Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General best way to break in a new motor

I have a 2000 Contour SVT with 21K miles on it. Ford just finshed putting in a brand
new motor, along with overhauling the tranny. I just thought I would try to get some
feed back as to how the best way to break the motor in. How soon should I change the
oil and will Mobil 1 really make that much of a difference. By the way, the car is for sale
and thanks in advance the helpful info. I have to go get my car now.

change oil after 1st 1000 miles. obviously, don't beat on the engine for that period (no above 3k rpm runs, or at least no really high revs)

Mobil 1 rules!!! Although, whether its worth the extra dough, I still don't know. Lotsa opinions on this topic.

congrats on the new engine, should make the car an easier sell to those in the know.

To break in an engine properly, you must "heat cycle" the internals. Basically, it means drive around normally if you are in stop and go traffic. Do not be afraid of high RPM, but don't spend all your time there. As you run high engine speeds and then low speeds, you will heat and cool the rings, etc. This is important for proper break in.

On the highway it is a different story. Spending all your time at the same engine speed is BAD BAD BAD. If you have to do an extended highway drive in the first few thousand miles or so, you should run the engine at elevated speed occasionally. What I did was every 10 - 15 minutes, I would drop to 4th gear for 30 seconds or so, then back into 5th. This would run the engine faster (and hotter) for a short amount of time, then run slower (and cooler) for a little while. Heat cycle, in other words.

If you read your owners manual, it basically says to avoid highway driving in the first xxx miles, and otherwise drive around normally. I have basically given you a way to get some highway miles in during break in by explaining why that advice is given by the manufacturer.

Owners manual says to wait till 6-8k to switch to synthetic though.

Yeah,

What PA 3L SVT said. Do that, or take the back roads. More opportunities for curves and stuff

TB

NEVER let the motor labor in a high gear,NEVER let it idle to warm up..drive it,NEVER hold at set speeds/cruse for long periods..it take a new piston 60 hrs to 'heat cycle',rings not as long,about 30 hrs and bearings 1/2 the time of rings..DONT mess with mixture,RICHER is BETTER on a 'green' motor...Change the oil after first 1000miles...synth Vs dino is BS..ALL the CDW27 Protos ran with synth 'out the crate'....

Ok....after that response....we should consider all information after Terry's post as frivilous!

Carry on......

I just wanted to thank everyone for replying with useful info. I am amazed with how much better the transmission feels after the overhaul, I would recommend it to everyone if Ford will do it at no charge. The motor seems about the same, but I won't really get on it for quite a while. It wouldn't be Ford if they didn't break something while fixing something else.....they cracked part of the paneling on the dash while putting in a new dash board. Oh well, I'll take it back again next week.

When Terry is using the same terms as I am ('heat cycle') I feel proud.