Viper Engine Break In

RTYsxv

RTYsxv

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Viper Engine Break In lots of questions

What's the best way to break an engine with new rings?

I did a search and didn't find too much info. I found this info, which seems to make sense to me but it's mostly about 4 strokes Break In

According to what this guy says, I should let it warm up, then ride it hard right away with lots of throttle to seat the rings before the hone marks wear down - first 20 miles or so. What about "heat cycles", and should I do the different rpm jetting checks first? Everything is stock so my jetting shouldn't have changed. I have about 3 gal of mixed gas in the tank, and I'm going to make a mark on oil tank to see if the level goes down to verify that the oil system is working. Would getting a double shot of oil make the mixture too lean? I was thinking, if the oil level is going down I can add gas to the tank to dilute the 3 gal of mixed gas.

What do you guys think?
 
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I am just getting done with breaking in on my rebuild, and I was told to run a few heat cycles through it. I did all that and I've just been taking it easy on the RPM's for the first few rides. Today I started to run her up in RPM's and holding, but for only short spurts. Others will chime in.
 
yeah, just let it warm up and then give it full throttle burst. that will put a load on the engine and help the rings seat in. just don't hold it wide open for like 20-30 sec just yet. wait until you have like 200-300 miles tacked on before doing that. Your jetting should be fine. did you spray around vital air leak areas, such as reeds, crank seals, crankcase seem, with starting fluid or carb cleaner? some say that adding more oil to your tank is leaning it out and could cause a burn down. I say bullcrap. If that was the case, why would dealers let new sleds out the door with extra oil in the tank. Its in case the oil pump doesn't work. The thing of it is too, your not exchanging air in place of the fuel that can't fit through the jets, your placing oil for gas for god sakes. its only more lubricant. you would wet foul a plug and that would be the worse case scenerio.
 
When I rebuilt mine I did as venom mod did and was easy on it for the first few hundred untill I was brave enough to hold it open.
 
mopar1rules said:
yeah, just let it warm up and then give it full throttle burst. that will put a load on the engine and help the rings seat in. just don't hold it wide open for like 20-30 sec just yet. wait until you have like 200-300 miles tacked on before doing that. Your jetting should be fine. did you spray around vital air leak areas, such as reeds, crank seals, crankcase seem, with starting fluid or carb cleaner? some say that adding more oil to your tank is leaning it out and could cause a burn down. I say bullcrap. If that was the case, why would dealers let new sleds out the door with extra oil in the tank. Its in case the oil pump doesn't work. The thing of it is too, your not exchanging air in place of the fuel that can't fit through the jets, your placing oil for gas for god sakes. its only more lubricant. you would wet foul a plug and that would be the worse case scenerio.
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It hasn't been started yet, but yeah I think I'm going to run it hard at first, after warming it up of course, varying the throttle and hammering it on and off. As far as air leaks, last week I had a leakdown test done on it by the dealer and they said it was good to go, no leaks. So as long as my intake boots and exhaust gasket are sealed, it should be ok. And for oil I guess as soon as I can tell the level is going down I can add more gas the the tank and dilute the oil. I opened the bleed bolt on the pump and bled it, so really it should be fine once the oil fills the hoses to the fuel pump.
 
I read in Snowtech that a few heat cycles are a good idea. You want to make sure after running it up to operating temp to let it cool back down all the way. They did around three cycles over three days, one per day, to make sure it cooled all the way. I've was told when I bought mine that you want to run it up and down through the rpm's, and WOT stabs shouldn't be for more than a few seconds. Don't ride at constant rpm's, your thumb will be cramped when your done! lol The dealer also had already pre-mixed some oil into the tank on top of what the oil injection gives it. Just for the first tank.
 
wucha think, I got this off another forum and the source he's citing is the link I posted at the top:

The last time this came up was in the FST forums, and when I posted my response those thin skinned whiners nearly flipped! Look man... Rings are rings, don't matter 2 or 4 stroke. The same principals apply. I've seen new 500-600hp motors started on the dyno, warmed up and taken through a full pull. Right to the max RPM. Time and time again. From the start, the power numbers keep coming up as ring seal improves. Several of the major engine builders around here say if there isn't a dyno handy, to warm up the engine, hot lap it, change the oil and go racing. I also know a guy who works at John Deere in the engine works shop. He operated the dyno cell for a while... Brand new 8.1 diesel. Started, warmed up, then flogged. If you have ever seen a dyno pull, you know they are fairly brutal....

With todays ring and cyl. material, seating has to take place quickly, or it never will.Get any synthetic oil out, break it in on dino oil then switch back to synthetic. YES, this includes blends.

