Breaking in a cam and the correct oil

[goose-em]

Many of you may know how to do this, some of you may not. In either case this is VERY important!

With a new cam in a new engine this is what I do:

1. Fill engine with oil; I prefer Brad Penn Break in oil as it has moly and zddp, any racing type break in oil may work but I trust Brad Penn.

2. Without starting the engine set the timing so that it is relatively close (so the engine will run even if it runs bad).

3. Start engine (assuming you have radiator etc. ready to go also) IMPORTANT; let the engine run at 2000 - 2500 RPM for at least 15 minutes, I prefer 20. Do not adjust timing (unless engine will not run) don't worry about carb mix, don't fiddle with anything, just keep it running in the correct RPM range. (obviously if you have no oil pressure or it gets way to hot you will need to abort)

4. Drain oil and discard

5. Fill again with break in oil and go for a drive, vary the rpm and work that engine. I keep the break in oil in for at least 500 miles and then drain it.

6. fill engine with Brad Penn racing oil (or other oil with both moly and zddp) in the correct weight and you are done except for normal oil changes.

If you are installing a new cam in an old engine follow the above steps but you can eliminate step 5.

This is the procedure for all flat tappet cams. Roller cams still need to be broken in but do not need the zddp and moly, although I would use it anyway. The break in oil is a little more than regular oil but after you invest 5K + in an engine who cares about an extra $20???????

 

[busch]

I like to prime oil pump before putting distributer in ,just me I guess an add zinc additive along with rest of your steps works well goose-em

 

[Tripper]

I'm using Valvoline Racing Oil with Zinc! Here's a good link for the process...

http://www.348-409.com/fireup.html

BoB

 

[goose-em]

Yep, gotta prime that pump first. Guess I should've mentioned that.

 

[goose-em]

Great link Tripper. I have seen that before but it is really good. New builders really need to pay attention to this so they don't break a lobe, etc.

The last thing you want to do after spending the $$ on your engine is mess it up and have to start over.

 

[RPM]

On all of the millions of cars that were factory built in Detroit. I have to wonder how many they ever did that way? They don't now they all have roller cams, but way back, they didn't.


Put some oil in it, some zinc additive and go drive it.

 

[donsrods]

We add a quart of zinc additive to every oil change, and also use Rotella T which still has some good additives in it. So far, no cam wear.

Don

 

[longroofracer]

Most of what you mentioned is good for flat tappet cams, roller cams are not as picky. My engine builder suggests that you just prime the pump by hand until it starts to build pressure, as to not flush any assembly lube away. It has also been recommended for me to only use the outer springs, and to install the inners after it has been broken in. Spring pressures can flatten a lobe, and the lifters just are not what they used to be.

Joe Gibbs is good oil, as is Rotella or Valvoline VR1, as they all have a higher zinc content than the regular oils. I will be using Lunati break in additive, as that is the cam/ lifters I have chosen, and they recomend it. Most cam mfgrs have their own brand they recommend. GM has their EOS (Engine Oil Supplement) that is also a good alternative. As mentioned, when one has spent over 5G's on an engine, what is another $10 here or there . Today's oils don't have all the good stuff in them they used to, so we are stuck with using additives. Varying the rpms from 2000-2500 is important, as the cam gets its oil splashed on it for the most part, and at idle or lower rpms, this doesn't happen.

A fresh battery, known working carb, fuel system and ignition are all things that make break in go better. The main thing is to get it fired without cranking on it forever due to lack of fuel or bad timing. After it is running, try to keep it cool by placing fans in front of the radiator. I personally add a small hose to the drain of the radiator and add water as needed, which allows cooler temps. This can be done through the fill cap if very careful, or a "flush" fitting in the heater hose attached to a hose.

I prefer to use mufflers, so I can hear if there is something wrong or out of place, there is plenty of time to make noise later.

LRR

 

[NitroJohnny]

Yea we break a lot of motors in for our race cars. High valve spring pressures but not ridiculous pressures. The dragster motors have over 500 psi closed. And we never pull springs out and have never had a lobe go bad. I have heard this a lot but if you buy a quality cam then it shouldn't be a problem. Also the talk about oils can go on forever. Penn and Gibbs are both a standard oil companies oil with an additive or two put in. We research oils to see what is the best for our applications. Which is racing. And the best oil I have found is the Valvoline racing oil. Already has the Zinc in it which these older motors need.

