[Macfreak7]

Please post some of your experiences that you've had with breaking-in car engines. Any other related information would be appreciated too.
Is there any one method or does it depend on the engine type?
I've already RTFM, but I was still wondering about other people's experiences.

[milhous]

Hmm, when you buy a new car, you should be driving it at various speeds and RPMs. Then at 1,000 miles the dealership usually gives you a free oil change to expel any metal particles. At least that's been my experience.

[nerd]

I always say drive it how you'll always drive it. It's a matter of opinion, you'll get all kinds of advice.

[tooki]

Why not do what it says in the owner's manual?!?

tooki

[production_coordinator]

- owner's manual
- take it easy

[macroy]

I usually follow the manual.. However, if you do a search - there are some articles out there written by "mechanics" that indicate you should drive it like a bat out of hell to break it in. As much as some of their notions may make sense, I just can't force myself to bet the crap out of something after dumping a good portion of my salary on it.

['"}{/quote}]

use regular oil for the first 5-10k miles. Synthetic isn't worth it, since you need to change it so often. Don't redline it or beat on it for a while. I'd change the oil at 1000 miles, 2000, and 3000 miles. Then once you switch to synthetic start changing it every 5-10k miles.

In reality...it isn't that big of a deal. A car's body almost always wears out faster than the engine.

[OldManMac]

Follow the owner's manual, as tooki stated. As to flushing out metal particles at 1000 miles, if I bought a new car today that was so sloppily manufactured that it had metal particles in the oil, I'd be looking at buying a different brand the next time. Today's engines are manufactured under incredibly tight tolerances, and I'm not sure where metal particles would come from. Do pieces of the valves or bearings break off? I don't think so.

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by KarlG

Follow the owner's manual, as tooki stated. As to flushing out metal particles at 1000 miles, if I bought a new car today that was so sloppily manufactured that it had metal particles in the oil, I'd be looking at buying a different brand the next time. Today's engines are manufactured under incredibly tight tolerances, and I'm not sure where metal particles would come from. Do pieces of the valves or bearings break off? I don't think so.

>sigh<

EVERY new engine produces metal particles in the oil. IN FACT, that's the primary reason you CHANGE your oil. If you never changed your oil, the the filter would clog up iwth those tiny metal particles. Today's engines have even tighter tolerances, which means they have a lot of friction until they get 'broken in'. This means the difference between 'tight' and broken in = METAL PARTICLES.

Jesus. Just... just don't even post about subjects you don't know about. Please. You're just spreading ignorance.

[Sealobo]

Take it easy and always be gentle at start... warm up the car gradually to working temperature. Not just the engine, but also the gearbox, differential, brakes, tyres and everything, i.e. anything that moves or generate friction.

once the car is ready with proper oil temperature, gun it like it mofo without tomorrow.

when you're done, make sure the cool A/C is off few mins prior you shut off the engine.

peace.

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by Sealobo

make sure the cool A/C is off few mins prior you shut off the engine.

why?

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

why?

Otherwise the extremely cold surfaces in teh HVAC system generate moisture from condensation. Moisture+ dark places= mold, mold= stink. Ever been in a car where someone's A/C smells like dirty socks? That's why. All you need to do to prevent it is just turn off the A/C for about 5-10 minutes before you turn off the car and run the regular old 'vent' mode to get fresh air blowing throw the system, warming things up, and preventing condensation.

[OldManMac]

Thanks for the education, but I'll stick with my story. The primary reason to change oil is because of contamination from combustion by-products (which raise the acidity level of your oil, which causes it to breakdown), and because all gasoline contains some water, which makes its way into your crankcase, decreasing the effectiveness of oil. Metal shavings are still somewhat of a factor, but not nearly as much as they used to be, due to advances in metallurgy and manufacturing tolerances that have occured in the last several decades. Using synthetic oil is also advisable, as it provides greater film strength, for coating friction surfaces, and better cold weather starting capabilities, as well as lasting longer between changes.

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by KarlG

Thanks for the education, but I'll stick with my story. The primary reason to change oil is because of contamination from combustion by-products (which raise the acidity level of your oil, which causes it to breakdown), and because all gasoline contains some water, which makes its way into your crankcase, decreasing the effectiveness of oil. Metal shavings are still somewhat of a factor, but not nearly as much as they used to be, due to advances in metallurgy and manufacturing tolerances that have occured in the last several decades. Using synthetic oil is also advisable, as it provides greater film strength, for coating friction surfaces, and better cold weather starting capabilities, as well as lasting longer between changes.