Case in point... When I got my sled, it had VES 2 oil in it along with some Poo Blue and some Poo VES 2in the gas tank as well. Ran it hard, short bursts, some long pulls, some cruise.... The best I could manage was 135 psi... I thought that was pretty good. I hurt the motor (lean scar on a piston) When I tore it down, there was signs of some blow-by...(brown dis-coloration on the skirt below the rings.) So being broke, and wanting to ride, I got new rings, cleaned the pistons, honed the cyls, (one still has a mark in it) and put it back together. I removed all the syn. oil, and replaced with dino oil(Half the oil res.) Ran it HARD in 1/8th mile bursts for about an hour, then just rode as I normally would. Took compression readings on every ride. They kept creeping up... Replaced with my favorite syn oil and now there is no blow-by that I can see, the sled runs better than before, and I have 146/147 psi. cold and 141/142 hot.

Read the article in the links. Subscribe to the newsletter (you won't get one though- it's dead) and then you have access to more info.....
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For what it's worth, I completely agree with the above post... 100%... but it's just personal opinion and somebody else will want to argue my point. Truth is you'll never really get a straight answer out of this, just opinions... unless you get your info from a source that broke the same motor in numerous times, in controlled conditions and logged the results.

I agree 100% with the hard break in. Let it warm up, take it for a few heat cycles, give it short bursts of full throttle for a little while (I went about an hour aswell) then let the sled have it.
 
The extra oil you add to the gas LEANS out the mixture, because there is more oil then gas, you lean the engine out, the oil displaces the fuel, so the engine gets less gas. Thats a old practice and not really a sure one at that, I dont mix the oil/gas in a modern sled with injection.
Bleed the pump before start up, then I simply start up the sled and hold the oilpump wide open for the first minute, youll see it smoking alot more and then place the oilpump cable back together as normal. I have replaced a couple bad pumps over the years, but only because they break and stick wide open using alot of oil, never have had a sled here yet that the pump quit working and starved the engine for oil, nothing from 95 or newer. The old ealry 80's 440 srx's did that but nothing newer.

My opinion on engine break in is this, warm up the engine check for leaks etc, let it cool down completely, do another heat cycle then let it rip as your going to ride it. Always been my belief that if you baby a engine the whole break in time, and the first time you get on it wide open after break in and something breaks literally inside, it wasnt worth a #$%&* to begin with! !
 
I rode my sled easy for a few miles, varying RPM's then today I let her have it. Probably was a little tough on her, but she held together!
 
mrviper700 said:
The extra oil you add to the gas LEANS out the mixture, because there is more oil then gas, you lean the engine out, the oil displaces the fuel, so the engine gets less gas. Thats a old practice and not really a sure one at that, I dont mix the oil/gas in a modern sled with injection.
Bleed the pump before start up, then I simply start up the sled and hold the oilpump wide open for the first minute, youll see it smoking alot more and then place the oilpump cable back together as normal. I have replaced a couple bad pumps over the years, but only because they break and stick wide open using alot of oil, never have had a sled here yet that the pump quit working and starved the engine for oil, nothing from 95 or newer. The old ealry 80's 440 srx's did that but nothing newer.

My opinion on engine break in is this, warm up the engine check for leaks etc, let it cool down completely, do another heat cycle then let it rip as your going to ride it. Always been my belief that if you baby a engine the whole break in time, and the first time you get on it wide open after break in and something breaks literally inside, it wasnt worth a #$%&* to begin with! !
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I wanted to have mixed gas in the tank just for the sake of making sure the oil pump is fully bled and working. I only have 3 gal in the tank, I marked the oil level in the tank with a sharpie and as soon as I ride it and it drops I'll fill up the gas tank to dilute the oil.

I've warmed up the engine once and then ran it for about 10 min varying the throttle, and everything checked out ok so I'll warm it up again today and then give it a workout.
 
VenomMod said:
I rode my sled easy for a few miles, varying RPM's then today I let her have it. Probably was a little tough on her, but she held together!
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I still have that paranoid feeling lol...I'm just gonna have to suck it up and run it hard haha.
 
My opinion on engine break in is this, warm up the engine check for leaks etc, let it cool down completely, do another heat cycle then let it rip as your going to ride it. Always been my belief that if you baby a engine the whole break in time, and the first time you get on it wide open after break in and something breaks literally inside, it wasnt worth a #$%&* to begin with! ![/QUOTE]

I agree with this. Building drag car engines i did exactly that. Wide open right off the hop, No other way to test it unless i take it down the front street. Same with the sled. Get it out and hold it to the bar. If it blows i did something wrong.
 
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