Engine Break-in

new car rule of thunb.

Change the oil every one thousaand miles and never drive over 100 mph for the first 3 thousand.

In fact it was delivered with synthetic oil, a first for me but then my last new car purchase was in '93 so maybe that's current custom.

Likes synthetic oil ?

Lotsa new vehicles come with synthetic oil now. Anyhow, I think during break-in, it's important not only to not over-rev the engine - keep it under 4000-4500 or so - but also to vary the RPM over the full range, as much as is practical without lugging or over-revving; the shifting is a good break-in for the transmission, too. I also try to avoid extended periods of idling during break-in. At around 1000-1500 miles, I change the oil and oil filter, and do that again about 1000-1500 miles later, changing the transmission fluid (and filter if it has one - automatics do, manuals don't) at the second interval. From then on, follow the manufacturer's recommended "Severe Service" maintenance schedule, and you should be fine.

Typically, I change engine oil and filters every 3000 - 5000 miles, and stay on top of all other fluid levels, consumables, and wear items. A couple hundred thousand miles or more, without major engine repair, is what I expect. One of my trucks currently has well over 300,000 miles on it, lots of that while doing pretty heavy work, and has never had the heads off (though just about everything else that bolts to the engine has been replaced a time or two).

I doubt you've damaged it, Pitter.

The old scheme used to call for an oil/filter change after the first 50 miles of moderate driving, and getting at least 1,000 miles before changing to any synthetic oil. They say you can use synthetic from the start now.

I go for the 3000 mile oil/filter, timber, but if I were doing mostly highway, I might stretch it to 5,000. Our mechanic at work, who is very good, favors frequency of oil change over high dollar Mobil1, for whatever that's worth. This is oil field equipment in a dirty environment, by the way. Anyway, short trips and dirty conditions call for
more more frequent changes.

Well as I said I was keeping to a maximum of 3000 rpm so my concern is with damage resulting from lugging during the break-in period. When shifting from 2nd to 3rd at 3000 on the long climb up hill I'd get into third at about 2000. That seemed to me to be lugging under load. So I my question is in what way is the engine damaged by such treatment?

You did not damage the engine, don't worry about it.

I wish I could find an article I read about engine break-in(it was specifically about motorcycles). But it basically said break-in periods are useless, you should drive it hard from the beginning, and you can actually break the engine in better that way.

yeh, think about an airplane engine.

There is something to the "Run it hard from the get-go" approach - it pretty much is the way an aircraft or racing engine is broken in, after a brief period of low-rpm warm-up to get everything to operating temperature. Pretty much the same goes for prime-mover powerplants, such as locomotive or large marine engines. However, the pre-assembly cleaning, and the actual assembly tolerances, of high performance and/or dedicated severe duty commercial engines are more rigorous than those typical of production consumer-service power plants. Also, the maintenance schedule of such engines includes periodic tear-down, inspection, and rebuild proceedures, something not typical of automobiles and light trucks in general service.

The main reason I do a couple short-interval oil-and-filter changes right at the beginning is to ensure any casting debris and/or machining burrs are out of the system. Myth or reality, it works for me - witness hundreds of thousands of miles without major engine repairs; factoring the cost of a few quarts of oil and a couple filters against a heads-off rebuild, with new gaskets, bearings, crank, rods, pistons, rings, wrist pins, timing train, valves, springs, cam, and lifters, I just don't see the upside of finding out whether the break-in pays or not.

Another thought here - unlikely to be of much application in the case of a small pickup or a passenger car, but after a few hours of sustained heavy work, particularly in a dusty environment, I generally do an oil & filter change regardless of mileage. My tractors get serviced on an hours-of-operation schedule, oil change at around 50 hours, oil & filter every second change. The Maule ( * ) gets its oil and filters changed every 60 days or 50 hours of operation, whichever comes first.

And I can't say as I see any cost/benefit advantage to synthetic oil, either. I'm with rog's mechanic on that; use good commercial grade oil, and change it regularly.

I once bought an Ford Escort and drove it from Connecticut to Newfoundland directly off the dealer lot. As I was planing to do this I asked the dealer about break in and he said not to worry. That was more for the owner's peace of mind than the engine's. I got 200,000 miles out of that car before the manual transmission ate a tooth and I traded it.

Ok I'm relieved and I like the early oil change idea. Thanks for the input. If I were in the US I'd probobly have bought a Mitsubishi Evo instead.

When my '96 VW Passat TDI (diesel) reached 100,000 miles,
I switched to 5-30 weight synthetic oil. It now has 255,000 miles on it and and burns very little oil. About half a quart of oil per change. How many miles for an oil change ?Somewhere around 8 to 10,000 miles.

My beloved 1989 Dodge Caravan ran up 240,000 miles
on synthetic which I also started at 100,000 miles Neither car had any engine work done to it. I understand why the myth of the three thousand mile oil change exists. It's comforting to believe that will keep your car happy. Who wants to go against tradition? Even if it is costly and wastes millions of barrels of oil.

100,000 miles
3,000 oil change 9,000 mile change

33 oil changes
5 Quarts @ $1.75 = $8.75
33 X 8.75 = $288.75


11 oil changes
5 quarts @ 5.00 = $25.00
11 X 25.00 = $275
Of course these figures are a rough estimate, but they make the comparison fairly.

And who wants to get 33 oil changes when 11 will do ya?

Are tires today far superior to the the tires of 30 - 40 years ago? Of course they are. Cars needed valve jobs as early as 40,000 miles.

Are valves of today far superior to valves of 30 - 40 years ago? Of course they are.

We seem to observe and recognize that every feature of newer cars is far superior to old cars. Fuel, wiper blades, exhaust pipes, brakes, you name it, every thing has improved.

EXCEPT FOR OIL CHANGES!!! The three thousand mile oil change stays undisturbed in the true believers minds.
(especially American males).

A possible explanation is that we don't control our means of transportation much like we used to. When we rode horses, we had to care for them in every way. And horse owners
had a special relationship with their horses.

Older cars also needed a lot of attention. You had to file or replace distributor points every couple thousand milkes. Clean the plugs quite often. You had an intimate understanding of your car - knew when you flooded it, knew when the points were getting bad, etc. Knew that if Charlie and you bought the exact same car, your cars would not be the same. They each would have their own peculiarities and idiosynchrasies.

Can you putter around a modern car engine? Ha, Ha!
First, try to find the engine.
The modern car is a cold, calculating, computer driven, machine has neither the time nor the patience to fool around with backyard mechanics or tinkerers.

So, grasping at the last remnant of control the 3,000 oil change men say "I'm the one who keeps you alive. Without me you are nothing. And, don't you forget it." It gives the men a sense of control, a degree of power.
The car has a somewhat negative attitude and replies
"Up your computer chips buddy!"

I usually change my oil at 5,000 miles. My new car takes synthetic, and I do a lot of highway, so I may extend that now. (although I have free oil changes at the dealer for life of this car).

I agree 3K is a waste. It's a great way for the mechanics to make money though.

Unless you change the oil yourself?...Of course oil change frequency has everything to do with the usage of the vehicle. The oil is supposed to suspend the dirt that gets to the engine in order to prevent it from doing damage. At some point it becomes so filled with dirt particals it can no longer keep them from doing harm to the engine internals. The idea is to change the oil before that point. Most owners' manuals insist on earlier than usual changes when the vehicle is used on dirt roads, sand, mud or any other surface that would cause the oil to load up with dirt.