Fantastic. Where'd you cut and paste that from?*

Also, the only reason to change synthetic is because of contamination. It just does not break down.

*: I'm guessing since you obviously didn't know there were metal particles in the oil of any combustion engine....

[Sealobo]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

why?

mechanics told me that it has something to do with thermal stress, but i don't know the details.

for some cars with automatic A/C, if you left the A/C on when you shut down the car, it stays on when you start the engine again. that'd put extra load to the engine immediately and it can't be a good thing, i guess.

[OldManMac]

"]Fantastic. Where'd you cut and paste that from?*

Also, the only reason to change synthetic is because of contamination. It just does not break down.

*: I'm guessing since you obviously didn't know there were metal particles in the oil of any combustion engine....[/QUOTE]

I bow to your supposed superiority.

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by Sealobo

mechanics told me that it has something to do with thermal stress, but i don't know the details.

for some cars with automatic A/C, if you left the A/C on when you shut down the car, it stays on when you start the engine again. that'd put extra load to the engine immediately and it can't be a good thing, i guess.

Pretty much every car these days uses a compressor with a clutch. This clutch is disengaged on startup, and sometimes heavy acceleration. Also, if you are having trouble starting your car with the A/C on, your car has other issues. The real reason to turn it off is so it doesn't get stinky.

[macaddict0001]

follow the information in the owners manual.

[Sealobo]

Originally Posted by macaddict0001

follow the information in the owners manual.

Pot tray:
For the people enjoying their life

You sure you can do that?

[Maflynn]

Its funny this topic came up, I just picked up a new dodge dakota a couple of weeks ago.
The manual says to drive it no faster then 55 mph for the first 300 miles.
My old jeep had the same thing except first 1500 miles
My wife's accord has no such break-in period, other then avoiding driving the same speed for extended periods.

Oil changes, my jeep could go 7k, the honda accord 5k and my dakota 3k.

All of the engines are virtually the same, i.e., aluminum blocks, pistons, etc. Yet they vary on break-in and maintenace.

The truck being a standard, I could drive it at 55mph in third gear, that obviously wouldn't be good for it, but being I could drive it in 5th or 6th which is better - does it matter. I truly question the need to break-in the motor. As long as you don't do jack rabbit starts, and don't redline or even rev it too high for a while, you should be all set.

Mike

[Railroader]

Basic engine break in is to simply take it easy for a few hundred miles. No hard acceleration and try to vary your speed. Also don't slam on your breaks.

Originally Posted by macroy

there are some articles out there written by "mechanics" that indicate you should drive it like a bat out of hell to break it in. As much as some of their notions may make sense, I just can't force myself to bet the crap out of something after dumping a good portion of my salary on it.

Do this early in a engine's life and you'll find out what "piston scuff" is and how you'll wish you didn't experience it. We used to have two engine bay dynamometers devoted to testing engine start up and break in. If you start a car up when the engine is new and gun it, you will expand the pistons too fast and wear scuff marks in the sides of the cylinder wall.

Originally Posted by '")[/.quote]

>sigh<

EVERY new engine produces metal particles in the oil. IN FACT, that's the primary reason you CHANGE your oil. If you never changed your oil, the the filter would clog up iwth those tiny metal particles. Today's engines have even tighter tolerances, which means they have a lot of friction until they get 'broken in'. This means the difference between 'tight' and broken in = METAL PARTICLES.

Jesus. Just... just don't even post about subjects you don't know about. Please. You're just spreading ignorance.

You are completely wrong. KarlG is right (as loathe as I am to admit it )
Tighter tolerances reduce friction. Do you think loose bearings have less friction than bearing with close tolerances?

There is a tiny bit of metal in your filter at each filter change. The majority of what would clog your filter is the oil breaking down or particles that get past the rings during combustion and the oil coagulating on those particles..

Where did you learn the crap you spouting? Come up with it yourself? Some "mechanics" you "know". Let me guess, you've been "working on cars your whole life"? Where ever you learned it, it's completely wrong.

EDIT: Nice little username you got there. Creates havoc when people quote you. You'll get trounced in here.

[Macfreak7]

Thanks for the tips to those who actually posted some. Btw, I have been following the manual. I was just curious about what others have been doing.

Stumbled upon some more websites on the same topic.
link 1
link 2

The second link talks about engine "debris" as well. Interesting stuff.

