Additive in regular oil is not the same as break in oil. Oil formulated for break in is high in zinc to cushion hardened metals in the engine. Putting zinc additive upsets the oils original balance of zinc content and may not be enough to soften a break in period. If you are concerned with the cost of the oil, just look up the cost of a rebuilt engine.😂

 

Hope springs eternal, but that's pretty much what i thought about the additive. Rebuilds are expensive? So that's why i'm broke! : )

I highly recommend Lucas 20w50 Break In oil You may have to order it directly. 8$/quart

https://www.lucasoilcenter.com/shop/lucas-oil-products/break-in-oils/lucas-sae-20w-50-engine-break-in-oil/

Is this what you have in mind:

PennGrade 1 SAE 30

Penngrade 1 SAE 30 Break In Oil has the perfect blend of zinc, phosphorus, and additives to promote ring seating while still protecting engine components from wear. This has been the break in oil of choice for top engine builders worldwide for almost two decades.

www.fagengine.com

Ask for Dan

Both these are way more reasonable than what i found - now to find out who can deliver the quickest! Thanks!

 

I highly recommend Lucas 20w50 Break In oil You may have to order it directly. 8$/quart

https://www.lucasoilcenter.com/shop/lucas-oil-products/break-in-oils/lucas-sae-20w-50-engine-break-in-oil/

 

Is this what you have in mind:

PennGrade 1 SAE 30

Penngrade 1 SAE 30 Break In Oil has the perfect blend of zinc, phosphorus, and additives to promote ring seating while still protecting engine components from wear. This has been the break in oil of choice for top engine builders worldwide for almost two decades.

www.fagengine.com

Ask for Dan

 

Straight 3Ow for older cars is whst has been used since time immortal .

 

30w might be okay in cool weather, but 20w/50 will give better heat protection and new rebuilt engines generate a lot of heat.

 

As mentioned earlier, if you use wide cable ties, dropping the cylinders over the pistons will be a 5 minute job. I do not even own ring compressors as they just slow the job down. Bonus is that metal ring compressors can damage the ring surface and a plastic cable tie will not. Give it a try.
My Son, when building Cosworth engines uses the Lucas break in oil suggested by htown. Once run in it runs on Castrol edge but that Edge oil is no good for a bike so use a 20/50 for aircooled V-twins after running in.

 

As mentioned earlier, if you use wide cable ties, dropping the cylinders over the pistons will be a 5 minute job. I do not even own ring compressors as they just slow the job down. Bonus is that metal ring compressors can damage the ring surface and a plastic cable tie will not. Give it a try.

Hi Rambo, What is the width of the cable ties you are using?

Terry

 

Break-in oil is on the way - the mid-west place said they could get it here by Thursday so i went with that. A set of ring pliers should reach me by late Wednesday and if all goes well I should get to start the engine up over the weekend!

Rambo - I've got a set of good compressors and they worked well previous assembly, but i the cable-tie method is very cool and i'm definitely going to try it out. There will be photos!

 

Break-in oil is on the way - the mid-west place said they could get it here by Thursday so i went with that. A set of ring pliers should reach me by late Wednesday and if all goes well I should get to start the engine up over the weekend!

Rambo - I've got a set of good compressors and they worked well previous assembly, but i the cable-tie method is very cool and i'm definitely going to try it out. There will be photos!

It really is worth anyone trying cable ties. The bottom of the cylinder is usually tapered to make the slide onto the rings a little easier. A little oil is needed as the cylinders have to push the ties down over the rings and that oil reduces the friction of rings against plastic. Quite funny when i first saw this done on my bike when my boy was showing me. There i was with all my fingers trying to squeeze the rings into place when he turned up and the job was done in minutes. My wife now holds the cylinders ready to drop as i watch the progress at the cylinder bottom.
As you know, you do need the pistons held firmly by a board similar to the one Peg has shown. If possible, jam the engine so the crank cannot move or the pistons may rise up when making small adjustments.
I hope it works out and photos may just prove how easy this job can be.
Remember that base gasket though !

 

Amazon is the go-to for break-inn oil and loctite. Usually 1-2 days.

 

Hi Mike!
What you say could be true for US customers, but for certain products and for those that ship directly from the US, it's 'Alice in Wonderland' for Canadians. Sometimes i wonder why these venders even bother, but i guess 'there's one born every minute' and putting ads like these up must be kind of like a free lottery ticket for the sellers. These at least are 'free shipping'. If not, shipping to Canada from US usually begins around $56.

 

I'll have to say I took Rambos advice on the wide cable ties, as I had a couple bags of them. Mine were wide enough to just cover all three rings and actually have a slight oval cross section (from the local telephone company) and really worked a treat! I have a ring compressor but in this instance I think the cable ties were much less fiddly and less prone to causing damage.

 

I know I am probably going to be crucified for saying this, but I have never used special break-in oil in any engine I have ever built (100's) and never had a problem. I have built more bike and car/truck engines than I can count and have never used break-in oil for any of them. Never had a problem with many of my engines going way past 100K miles. On my british bikes I use a high zinc (usually Valvoline VR1) 20w50 to break them in and for regular running. Again, no problems ever. I think to much gets made of using break-in oil. Just my opinion.

Rob

 

That VR1 does seem to be good. I have 5 litres in the garage and use it in the Summer heat. More expensive than most but does have some good additives. I have never used break in oil either and not had any problems .

 

Hi Bruce, pity I'm not still in Montreal, would have been able to loan you loads of stuff.

