New hydraulic roller bbc break in

[txaggie]

Howdy all,

We are about to crank our newly rebuilt bbc roller motor up Monday. We will use comp cams 10w30 break in oil for 100 miles or so and then run vr1 10w30 or 20w50 til 1000 miles and then switch over to Mobil 1 15w50. What are y’all running? What are y’all’s break in routines and oil choices for bbc?

 

[Ricko1966]

It's a hydraulic roller with plain bearings it doesn't care what oil you put in it. I'd get it hot once,change the oil hot,l,drive it regular, not hard ,not baby it,for 500 miles,do an oil change. Done.

 

[Chevy 88]

Everyone has their own method. Some people don't break them in at all, some people race the crap out of the engine right from the get go.

I prefer the overkill method.

When I do a rebuild - I put non-synthetic oil in it and run it with varying RPM until it thoroughly up to temp. Then I shut it off, drain the oil and then let it completely cool off. Then I refill the oil with non-synthetic, and run it up to temp with varying RPM and then shut it off and let it cool down completely. Then I warm it up again with varying RPM and take it for a good drive - maybe 30 minutes, while continuing to vary the RPM the while time. Then I dump the oil and let it cool down completely. Refill with non-synthetic and warm it up with varying RPMs and then drive fairly normally but still making some effort to keep the RPMs changing frequently for maybe the next 5-10 hours total drive time (can be separate drives), change the oil with non-synthetic and pretty much drive it as normal, but keeping the RPMs within a reasonable range and no super hard accelerations until after the next 3,000 mile scheduled oil change.

 

[txaggie]

Thanks guys. My engine builder whom is a borderline celebrity in these parts told me to get it up to operating temp and the 3/4 throttle it to near full throttle and let the engine brake itself and slow down to a stop 4-5 times. Once it gets near 50 miles, drain the oil and filter and put new oil in and “stomp that mother ph*cker to the ground (his words lol).”

He recommends Mobil 1 15-50 or VR1 20w-50 conventional.

 

[Chevy 88]

Thanks guys. My engine builder whom is a borderline celebrity in these parts told me to get it up to operating temp and the 3/4 throttle it to near full throttle and let the engine brake itself and slow down to a stop 4-5 times. Once it gets near 50 miles, drain the oil and filter and put new oil in and “stomp that mother ph*cker to the ground (his words lol).”

He recommends Mobil 1 15-50 or VR1 20w-50 conventional.

I have heard of that method before. Its not my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it wrong. Everyone has their own way of doing things.

 

[Shorty81]

I used Shaeffer 7000 Supreme 10w40 high zinc oil on break in on my flat tappet 496. still using same oil 11 years later, motor happy.

 

[bucket]

Thanks guys. My engine builder whom is a borderline celebrity in these parts told me to get it up to operating temp and the 3/4 throttle it to near full throttle and let the engine brake itself and slow down to a stop 4-5 times. Once it gets near 50 miles, drain the oil and filter and put new oil in and “stomp that mother ph*cker to the ground (his words lol).”

He recommends Mobil 1 15-50 or VR1 20w-50 conventional.

Personally, I'd do what the engine builder said. He knows the bearing clearances, the bore finish, ring type, etc.

 

[txaggie]

Personally, I'd do what the engine builder said. He knows the bearing clearances, the bore finish, ring type, etc.

Initial crank happened today. Holy smokes is a well built motor nice! This thing is a monster and moves this truck!

 

[txaggie]

Wrapped it up to 6k for the first time last night. Holy smokes are big blocks fun at that Rpm.

 

[Ricko1966]

Wrapped it up to 6k for the first time last night. Holy smokes are big blocks fun at that Rpm.

Big blocks are fun everywhere.

 

[bucket]

Peanut ports aren't fun at 6k, lol.

 

[xm20k]

My 388 is a 11.25:1 fully forged hydraulic roller she gets straight 30wt Royal Purple.

50wt is an awfully heavy oil for a naturally aspirated engine especial a fresh build.

 

[75gmck25]

15w50 or 20w50 are not the same as straight 50 weight oil, so I would not expect that weight to cause any issues. However, I would probably just stick with something like 10w30 or 10w40 full synthetic.

 

[txaggie]

15w50 or 20w50 are not the same as straight 50 weight oil, so I would not expect that weight to cause any issues. However, I would probably just stick with something like 10w30 or 10w40 full synthetic.

Living in central Texas where our summers are 100 plus degrees, the engine builder said he likes the vr1 20/50 for better protection due to temps. I asked him about Mobil 1 15/50 and he said it would be great. Plugging in the oil in Grok, the Mobil 1 15/50 seems to be pretty legit with zddp ratings and thermal protection. Also, you can get it at Walmart for $25 a gallon which is nice.

 

[75gmck25]

I installed a GM 350/290 HP crate when I lived in San Antonio, and IIRC it was broken in with straight 30 weight and an additive they recommended. Then I switched to the high ZDDP Mobil 1 and ran that with the stock lifters for several years. Later I installed a Howard’s roller cam conversion, and started using 10w30 fu.ll synthetic. It’s all seemed to work well.