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Basic engine break in is to simply take it easy for a few hundred miles. No hard acceleration and try to vary your speed. Also don't slam on your breaks.

What are breaks? My car has brakes, not sure what you're talking about.

You are completely wrong. KarlG is right (as loathe as I am to admit it )
Tighter tolerances reduce friction. Do you think loose bearings have less friction than bearing with close tolerances?

Actually I'm not. Loose bearings also cause friction, but so do extremely tight bearings and brand new engines.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...3/July/03.html

Notice what the break in is doing. It's allowing the engine parts (piston rings, bearings etc) to conform to each other, REDUCING friction by wearing away very small amounts of metal. The link also explains why break-in periods vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

http://www.eng.wayne.edu/coe/main.cfm?location=759

Again, we see that friction in the engine goes down after break in. Why? Because the too tight tolerances are literally being 'ground away' to acceptable tolerances. Note that this site suggests that you should change your oil VERY soon, like after the first few hours of driving. Makes sense actually.

As for the filter, again... wrong.

http://autos.yahoo.com/owning/mainta...ric%01qaengoil

"The filter's job is to remove solid contaminants such as dirt, carbon and metal particles from the oil before they can damage bearing, journal and cylinder wall surfaces in the engine. The more dirt and other contaminants the filter can trap and hold, the better. "

Nowhere does it refer to the filter as trapping the 'sludge' of broken down oil. You lose Kilbey.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by '''][/quot e]

What are breaks? My car has brakes, not sure what you're talking about.
Actually I'm not. Loose bearings also cause friction, but so do extremely tight bearings and brand new engines.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...3/July/03.html

Notice what the break in is doing. It's allowing the engine parts (piston rings, bearings etc) to conform to each other, REDUCING friction by wearing away very small amounts of metal. The link also explains why break-in periods vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

http://www.eng.wayne.edu/coe/main.cfm?location=759

Again, we see that friction in the engine goes down after break in. Why? Because the too tight tolerances are literally being 'ground away' to acceptable tolerances. Note that this site suggests that you should change your oil VERY soon, like after the first few hours of driving. Makes sense actually.

As for the filter, again... wrong.

http://autos.yahoo.com/owning/mainta...ric%01qaengoil

"The filter's job is to remove solid contaminants such as dirt, carbon and metal particles from the oil before they can damage bearing, journal and cylinder wall surfaces in the engine. The more dirt and other contaminants the filter can trap and hold, the better. "

Nowhere does it refer to the filter as trapping the 'sludge' of broken down oil. You lose Kilbey.

As I said before, you are wrong. Quote all the sites that aren't making your point that you want, but you'll still look like a fool amongst us car Gods like KarlG and myself. Why don't you go to a site where you can use your great Haxor Ski77s?

[hickey]

I always understood that breaking in the engine gives better reliability/longevity in the long run. True?

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by hickey

I always understood that breaking in the engine gives better reliability/longevity in the long run. True?

Who knows. Maintenence is honestly much more important than break in, for the most part.

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by Railroader

As I said before, you are wrong. Quote all the sites that aren't making your point that you want, but you'll still look like a fool amongst us car Gods like KarlG and myself. Why don't you go to a site where you can use your great Haxor Ski77s?

Once again, you refuse to admit that you are wrong and cannot possible fathom admitting it. Truly sad for a grown man.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by ''][/quote]

Once again, you refuse to admit that you are wrong and cannot possible fathom admitting it. Truly sad for a grown man.

What's really sad is a person not realizing when they are not wanted around anymore and taking the most obvious bait ever offered! HA HA HA!!!

Agree with KarlG! That should have been your clue from the beginning. And the athen's "breaks" touch was nice too I must add.

['"}{/quote}]

So you're baiting me? Reported.

[outsourced]

Since I've seen synthetic oil mentioned here, I'd like to ask a question: Since the synthetic lasts longer (viscosity, etc), but still traps contaminants (dirt, metal particles), should one still change oil AND filter as recommended in owner's manual; or should one only change the filter?

Any comments? My friendly Alton's salesman said I should spend $30 every 3000 miles for the synthetic oil change.

[broxy5]

Piston aircraft engines need to be run at 75% power for over 2 hours, then going back and forth between 60% and 75% for another 30 minutes or so. This range only amounted to about 50 rpm. Also, depending on the altitude, 75% power is a different rpm. Where I was doing it, it was red-line.