Just a word of caution on the ring pliers, I managed to break a ring while using them, I puzzled over it a lot and suspect I used them incorrectly but couldn't really get them to work properly. Not sure if you are getting the same ones as me but it's the ones that are like this, I ended up doing the job by hand.

I hear you on the US to CA shipping. It's crazy. I used a company that gave me a postbox at the border and I would go and get h the stuff every couple of weeks

 

Hi Bruce, pity I'm not still in Montreal, would have been able to loan you loads of stuff.

Just a word of caution on the ring pliers, I managed to break a ring while using them, I puzzled over it a lot and suspect I used them incorrectly but couldn't really get them to work properly. Not sure if you are getting the same ones as me but it's the ones that are like this, I ended up doing the job by hand.

I am warned! These are the pliers i have coming -

I will proceed with caution.

I hear you on the US to CA shipping. It's crazy. I used a company that gave me a postbox at the border and I would go and get h the stuff every couple of weeks

I gave up my US address during Covid, but still have stuff shipped to a custom brokerage on the VT side and pick it up there. That's where the break-in oil is shipping.

 

I have a dumb question. Are most brands of break in oil compatible with wet clutches? I purchased some of the Lucas 20-50, but it doesn't mention anything about being suitable. Or will it not be in long enough to cause any trouble with the clutch? Or if it does slip a bit during break in, will it eventually clear out once one goes back to regular oil after the break in? I am planning on my 70 T120, so the clutch will be seeing the engine oil.

 

Break in oil will not have the friction modifiers that cause clutch slip. I often use car oils and get no slip but its best to use 4T oil. I would use that 20/50 Lucas and it will be alright.
Clutch contamination with the slippery oil will eventually go if changing back to a 4T but often you would have to clean the plates. Dangerous having a clutch slipping on an overtake

 

Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil DRV00106 BR 15W-50 Break-in Motor Oil - 1 Quart Bottle Ordered on Amazon shipped from Canada

 

I had great luck with these clamps from Napa. About $7 bucks a piece. 2 pieces of Pvc pipe to hold the pistons in place and 30w non detergent oil fron Napa.

 

Break-in oil huh?. When I worked at a contract oil blending, filling and packing plant that usually required us to pig out the supply line from the blending tank then add a different colour dye to what remained of the same batch of regular oil, swap out the bottles and caps for a different colour bottle on the filling line and then change the roll of labels on the labeller. Last job was to change the name and batch number on the cartoner. No names, no pack drill but we did this for several well respected brands.

 

🙄

 

Any oil is better than no oil though.

 

Gotta Love them good old Oil Threads
👋 another Valvoline Vr1 high zinc user here
since 1995.

Edit Add an oil filter is a major plus... I've been getting by with the Trident element tube style.👍

 

I must put my container of Vr1 oil on display in the garage. It was available as a 20/60 grade for racing. Very heavy in zinc content

 

I couldn't figure out how to use the ring pliers - i thought maybe they were the wrong size. I ended up putting the rings on by hand and had no problem. My son came up this morning to help put on the cylinders and he figured out how the pliers worked in less than 30 seconds.

Maybe the next time.

 

Does Triumph spin up their engines for the first time on the production line using break-in oil then leave it to the dealer to put regular oil in during pre-delivery, or the first service? I haven’t heard of that happening.
IanB

 

Hi Ian,

Does Triumph spin up their engines for the first time on the production line using break-in oil

Depends which "Triumph" you mean:-

. the Meriden that made pre-'84 Triumphs didn't;

. dunno what Hinckley (or Thailand or India) do but the tolerances inside modern engines are much, much tighter than anything Meriden made.

Hth.

Regards,

 

I've been doing motorcycle engines since 1968 and have never needed break in oil. Worked in the industry for years in the shops and in tech service on the phones. It's not necessary if the honing is correct and you break your engine in correctly. I should post a picture of my ring compressors. Super easy to use and anyone can make them from strips of sheet metal. Form them around an old piston with the ends turned outward so you can just squeeze them together with your fingers and thumb to compress the rings. About 1" wide strips of 18 guage or whatever you have

 

Hi All, Factory fill oil on modern vehicles is often a very special blend. Not the same as the oil you’ll use on first oil change.
Modern motors are built to exacting tolerances, but the rings & bores must still break in. My new 2023 Camry owners manual states vary speeds & do not use high rpm for first 640 miles. Maybe an odd number, but that’s what it says.
Don

 

Hi All, Factory fill oil on modern vehicles is often a very special blend. Not the same as the oil you’ll use on first oil change.
Modern motors are built to exacting tolerances, but the rings & bores must still break in. My new 2023 Camry owners manual states vary speeds & do not use high rpm for first 640 miles. Maybe an odd number, but that’s what it says.
Don

Not so sure on that. Chinese crap comes with a transportation oil, not for running.... Most modern bikes, decent oil and thrash from the crate. Even my drag bikes run in was 6 heat cycles from fresh to running flat out with nitrous and that was running much finer tolerances than anything that came out of the suzuki factory in the 80's

 

Maybe someone cannot convert km to miles? 1000km equates to 621 miles.

 

Proof positive that metric is the future😉.

As a chemical engineer, it's very easy for me to visualize the enormous improvements that oil has made over the last 50 years. What we are putting in our bikes today would be unimaginable back then. To expect our engines to react in the same way now as they did back then to the break in procedure, I think is incorrect.