

| Subject: | Re: Synthetic Oil for 1.9? |
| From: | Stuart MacMillan |
| Date: | Thu, 21 Jun 2001 09:02:34 -0700 |
NEVER use synthetic oil (or any oil additives) for break in, it's too slippery for the rings to bed in properly. Most sources I've read like single weight dino oil, either 30w HD or 40w HD, for the first 3000 miles. Change the filter and oil after the first 500 miles. Don't squirt anything into the cylinders either. Some rings are meant to be installed dry, others are lubricated with oil upon assembly. Rings need friction to hone themselves into the cylinders. Do remove the plugs and crank the engine for 30 seconds or so to build up oil pressure, then put them back in and fire it up. It is important that the engine fire up right away or you risk damaging the cam with too much cranking or short bursts of running and then dying. Once it starts, run the engine at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes (no idling), this lets the cam and lifters bed in as well. Watch your oil pressure and temp gauge, and look for leaks. Then you can drive normally, but good old around town driving with lots of speed changes is best, avoid constant speed highway cruising and serious stop and go traffic (you don't want to do too much idling) for the first 500 miles. For those who what the rationale behind all of this: The theory on the 2000 rpm for 20 minutes, as well as avoiding idling for the first 500 miles, is that at low speeds the lifters are pressed tightly against the entire cam lobe, which can cause galling. At higher speeds the lifter is accellerated rapidly up the cam lobe and is nearly weightless at the top, which is where damage can occur during break in. The reason for avoiding constant speed during break in has to do with lubricating the cylinder walls. At constant speed the cylinder oiling may not be adequate for the higher friction levels during break in. When you accelerate the engine compression pushes the rings into the cylinder walls so they can bed in, and on deceleration the vacuum increases and pulls extra oil up into the cylinder for lubrication. Constantly alternating the two provides the best possible operating condition for proper ring seating. I've used this method successfully on at least 8 engines over the years. -- Stuart MacMillan Seattle '84 Vanagon Westfalia w/2.1 '65 MGB (Daily driver since 1969) '74 MGB GT (Restoring sloooowly) Personal mechanic for: '70 MGB GT (Daughter's) Assisting on Restoration (and spending OPM): '72 MGB GT (Was daughter's, now son's) '64 MGB (Son's) Stripped and gone but their parts live on: '68 MGB, '73 MGB, '67 MGB GT
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