Air cooled BMW boxers require (if I recall correctly) over 2500 rpm moments after starting after doing a top-end. Of course, after confirming oil pressure.....then givvvver!

With the Beemer, I felt it loosen up after 1500km. It was wierd, sort of just happened. It wsa like night and day. Silky smooth.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by ''][/quote]

So you're baiting me? Reported.

Good luck with that boy. You're not even supposed to be here.

['"}{/quote}]

Synthetic doesn't have a different viscosity, it just doesn't break down like normal oil. It doesn't really 'trap' contaminants either, that's the filter's job. Sure, some things make it through the filter, but that's really the only reason to change your oil if you're using synthetic, it just does not wear out. As for what's recommeneded in the owners manual, I'd ignore it. If you're using synthetic, change your oil once (with the filter) about every 5,000 - 10,000 miles. Changing synethetic every 3,000 miles is just throwing money and perfectly good oil striaght into the toilet.

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by Railroader

"]So you're baiting me? Reported.

Good luck with that boy. You're not even supposed to be here.[/QUOTE]

You're wrong about that too.

Also why did you call me boy? Does it make you feel like a man? I can admit when I'm wrong, unlike you. It doesn't make you sound like a man, it makes you sound like a redneck southerner.

[broxy5]

Originally Posted by outsourced

Since I've seen synthetic oil mentioned here, I'd like to ask a question: Since the synthetic lasts longer (viscosity, etc), but still traps contaminants (dirt, metal particles), should one still change oil AND filter as recommended in owner's manual; or should one only change the filter?

Any comments? My friendly Alton's salesman said I should spend $30 every 3000 miles for the synthetic oil change.

I know an Amsoil salesman that claims to change only the (gigatic) Amsoil filter in his 6.5l Chev diesel. It has 650,000 kms on it. He never changes the oil, merely tops it up when he changes the filter. He also claims that Amsoil was the first true synthetic (naturally he would). Depends on the manufacturers recommendations I suppose.

[broxy5]

double post

[OldManMac]

"]What are breaks? My car has brakes, not sure what you're talking about.




Actually I'm not. Loose bearings also cause friction, but so do extremely tight bearings and brand new engines.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...3/July/03.html

Notice what the break in is doing. It's allowing the engine parts (piston rings, bearings etc) to conform to each other, REDUCING friction by wearing away very small amounts of metal. The link also explains why break-in periods vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

http://www.eng.wayne.edu/coe/main.cfm?location=759

Again, we see that friction in the engine goes down after break in. Why? Because the too tight tolerances are literally being 'ground away' to acceptable tolerances. Note that this site suggests that you should change your oil VERY soon, like after the first few hours of driving. Makes sense actually.

As for the filter, again... wrong.

http://autos.yahoo.com/owning/mainta...ric%01qaengoil

"The filter's job is to remove solid contaminants such as dirt, carbon and metal particles from the oil before they can damage bearing, journal and cylinder wall surfaces in the engine. The more dirt and other contaminants the filter can trap and hold, the better. "

Nowhere does it refer to the filter as trapping the 'sludge' of broken down oil. You lose Kilbey.[/QUOTE]

Naturally, new engines have more friction, as the tolerances are tighter. Your links, however, do nothing to show that metal particles are a problem in todays engines. As I've already stated several times, metallurgy technology and more precise manufacturing techniques today alleviate what was once a problem; more wear and tear because of loooser tolerances and better quality control, resulting in less wear and tear; ergo; less metal particles. Your first link even states that manufacturers use different break-in periods because they aren't sure of the rate at which their engines degrade; Porsche says you can drive your car like a bat out of hell from day one because they're confident in their quality control, while others recommend varying break-in periods, because they aren't sure. The facts are that today's cars are vastly different than my first car, a 1956 Ford, which had oil leaks galore, one worn lobe on the camshaft, and needed frequent tune-ups, well before it had 60,000 miles on it, when I bought it.

Your second link shows a study on a one-cylinder, air cooled, engine, which is hardly representative of what we're discussing here. The air-cooling alone adds an entirely different dimension to the discussion, as there is very little uniformity in expansion/contraction rates in the metal components of such an engine, compared to modern liquid cooled vehicles. The emissions are vastly harder to control on an air cooled engine as well, which is one of the main reasons VW had to rush the Rabbit into production in the mid 70s, to replace their archaic Beetle, the other reason being reliability is much easier to control when there aren't vast temperature swings in an engine.

