moodoo Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Guys, Hoping to get my newly built 2.2 CIH fired up in the next week or so. Whats the best procedure for first start and running it in? I've used assembly paste on all bearings etc during build, and I will prime the oil system by spinning the oil pump up and turning the engine over. 1) Do I need a special running-in oil? Or just something fairly thick, like 20-50? If I do use running-in oil, how long do I leave it in for? 2) After I actually fire it up, and assuming I have good oil pressure, what then? - don't let it idle, drive it straight away at varying loads, but no high rpm? There seems to be 2 schools of opinion, one to drive it fairly hard from the word go, and the other to be more gentle on it. All advice gratefully received - I don't want to waste all my time, money and effort in building the engine by making a bags of it in the first 10 minutes.... Thanks, Fin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-400 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 (edited) Make sure that your oil pump is filled up, jou can do that by opening a plug (inbus 7mm) on the left side of the oil-pump. (not the side of the filter) Fill also the oil-filter as much as possible. Than you can make oil-pressure with a big flat screwdriver on a drill, through the gap where normal your distributer is located. I think that is the most important, when I fire an engine the first time I let it run at idle. It is normal that some oil-fumes appear because some parts are not completely clean. If you run it longer than just starting be sure the cooling-system is bleeded so there are no airbubles in it. For those CIH engines I use mineral 15W40, like you mentioned rather thik oil because the design of the oil-pump makes it the weaknes of this engine. Running in oil have I never used, but an engine like yours gets new oil and filter after the first 1000km running in period. In these first km's I 'll never turn the engine in high rpm's. Succes! Edited May 15, 2015 by H-400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I have some suggestions but need to know first, stock cam or high lift? Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne ingham Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 For the first 600 miles or so do not drive to hard check engine oil a lot get the feel of the engine/car.Then drive the engine hard for a short time 5/10 seconds ,This will stop the cylinders form being polished .you may use some oil when running in.Check coolant befor you drive all the time When you get to a1,000 miles replace engine oIl / filter ,the main thing is to get the feel of the engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodoo Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 It's a stock cam....stock pretty much everything, bar it has a 2.0 GTE cam rather than 2.2 cam. Freshly bored block, new pistons, rings, all new bearings, new hydraulic followers, running on standard injection, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
611 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hey Fin Im liking this post :-) saves me posting the same one!! Just going to message you as well. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicsManta Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 as wayne has said make sure that you do not drive the car too gently during this period otherwise you will glaze the bores. a friend of mine works on rally cars including 1 manta and 1 ascona 400 a he said that when they run engines in the first 500-600 miles are fairly gental and then after the first oil change at that time, they then drive the car quite hard for example a max of 5000-5500rpm until about 1000 miles and then after that give it the full throttle. i did this on my car after the engine rebuild and never had a issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Millers do a running in oil called CRO. Its a very good running in oil and offers good protection too. Ive known turbo engines be run in on dynos including a power run to bed the rings in. As mentioned already dont be too gentle with it as the bores can glaze. I would drive it normally as if going for a nice drive out and occasional full throttle bursts in High gears with the rpm starting at about 2500 rpm. This will put more pressure in the cylinders without over revving. Similarly lifting off and coasting down helps the rings seal in the ring grooves too. Basically varying the throttle is a good thing and sustained engine speed is not so good. If using CRO I would leave it in for 500 mils and then go for the oil of your choice and thats it I dont see the need to keep going steady for 1000 miles. The factory never did, plus the oils are superior now HTH Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchop77 Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Fin, use a cheap, reasonable 20/50 oil. A basic cheap oil has none of the detergents and anti wear additives of higher price/quality oils that can cause bore glazing. Prime the oil pump through the side of the casing as mentioned and fill the oil filter as well. I assume the cam is new as are all the followers. It is important to run the cam in as well as the piston rings, to do this the engine needs to fire on the button and the engine picked up and run at about 2000rpm for 15-20 mins. You can pick the revs up slightly but you don't need to. After this time you can drop the revs down to normal idle and tinker with bits n pieces. My engine man reckons he rings will be well run in by this point. This is how I did my race motor and the cam etc looked perfect when I took it to bits. Problem I had was dirt ingress that wore the oil control rings. Change the oil and filter after 400 miles and replace with good stuff, preferably