Picking up my '19 this week from the dealer in NC and driving it back to CT after a couple of stops and over-nighters visiting family. Is there anything I need to do to break-in the engine? Baby it, romp on it, drive it fast, drive it slow, blah blah blah?

 

Break in isn't like it used to be. But for the first 500-1000 miles the main idea is variety. Vary RPM and load in moderation.

 

 

Thanks...I have the 3.73's because I'm going to put 35s on it.

 

 

 

I wouldn't baby it, the 5.0 has plasma cylinder liners and your chance for a successful break in is in the first 1k miles. The hard face moly rings and plasma liners need heat and high cylinder pressure to bed in.

 

Now that break-in is not as important as in the olden days, varying the engine speeds is so much easier with today's bazillion-speed automatics. They are always shifting for something unless you are on a fairly-flat highway with an EcoBoost.

 

Haha..... wrong. My '15 5.0 doesn't hunt for a gear.

 

 

I have read many times that using engine braking often will aid in the break-in process. While at normal speed, let off the gas and slow down by forcing downshifts to get the engine revs up. Either that or find a long downhill slope, put cruise control on and let the computer do the downshifting.

But in any case, a variety of driving styles should be best. Getting on the highway and putting the cruise control on 60 is probably not the best method, although it probably will not do any damage.

 

You will probably get more RPM variation by shifting to "M" mode and shifting for yourself for a while. Tow/haul or sport mode would allow more RPM variation than normal mode if you want to go automatic. I think the main idea is to get the engine to go up and down the RPM range as much as possible, and not hold to a fixed RPM any more than is necessary.

 

Wasn't talking hunting. Was talking about moderate throttle changes yielding gear changes, as opposed to the old 3-speeds would stay in third almost all the time above 40-50MPH unless you floored it, which the owners' manuals of the day would recommend against.

 

Depending on where in NC your picking it up at it sounds like you'll be heading up I95 back to Ct.
That'll be a good long trip with plenty of varying speeds depending on traffic conditions as well as stop and go when visiting family, fuel and rest stops.
You may not encounter the hills like I did on my trip back from NC through the Smoky Mountains and eastern Tn butt'll give the truck a good work out.
You don't have to drive it like you stole it but don't baby it like it's made of fragile glass, just drive it and enjoy the ride.
Picked mine up outside Fayetteville, had around 25-30 miles of rural roads before I got on 4 lane roads, that gave me a little time to become accustomed to some of the controls on a 17 year newer truck, after about 100 miles I stopped to top off the tank, get food and drink plus answer nature call, then I set my sites on Bass Pro Shops outside Knoxville, Tn, spent about hour and a half there plus some purchases at the neighboring Jerky Shop, then another coffee break about a hour from home and I still made the 600+ mile trip in under 11 hours. Truck performed nicely and averaged 19.4 mpg for the trip.
If the wife had been with me we would have spent a extra day and visited some of the NASCAR race shops around Charlotte again.

 

Sport mode and put some heat into it. I have two 2018's, both burned some oil for the first while but that went away by the first oil change. These like to be driven hard, do so and it will not burn oil and will put a smile on your face. Make sure you check oil levels often as indicated in the owners manual. One of the top engine builders who specializes in the coyote has stated that you should drive it like you are drag racing it to break it in. You want to put some heat into it but not too much. Do a good pass, cool it down, repeat.