Your third link actually hits the nail on the head, although dirt and carbon and blow-by in worn engines causes more of a problem than metal particles, and, again, with today's better manufacturing technologies and more thorough understanding of metallurgy, these are less of a problem than even twenty years ago.

I've owned 20 vehicles in over 40 years of driving, and have plenty of experience in all phases of vehicle repair, from mechanic to service manager, on cars, trucks, and fork lifts, and in that time vehicle reliability has increased dramatically, and one of the reasons is because metal particles in oil is nowhere near the problem it used to be.

[nredman]

i think when i got my new civic a few years ago the dealership said to not go over 60 for the first 500 miles but to drive like you normally would so your car gets used to how you drive???? if that makes any sense at all

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Rob

You're wrong about that too.

Your account before this one got banned recently. I know bans last longer than that.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Your account before this one got banned recently. I know bans last longer than that.

Nope, technically, that's not correct. It took him 5 accounts to come up with his new magic quote-breaking nick.

But none of these non-working ones were banned.

http://forums.macnn.com/89/macnn-lounge/271148/i-got-50-apple-store-gf/

-t

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by Macfreak7

Please post some of your experiences that you've had with breaking-in car engines. Any other related information would be appreciated too.
Is there any one method or does it depend on the engine type?
I've already RTFM, but I was still wondering about other people's experiences.

i was advised to stay under 4000 rpm and 80 mph. i couldn't wait to rack up my miles so i drove up and down the coast a few times. i made it to mexico at 5am (see pic), which cost me 2 tanks of gas at $3 a gallon. took a pic at 666 miles.

[hickey]

What kind of car did you get anyway?

[Fyre4ce]

I believe I have something to contribute.

-First of all, I will admit I'm no expert on break-in procedures. But I think very few people are. The best advice I can give is to follow the owner's manual. Your car's manufacturer knows way more about your engine than anyone on MacNN, or anyone elsewhere on the net, including me. If you have doubt, call your dealership's service center.

-The main reason a break-in is important is to wear the piston rings smooth against the cylinders, so they seal better. All the hydrodynamic bearings should have no metal-to-metal contact so there should be little or no breaking in taking place there. I'm sure there is break-in/wear that takes place in the parts of the engine that do touch, like in the valvetrain, even the valve seats, but I think this wear is secondary to the rings.

-I am pretty sure that modern car engines are not very sensitive to different break-in procedures. If you took a brand-new car with no miles on it and put it on a chassis dyno and did non-stop runs at full load for, say, a week straight, I wouldn't be surprised if the engine were down on compression. I have heard that the rings can "glaze." But, with reasonable driving, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

-There was some confusion about hydrodynamic bearings. A bearing with tighter clearence will have more friction, but also be able to support more load. A bearing with a lot of clearence will have less friction but be able to support less load. If the loose bearing gets over-loaded, it will bottom out, and cause wear of the bearing, which will open the clearence even more. Bearing wear is a vicious cycle that will ultimately result in a catostrophic engine failure, but it should take hundreds of thousands of miles before this happens. Ever heard of "blueprinting" an engine? In showroom stock racing classes, bearing clearences are usually required to be within the range specified by the factory service manual. When an engine gets blueprinted, it gets disassembled, and all the bearings get opened up to the maximum of that range, in an effort to eek out every last horsepower. Reliability isn't an issue with this, because the range exists basically because of manufacturing tolerances. Besides, racing engines usually get taken apart often enough where a getting-loose bearing will be caught before it causes a failure.

-There was also talk about "metal particles." Every engine DEFINITELY has "metal particles" in its oil, but unless the engine is having problems, they should be microscopic. The source is the wearing of moving parts - rings, bearings, valvetrain, etc. It's actually possible to have an engine's oil analyzed to see how much wear is happening in different parts. For example, bearings are made from a different material than rings, so if an engine's oil has a lot of bearing metal dissolved in it, that's an indication that one or more of the bearings has been grinding. I've also read that some OEM tests have used radioactive isotopes of iron to make certain components like rings. After different types of testing, the radioactivity of the oil can be measured to determine the amount of wear.

