"Motor Break In"

[Shadow]

I'm Rapidly Approaching The 500th Mile On The Break In Period Of My Rebuilt 292 Y-Block. The Motor Is Running Great, And I'm Planning To Do An Oil Change Before Winter. I Was Wondering If Any Of You Old Timers Have Any Tips Or Suggestions On Anything I Can Do To Prolong The Engines Longevity? I Know That These Engines Originally Ran On Leaded Gas And I Try To Run Premium When I Can Afford It. But Other Than That My Knowledge About These Old Motors Is Rudimentary At Best. Any Advise Would Be Greatly Appreciated On This Subject. Thanks...............

[Hunter's 64]

http://www.zddplus.com/

might try adding this to your oil.
I have a jeep w/ straight 6 and flat tappet cams and i have 232,000 miles on orig drivetrain.been useing it for years , but any zinc additive will help old motor designs

Danny

[ICEMAN6166]

lead was used as a lubricant.
if you had hardened valve seats installed at your rebuild you dont have to worry, otherwise an upper cylinder lubricant should be added to your gas like lead substitute or marvel mystery oil.

[62galxe]

Ive used zddplus in mine since new. Cant say it helps but it hasnt hurt.

[William-in-St George]

I use delvac engine oil for diesel engines available at walmart. Cheap and has zinc. Cheevee has an additive I use for break in. For got the name but the counter guy will know. Not cheap but better than wiping a cam. IMHO.

[cooter]

make sure the carb i working well and not flooding, this will keep the rings happy for the longrun.

[Shadow]

Thanks For The Responses. When This Motor Was Disassembled It Had 195K On It. The Top End Was A Bit Dry. I Guess Y-Blocks Are Prone To This, Are Any Of These Oil Or Gas Additives Better For Addressing This? The Carb Has Been Rebuilt As Well It Works Great Now And Flooding Hasn't Been An Issue....

[cooter]

i like adding a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer to every oil change, works wonders!

[BarnieTrk]

i like adding a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer to every oil change, works wonders!

I agree with ya, cooter. I especially like the fact that the LUCAS tends to prevent the 'dry start syndrome', since the LUCAS has pretty good 'cling' characteristics.....an important factor for me since it may be a week or two between the times I drive my ol' Slick.

Shadow,
-- If possible, I would suggest you change your motor oil & filter at least twice/year; regardless of the number of miles you drive it. Today's oils will loose some of their properties/ingredients due to it just sitting.
-- The same goes for the gasoline..... if you burn less than a tank of fuel a month, I'd suggest you only put premium grade fuel in it instead of some additives, as today's gasoline will also go bad sooner than you think. Change the fuel filter at least every other year.
-- I'd suggest you use a 50/50 mix of good antifreeze/water, and change it regardless of mileage every three years. I add a can of waterpump lube every "non-changing year".

I would also suggest:
-- Check the tire pressures at least once every two months.
-- Check & top off the trans and differential lubes twice a year.
-- Bleed the brake system at all four wheels annually, to keep it purged clean & fresh.

BarnieTrk

[Shawn F.]

You need a zinc additive for flat tappet cam motors. I highly recommend running one at LEAST until the motor is broken in fully. After that I run Marvel Mystery Oil. I believe the GM additive that William In St George is talking about is GM EOS. I used to use it for every engine but recently found out last month that it wasn't a true zinc additive and now seems to be discontinued. I have a friend who builds motors and used it on every engine build and had 2-3 flat tappet motors round a cam lobe and were properly broken in and used GM's EOS additive. This may have been the cause now that I see it's discontinued. Valvoline also makes some kind of oil with ZDDP added and an old timer at the local NAPA who is into classic cars said it works great. I also hear of people using diesel oil as well with the extra added zinc. Lots of people are telling me that I should change my flat tappet cams to roller cams because of the rounding lobe issues but I have not had any problems with mine. It would be nice to be able to run a roller cam but the retro fit kits are WAY OVER PRICED! $1200-$1600 to do this from what I have researched depending on the type of cam and brand, etc. My opinion on flat tappet cam issues now is the metal being used on top of low zinc in the oil, etc. I have a feeling the companies like COMP and CRANE, etc were using cheap junk filled metal but that is just me. I try to stick to Isky Racing cams since they use top of the line stocks of metal that are also coated and heat treated, etc.
The above information is good to follow by as well!

[Shadow]

Thanks For All The Great Suggestions. I Plan On Changing The Oil In The Next Couple Of Weeks, Then Again Come Spring. I Think I Will Use Only Premium Gas From Now On As Well As I Don't Use The Truck As A Daily Driver....

[Shadow]

After Talking With My Friend That Rebuilt My Motor, I've Decided I'm Going To Use A 4-oz Bottle Of "Howards-Cams" ZPM (Zinc Phosphate Moly) Cam Break-In Lube. Also I'm Going To Start Running Only Premium Gas Along With Oil Changes 3 Times A Year....