classic grade 20/50 or valvoline racing 20/50. After this make sure your fuelling is set up properly (avoids bore washing) and drive without going too bankers for a few hundred miles. As I have said this is how I run all my motors in, the a series I have in the Morris was checked when I did the rebuild. After 5 years running you could still see honing marks on the bores and there was no bore wear at all. Hth Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodoo Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 Thanks very much for all the advice guys! Tony and Chris, if I've read your posts right, they disagree a bit? Chris, you reckon 15 to 20 minutes basically at a high idle, constant engine speed, and then drive reasonably steady for a few hundred miles? Whereas Tony you reckon constant engine speed isn't a good thing? After I read Tonys reply, I looked up the Millers running in oils, there is a classic one, as well as the CRO, their website says the classic one is intended for running engines in on the road. Is a 'cheap' oil basically the same as a running in oil then, in that it doesn't have the anti wear additives etc? Thanks again...I'm glad I asked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Yes if running a new cam then high idle for 10 mins will help bed the cam in. I should have said that too but assumed it was a used stock cam. The CRO will have additives to deal with load on bearings etc but will not have friction modifiers that can hurt the ring / bore bedding procedure. HTH Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Sorry re the engine speed while on the road by steady Chris probably meant not flat out but also varying engine speed too as we would in normal driving, just prolonged same speed to be avoided. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Fifty years ago there was a sticker available to put in the rear screen, " RUNNING IN PLEASE PASS" When I was working for the ambulance service and often fitted our own recon engines, no running in oil or anything like that, one of us would give it a short test run ( they where the Ford Essex v6 lumps), then take up to the ambulance station and put into service, so it was common fact that on it's first call 0out it could be doing perhaps 80 plus on the motorway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-400 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 That problem (glazed bores) is something that we found in our engines of generators. They keep running at the same rpm and they not always use the full capacity. About running in: I mean with high revs more than 5000/min. Something our drivers don't understand, when we install a new or opened engine we run it in outside the vehicle together with gearbox, brakes, steering system and cooling system. Herman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodoo Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 Thanks a lot again for all the advice folks, lots of knowledge on here! Regarding my cam, it's not a new cam, but I do have new followers, so no need to run the cam in? Or do new followers need a bit of special treatment too with steady engine speed at startup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Or do new followers need a bit of special treatment too with steady engine speed at startup? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Power Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 If the cam is already used and you have put some assembly lube between it and the followers it will all be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchop77 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Fin, As Nat has said the cam will be fine with new followers, also means it wont need bedding in the same. Once the engine is fired up let it get up to temp, or thereabouts, make sure there are no leaks and as Tony said take it for a run, use the gearbox more than you would normally just to vary the loads. Running in oils tend to be monogrades not multigrades (i think!!!!) , but a cheap multigrade is fine. Its there to basically collect all the odds and sods that are removed from the bores/rings/bearing etc so dont worry about it too much. If you have used assembly lube then that will protect everything. good luck with it mate , i'm sure it will be fine. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodoo Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Hi again guys, I have my 2.2 running now (just about 2 months late!). Probably needs a bit of playing with the ignition timing, I haven't even touched it yet, but it starts, idles and revs. Doesn't actually feel much different to the 1.9 I took out, but time will tell I guess. I've only driven for a few miles, just enough to get it warmed up so I could torque down the head again. 2 questions: 1) It seems to run quite hot, a good bit hotter than my old 1.9. I know it's burning more fuel than the 1.9, but I wasn't expecting to notice the difference on the gauge so clearly. Is there some trick to making sure the cooling system hasn't got air in it? Or any other reason a new engine would run hotter than an old one? 2) I had calculated that my compression ratio should be about 9.5:1. When I got the engine up and running I measured it, and got about 11.5!! I have no idea how it could possible be so far off what I calculated. Now the engine is quite stiff to turn over alright, but given that everything was new in the engine, I was putting it down to that. I would have thought if the CR was like 11.5:1, it would hardly even run on standard fuel? Still, the gauge doesn't lie (does it?!)...but is there any reason for the CR tester to give a higher reading than actual? Thanks, Fin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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