The Reverend

No, not how to steal one, but...

How to break-in a car and what to do and when.

Is there a post on the forums that has covered this?

Should this not be a sticky?

i.e. Change transmission fluid, oil and rear differential at 1k miles due to the wear on the engine, transmission and drivetrain during the break in period. Lots of metal shaving etc.

FWIW, my Ford dealer provides free 10 year, 100k powertrain for free, but I still will break in the Mustang properly.

AvtoLubitel

Your car manual is your friend. It has the info you are looking for.

pville piper

MAN! You took all the fun out of this thread!!!

Embalmer

Of course I have no scientific data to back it up, but I think changing all the fluids at 1K is overkill. If Ford had reason to believe that there was enough metal coming off parts in the motor or differential they would mandate a low mileage fluid changing. Regular intervals are 5K for oil and my 97 T-Bird's rear end diff interval was 100K. I pulled the motor out at 98K using the 5K intervals and synthetic oil and it looked brand new (crank, pistons, rings, heads). I assume the Mustang is similar today. If you have the maintenance done at Ford's posted intervals and a part fails, it is Ford's responsibility to fix it.

05GT-O.C.D.

If this was a stickey it'd go on forever because there are many different opinions. The only opinion that may matter is the opinion listed in your owner's manual. Me, I go easy for the first 35-50 miles and get more and more agressive gradually... not textbook, I know.

jadeuel

Does this account fot the Salesmen and other test drives that may have taken place before you laid eyes on it if you bought it off the lot?

Not directed at anyone in particular just general comment.

I ordered my car and the Odometer still showed 6.8 miles when I got it the same day it came off the truck...

My wifes car we bought off the lot and it had 65 miles on it...

TacoBill

Forget about what you heard or read about breaking in the engine easy.

Go drive it like you stole it!


My favorite comment came from a member here who peeled out leaving the Dealership!

metroplex

According to some engine builders, the first 20 miles are important. According to experience, just drive it like you'd normally drive it and change out the factory engine oil at 1000 miles. It's not that expensive and it does get rid of whatever stuff was in the engine (metal shavings, crayons, cigarette butts, etc...) The gear oil and ATF/Manual trans fluid shouldn't have to be changed out that early if it was a synthetic factory fill.

I do the ATF every 15k miles and the gear oil every 30k-50k miles.

OKCMustangGT

Just out of curiosity, how old is the book? Is it relatively new or is it older. The tolerances now are much better than they were several years back, and I believe less material is "shaved" off anymore. I am by no means an expert, but have read enough to believe this to be true.

However I believe just about everyone has their own opinion on the "proper" way to break-in a new car.

metroplex

I'm wondering if this is the reason why people experience driveline vibrations, and manual transmission problems!

The Reverend

This is what the books advises.

1. Varying speed allows the engine and other parts to wear evenly, ensuring that all parts get broken in. i.e. 45, 55, 65, 75 on a highway. Reason: New engines have fine cross-hatching, permiting oil to flow and lubricate. The marks wear off as it breaks in, varying speeds causes it to wear off evenly, instead of in one area that is untouched in another area.

New cars can burn oil because non-uniform wearing fo the cylinder area, also piston rings seal improperly and engine compression is affected. Oil can creep by the unsealed rings and be burned in the compression chamber.

The conclusion: Varying speeds during break-in is help to insuring proper mating of all engine parts.

What do you think?

p.s. I will keep posting, if these ideas seem valid and there is an interest. The next section is on pressure sealing, ie flooring it to seal the compression chamber.

OKCMustangGT

I agree totally with this and did it with mine as well.

TacoBill

Very true, however I believe all that stuff is done within the first 5 minutes of an engine's life. As fast as the piston moves up and down within the cylinder, it takes no time at all for two metal components to mate.

So, if your car came with more than a couple miles on the odo, it's good to go!

btw- I think my pressure chambers are definately sealed!

SteelTownStang

LOL! Not sure who made that comment, but that's exactly what I did... "peeled out leaving the dealership". I used to worry about "break-in", now I could care less. This is my 4th Mustang, not counting other vehicles, including motocycles, and I've never noticed any difference in performace or longevity by "babying" a car or, like you said, "Drive like you stole it". I prefer the latter

OKCMustangGT

You prefer which ladder 4ft, 6ft, or 8ft I think you meant latter.

**** I sound like Tom now

SteelTownStang

LOL. It's good to have English majors on this forum...

The Reverend

2. Pressure-sealing.
Every 25 miles for the first 500 miles, while traveling approximately 25 mph, quickly excellerate from 1500rpms to redline, then gradually ease off. This sudden increase in internal engine pressure forces the pistons against the cylinder walls and helps seal the combustion chamber.

3. Gear break in.
Follow the owner's manual gearshift speeds for engine rpms for the first 500 miles, never lug the engine.

4. 1k miles service.
Highend cars like Volvo, Mercedes, and Saab require this for their warranty(circa 1991). Change oil and filter. Change the transmission fluid. Change the gear oil fluid. Why? Because the car has just gone through the most wear-intensive period of its life. The wear and teaar on these major mechanical components is extremely high as their parts mesh and grind and find the best and most efficient mating surfaces, the surfaces that produce the least amoutn of friction.(maybe synthetic helps here) The high rate of wear IS DESIREABLE. You want the parts of your car to wear properly. Wear debris and misuscle particles of metal are shave off during break-in. The debris falls into the fluids.

metroplex

#2 and #3: They sound too confusion but basically recommend you "drive like you stole it!!!!" think about it... no engine lugging, hitting the revlimiter, etc... WOT 1-2, 2-3, 3-4

TacoBill

That about sums up the way I broke her in.

OKCMustangGT

I hit the rev limiter the first week I had mine, not on purpose mind you, and it scared the **** out of me. I thought I broke it.
(I was getting out of an idiot driver's way and the Redline came up VERY fast )(Stupid lady tried to come over in my lane when I was over half way beside her )