Brake in procedure

[GT50]

Some experts advice that the piston rings should be installead in the piston bore dry an no oil in the bore too, the reason is for the piston rings not to glaze if there is the danger of this to happen they will never seat. Has anyone tried this method?

[Schurkey]

Dry? Not my first choice. I wipe the bores with ATF, I have ATF on my hands when I put the rings on the pistons, and of course some ATF or engine oil on the wrist pin. I want SOME lube on the assembly.

Some guys dunk the piston/rings in a pail of engine oil before cramming it down the bore. That's too much oil for me.

[engineguyBill]

Best procedure (in my opinion) is to apply a thin coat of engine oil to the cylinder walls and piston skirts. Then apply oil to the rings and ring grooves after installing the rings on the pistons (using a squirt-type oil can) THEN install the pistons in the cylinders - simple as that. Engine assembly lube on the wrist pins when they are installed. I agree with Shurkey, dunking the piston/ring assembly into a can of oil is just too much oil and is not necessary nor advantageous.

[lefty o]

dont brake the rings, thats bad! sorry , had to do it.

[GT50]

dont brake the rings, thats bad! sorry , had to do it.

Belive me they don´t brake but I don´t fell safe doing it too.

[swampbuggy]

Question for you GT50, Where will the engine be when you put fire in the combustion chambers ? Run in stand, dyno, car, ??? Mark H.

[hoodeng]

Everyone is on the ball , light lube on the rings ,squirt of oil in the bore spun around with a finger,wet skirt ,EP lube on fitting surfaces[pins,bearings].

But,,, some years back i saw a video of AMG engines being built ,that piston was dunked in a bucket of oil before installation!!! i didn't understand the necessity of it then nor have i heard a reason for it .

Cheers.

[rebelrouser]

I use a light oil on rings when assembling, something like WD-40 . I think the issue is the newer additives in engine oil are too good, they will keep rings from seating. When I went to tech school in 1974, we dunked piston assemblies in oil just like has been mentioned, just the way old timers did it. I think any light weight oil as long as it does not have anti wear additives in it will work. Several mentioned ATF, as long as it does not have the wrong additives, some of the newer synthetic ATF's may have additives that might cause issues. I know ATF formulations changed a lot in the 90's due to lock up torque converter issues. Type F would be my choice if I were to use ATF. The other issue is once the engine is fired what ever oil you have in the crankcase will be on the walls. So selecting a decent break-in oil might be what we should be talking about. I follow the directions of the ring manufacturer. Total seal says for example no synthetic oils for break-in or assembly .



http://www.totalseal.com/pdf/Installati ... 2010_2.pdf

[GT50]

by swampbuggy » Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:33 pm

Question for you GT50, Where will the engine be when you put fire in the combustion chambers ? Run in stand, dyno, car, ??? Mark H.

Mark H. , The engine is going to be in the car and my idea is that once the engine starts bring the rpm to 1500 to 2000.

[cjperformance]

In reality you can put any engine oil you like be it min, semi syn, syn etc, on the bores and rings. Shock horror it wont glaze the bores and cause the left hand rear tyre to go flat!
The 3 biggest 1st start bore/ring killers/glazers are bad bore fininsh from the get go, poor bore/part cleanliness at assembly and over rich fuel mixture particularly in the 1st start drive cycle.

[427dart]

How to the OEM's do it? Todays production engines seem to run extremely well without a lot of fuss.

[cjperformance]

How to the OEM's do it? Todays production engines seem to run extremely well without a lot of fuss.

Good bore finish, oil the crap out of everything on assembly, start it up and then it gets thrashed by assembly line staff, (i have worked in a car factory) transport drivers, predelivery drivers then you buy it and treat it like the last gold bullion on earth and say, oh its been pedantically treated ever since the day i got it , this engine is so good because i ran it in so perfectly !!

[Justin_inc]

i've always just applied a decent amount of the cheapest shittiest dextron 3 atf there was. has worked fine for me so no need to reinvent the wheel

[steve316]

WD-40 is what total seal recommends if you use oil on the rings

[swampbuggy]

GT 50 the reason i asked where the engine would be when you started it is.....for the rings to seat quickly and completely there should be a load on the engine "(NOT)" just free wheeling. I understand that a new flat tappet cam and lifters needs a lot of oil there constant, but the engine does not have to be free wheeling. As long as you have oil pressure, drive the car on-off---on-off---on-off---on-off the throttle maybe second gear from 2000 to 4000 rpm's for about 3 minutes straight and your rings will be seated if you have the proper cylinder wall prep. "IF" you have a NEW flat tappet cam and lifters then drive it 15 to 20 minutes down the road at a min. of 2500 rpm. after the on-off deal. Mark H.