pulls.

also dont forget to hold your oil pump wide open for a couple of minuts to bleed it after you bleed the air screw.

wait.. never mind just the top end dont need to bleed the injection
what sled are we talking about here>?

 

[sledderdoc]

I'm in the "ride it like you stole it" group. 50:1 in the first tank (with oil injection)...good warm up and driv'er Mcgyver. If all you ride is mountains, how can you never hit WFO for 100 miles? It gets 5 to 10 miles of trail, then it's into the alpine and WFO all day.

Thats why I'm saying take it around the lake for several laps before its wide open all day. I do have to admit I took the XP out with not too many miles on it and it ran like crap because the chip still hadn't burnt out!! Nothing worse than knowing you can make it and your sled decides it can't Actually did not have the best trip and won't do that again!! Wasted trip to Valemount!

 

[Modman]

true. broken so many motors in on the mountain. i just try to stay away from long pulls.

also dont forget to hold your oil pump wide open for a couple of minuts to bleed it after you bleed the air screw.

wait.. never mind just the top end dont need to bleed the injection
what sled are we talking about here>?

He said he rebuilt the motor so I'm assuming he removed it from the chassis and that the oil pump needs to be bled.

I've seen motors from both camps (proper break in and "Macgyver" break in) and both have lasted. I've seen motors from both camps blown to high heaven too. Was it the way they were broken in?? Can't say. I know what break in procedure has worked for me in the past and that's what I'll keep doing until it stops working or I'm forced to buy an electric sled that doesn't need a break in.

I think that's the key. Do what you are comfortable with and what works for you.

 

[94fordguy]

He said he rebuilt the motor so I'm assuming he removed it from the chassis and that the oil pump needs to be bled.

I've seen motors from both camps (proper break in and "Macgyver" break in) and both have lasted. I've seen motors from both camps blown to high heaven too. Was it the way they were broken in?? Can't say. I know what break in procedure has worked for me in the past and that's what I'll keep doing until it stops working or I'm forced to buy an electric sled that doesn't need a break in.

I think that's the key. Do what you are comfortable with and what works for you.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I'd hate to run low on battery life in a commited chute:d

 

[growly]

Here's Polaris' recommendations from there recall letter...

 

[farmer Mike]

drive it like you stole it... good warm up and cool down and don't hold WOT for too long... or you can do what I do and ignore that suggestion because your buddies told you that they took your sled out a couple of weekends prior and did the break in! I probably would have rode it differently if I knew the truth... this was a good lie!

What you talking about, it got a good break in.. Across hay field and some tillage thats the perfect break in Ha Ha