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Old 03-25-2011, 09:34 PM
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FireMe
FireMe is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Northfield, MI
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Congrats on the new vehicle.

First, RTFM, if I may boldly suggest. It will tell you 99% of what you need to know about everything on the vehicle. Even how to change the common light bulbs and perform other maintenance yourself.

Break-in is one of those topics where you will find many, many opinions. So many that you could spend several days on the net reading about it and only scratch the surface.

For me, as a Ford tech, I will suggest that for the first 500 miles you avoid long idle times, heavy trailer towing, long periods of wide-open throttle, and long periods of steady driving speed.

That last bit conflicts with your shopping trip, unless you plan on taking the back roads. It is important to vary the engine speed so that all moving parts operate together over a wide dynamic range, as different parts see different types of loads as the engine speed and power changes.

Also, I like to keep fresh oil in the engine as it breaks in, changing at 500-1,000-3,000-5,000 mile marks. But as I said, I'm a tech and can do this for very little money. You may not think it necessary nor economical to do this.