-Oil needs to be changed for several reasons. It will accumulate combustion by-products over time, that leak past the rings. The viscosity can drop - the shear stress inside a bearing is so high that it can actually cleave long-chain molecules apart into smaller ones. And, it will accumulate metal particles, dirt, and the like. The filter will accumulate junk in it as well, and some filters have a bypass that will route oil around the filter if the element gets too loaded up with dirt. The science of oil, though, is pretty complicated, and I don't think very few people outside of the oil companies and engine manufacturers understand it well.

-I use Mobil 1 Extended Life oil in my car, which should be good for 15,000 miles. It is more expensive than mineral-based oil, but I actually save money because it lasts 5x as long. Less work getting it changed, too. I think there are other advantages to synthetic oil besides its longer life, but nothing that would make a substantial difference to most car owners. I agree with Rob that you are basically throwing away money if you use synthetic and change it every 3000 miles, regardless of what a synthetic oil manufacturer will say.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by teknopimp

i was advised to stay under 4000 rpm and 80 mph. i couldn't wait to rack up my miles so i drove up and down the coast a few times. i made it to mexico at 5am (see pic), which cost me 2 tanks of gas at $3 a gallon. took a pic at 666 miles.

[Yose]

"]Otherwise the extremely cold surfaces in teh HVAC system generate moisture from condensation. Moisture+ dark places= mold, mold= stink. Ever been in a car where someone's A/C smells like dirty socks? That's why. All you need to do to prevent it is just turn off the A/C for about 5-10 minutes before you turn off the car and run the regular old 'vent' mode to get fresh air blowing throw the system, warming things up, and preventing condensation.[/QUOTE]

Hmm, maybe this is why my mothers AC stinks like crazy. I originally thought there was a filter that had become clogged and needed changing.

What can be done "at home" to get rid of the stink? Would running the system on Max-heat and full-flow be enough to rid the system of whatever is ailing it?

Thanks for the info!

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by Kevin

i just *had* to do that

['"}{/quote}]

Originally Posted by Yose

"]Otherwise the extremely cold surfaces in teh HVAC system generate moisture from condensation. Moisture+ dark places= mold, mold= stink. Ever been in a car where someone's A/C smells like dirty socks? That's why. All you need to do to prevent it is just turn off the A/C for about 5-10 minutes before you turn off the car and run the regular old 'vent' mode to get fresh air blowing throw the system, warming things up, and preventing condensation.

Hmm, maybe this is why my mothers AC stinks like crazy. I originally thought there was a filter that had become clogged and needed changing.

What can be done "at home" to get rid of the stink? Would running the system on Max-heat and full-flow be enough to rid the system of whatever is ailing it?

Thanks for the info![/QUOTE]

If it's bad, it's hard to ever get rid of it. Some places online sell a kit that you can spray into the HVAC system that kills mold and bacteria, leaving a fresh scent, but really the best way to stop it is to ALWAYS run the vent for a while before you turn your car off.

[memento]

I always follow the same break in procedure for my cars. And even on my 2002 Subaru, I saw a metallic sheen on my first oil change.

Some advice is exactly what I do. Don't drive at the same speed for extended periods of time. Don't floor it. Don't push excessive RPM's (typically over 3000).

I change the oil and filter at 500 miles. Always metallic looking.
Change oil at 1000 miles. Maybe a little metallic, but on my subie it wasn't.
Then change oil and filter at 3000 and every 3000 after that using dino oil.

[broxy5]

Originally Posted by memento

I always follow the same break in procedure for my cars. And even on my 2002 Subaru, I saw a metallic sheen on my first oil change.

Some advice is exactly what I do. Don't drive at the same speed for extended periods of time. Don't floor it. Don't push excessive RPM's (typically over 3000).

I change the oil and filter at 500 miles. Always metallic looking.
Change oil at 1000 miles. Maybe a little metallic, but on my subie it wasn't.
Then change oil and filter at 3000 and every 3000 after that using dino oil.

You sure about the metallic sheen? If you just finished running the car to warm up the oil befroe changing it, meeellions of tiny air bubbles will be suspended in the oil, appearing like teeny metallic particles. Picture the crankshaft stirring the suff up as it travels through it, chucking it all over the place.

I had a similair scare after I changed the oil for the first time in a bike I just finished restoring.

[MacNStein]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Where did you learn the crap you spouting? Come up with it yourself? Some "mechanics" you "know". Let me guess, you've been "working on cars your whole life"? Where ever you learned it, it's completely wrong.

EDIT: Nice little username you got there. Creates havoc when people quote you. You'll get trounced in here.

It's Ca$h, he's used to being trounced in here...