Breaking in, we do prime the motor before cranking them. And use lots of assembly lube and cam break in lube. Dint be shy with it. Once it fires we do set the carb and timing to get a smooth idle if possible. It doesn't hurt anything to adjust this stuff. But a miss-timed or lean motor can hurt something. So why not get it close? We set the idle around 2200 or so and leave it. Some motors we give a little blip once they heat up. Don't zing it, just a couple hundred rpm to get it off the idle it is on. If it heats up quick we will let it get to 210 or a bit more before shutting it down. It wont hurt anything. Just as long as you can get 10-15 minutes of run time on it.

Then swap the oil, restart it, set the timing and carb and go race or drive. Its not going to get much better on the break in but will continue to loosen up a little the more you drive it. If you have a solid lift cam go through the valves again and check the lash.

 

[sweetnomad]

ZDDP

Comp & (Crane before they went under) both recommended the continuous useage of the ZDDP or break in lube in every oil change. I know I had pulled the intake on a 65 Wildcat to do a reaseal job and the engine had only been sitting a week before I tore it down. The camshaft was just as dry with NO oil film whatsoever,so you could imagine the friction the camshaft would go through on crank-up !! Just my nickles worth !!!!!http://www.highperformancepontiac.com/tech/hppp_0802_pontiac_performance_engine_oil/index.html

A lot of really good reading on this subject,thats easy to understand. Look especially at the Shell section about Rotella. I can't find any new info on Rotella,in regards to them changing their formula

 

[junker39]

If you have an extra $60 in your engine budget, you can send the cam and lifters off and get them broke in beforehand. I've used these people a few times and haven't had a failed cam yet. Sure is nice to fire it up, the first time, and not have to worry about the cam. Just an idea.
http://www.camresearchcorp.com/cam_king.php

 

[biggeorge]

Nice thread full of good information

 

[donsrods]

Like RPM said, engines from the factory and engines we put together years ago rarely got broken in like we do now, and rarely had cam failures, but something has changed. For some reason flat tappet cams are failing at a high rate these days if you don't break them in right, and sometimes they fail even IF you do it right.

Is it the lack of zinc or are cams being made from a less durable metal these days? I have a 355 Chevy race engine that I bought, which I think only had break in time on it, and when I pulled it apart the 3rd lobe from the back was gone entirely and the lifter was beat badly. The guys who built it spent a ton of money on this engine (apparent from the high dollar parts they used) and I'm sure they knew enough to break it in at 2000 and use zinc additives, but it still failed.

In the old days I didn't know enough to break in a cam first and would slip in a 30.30 Chevy cam or a 421 HO cam and just drive away when it fired up. I never had a cam failure doing that. What has changed, I don't know. These days I just build roller cam motors and haven't had any issues yet.

Don

 

[sweetnomad]

Nitro , I hate to disagree with you about the quality cam comment,Comp cams has the warning on every page of their cam listings the last time I looked. You know as well as I do there reputable ! My two cents worth.

 

[NitroJohnny]

I like Comp Cams. Never said I didnt. Maybe you misread what I was saying. I was just saying to use a good cam, I wasnt saying Comp wasnt. We use a lot of their cams in the stock car motors and have had tons of them custom ground to our specs. We have shelves full of them.

 

[Old Iron]

The last engine I built I lost 4 cams one after the other at break in (tear down and clean each time)
I'd never lost even one lobe ever, always put the additives took inner springs off, every conceivable thing
After the last cam I took it to another machine shop to have the lifter bores checked, tried to cut for ford lifters and found out the lifter bores were so far off the boring tool only hit the top on one side and the bottom on the other (same hole) on 12 of the 16 holes.
This was a brand new bowtie block straight from GM so we bored all the lifter hole out, put brass lifter guides in and fitted it with ford lifters. Haven't lost another cam
I bet if every block was checked for the lifter bores being square with the cams, some of the problem would be found there.

 

[donsrods]

That could be a big part of it. Engines are now being made in lots of other places than the US, and their tolerances and attention to specs are not all that great IMO. I bet if you took some brand new blocks and had a competent machine shop blueprint them, you would find lots of sloppiness, like the lifter bores you mentioned.

The other problem is that the machines that crank out the old style engines from a few years back are probably getting a little worn and out of wack. With the demand dwindling, compared to newer style motors, I bet they are not investing any money into keeping the machinery in good conditon.

Don

 

[King Herald]

On all of the millions of cars that were factory built in Detroit. I have to wonder how many they ever did that way?

A buddy of mine was a factory trained Chevrolet mechanic, started out back in the 70's. He had never even heard of this 20 minute break in period when I first met him some 10-15 years ago. He said they'd build a motor in the workshop, then just start it up, drive it, no minimum 2000rpm splash lubrication BS.

Surely no company will build 20 million+ motors off a design so bad that they can't even lubricate themselves properly when running at lower rpm?