Hello everyone,

So here's the deal I am waiting on my Mechanic to finish my truck later next week and then I will have a fresh new motor in my 66 F-100. I had him rebuild my old 352 in it so I could keep everything orginal on it and in it as well. I am so excited about getting it back. My question to all is when I do get it back what is the normal break in time frame for this engine before I actually try and get on it if you know what I mean. I want to take it easy at first if I have to I don't want to do anything that might jepordise the rebuild and also is there anything I should do to the motor to help protect it when I get it back. There will be 1 yr warranty on it so I'm not too worried about anything going wrong with it just want to take extra precautions. Thanks ya'll.

 

Ask the mechanic that rebuilt it for specifics...

But as a general rule of thumb:

make sure a new thermostat, water pump and at least a well cleaned & repaired radiator and new hoses are installed... You don't want to cook a fresh motor, which will run hotter for a while due to new tight tolerences

500 miles keep it under 55mph... no heavy loads/pulling Change oil & filter at 500 miles

oil change again at 1500 miles then again at 3000 and every 3000 miles after that...

Don't run synthetic oils until 10,000 miles are on it...

 

There used to be an old saying, break it in like you expect to drive it. I hooked a trailer to mine with about 300 miles and drove it 6 hours to Atlanta moving my son. I was hitting 75-80 before I arrived.

The builder will break the cam in, I think I might not rev it beyond about 4,000 for the first couple three hundred miles, and then I would drive it like I stole it. With todays better oils you are not gonna hurt it.

Do you see any warnings on new car stickers?


John

 

And don't run a constant speed for more the 10-15 min at a time, for the first 200mi. This helps the rings set in. With me after the first 200 mi. all bets are off. I want to know if any thing is wrong so it's hammer down for short periods of time. Going through the rpm band. I do this off and on for the first 1000mi. After that back to normal driving.

 

Thanks guys great info all of you I will keep all this in mind next week when I get it from the shop. The only thing is I am in Charleston SC and have to drive to Greenville SC after I pick it up Friday. So I don't think I will be able to follow what Sawsall recommended. I would get run over on I-26 at 55 Miles and hour LOL plus I am gonna want to see what she's got after all that money spent to fix her right too LOL. Again Thanks everyone.

 

how much did the rebuild cost? Im thinking of doing the same thing, so I was wondering what to expect.

Scott

 

John

Rebuilders do not break in cams, they just chuck it in the hole with some lube........and one can be wiped really quick with out Zinc in the oil.

New cars for the most part do not come with pushrod and lifter engines anymore. Hence the Zinc being left out of oils. The follower type is not as critical to break in procedure.

I follow the same practice as you drive it like expected but limit the sustained high rpm. vary it .

I also drove a 300 mile fresh engine 2800 miles from Eastern PA to Phoenix Arizona hauling a dual axle U haul trailer. Been working ever since fine, but that may not be the norm as i blueprinted the engine and assembeled it myself. Had Rotella Deisel oil in for the first 3000 miles. Came out clean as a whistle.

Garbz

 

You definitely oughta call the mechanic and have him put some 15w40 diesel oil in the motor when he fires it up, and run that oil....and keep running it. Diesel oils have an increased zinc content, and that can help improve engine longevity.


ROb

 

Hello all,

Thanks for all the great info I will find out from the Mechanic about the oil if he doesn't put that in when I get it I will change the oil myself. Hopefully he does what you guys recommended. Whayes75 to answer your question I have to ask you this question are you from Charleston SC. The reason I ask this is because States vary in prices heck towns vary in prices really. I could have done this rebuild for almost half of what it cost me up in Greenville SC. But that's because I know somebody, I was really hoping to find someone to do for around the same price down here in Charlston though so that's why I decieded to wait. If you are from Charleston though you could probably find someone to do for around 3,000.00. There are only a couple of shops around that will do all at once though. That means pulling the motor out, rebuilding it and putting it back in for you. I don't know if that's around the same price as every other state though. Like I said it's really all a matter of who you know and how thorough they are with the rebuild and also how bad your motor is when they tear it apart. The man that did mine said that my motor was in good shape when they stripped everything down. But of course I am only the second owner of my truck and the motor had never really been touch and the previous owner took pretty good care of the engine. All that is taken into account when you get someone to rebuild your engine as well. So I guess to answer the question now it was around 3000.00. Why didn't I just say in the first place LOLOLOL. But keep in mind that could vary depending on the things I just mentioned above. Hope this helps you. Good Luck.