V1 First start

[dastrups]

Does anyone know if it is harmful in any way to start and drive the car without the turbo/intercooler plumbing hooked up? Starting the LNF crate motor for the first time hopefully in a week or two and wanted to be able to put it under some load right away. Any tips on engine break-in are appreciated.

 

[Rauq]

I put a few miles on my SS/SC without any water in the heat exchanger integrated into the manifold. Pretty comparable in my opinion. I did zip tie the bypass valve open so it wouldn't make any boost.

Not sure if you can hold the wastegate open on an LNF and not also trip out the computer or anything like that. I would try not to make boost without any intercooling; while the ECU is probably smart enough to try to not cook stuff with high IATs, you're probably not going to be doing the motor any favors.

 

[KSLunsfo]

I would think you're safe to do a startup and strictly idle for a short period. But I absolutely would not drive it or put it under any kind of load in that state.

 

[OptimizePrime]

Yea I'd only idle her until you have the other bits.

The stock tune is pretty far off even with the DF parts installed, the benefits of putting load on it is outweighed by the risks of doing damage without the protective sensors and tune in place to accommodate for it.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Does anyone know if it is harmful in any way to start and drive the car without the turbo/intercooler plumbing hooked up? Starting the LNF crate motor for the first time hopefully in a week or two and wanted to be able to put it under some load right away. Any tips on engine break-in are appreciated.

Not having the turbo to throttle body plumbing on won't hurt the LNF to start and run - it is operating like a NA engine and the exhaust just blows through the turbo and out the exhaust, the waste gate has no effect. Keep in mind running it for any length of time without an air filter is not recommended.

 

[ctuinstra]

On the SS/SC cars, the IC pump is bad 90% of the time and are driven daily for years without the owner knowing. Not saying it’s fine, but you wouldn’t be the first to drive without IC cooling.

 

[dastrups]

I know you bought a crate LNF. Did you have a game plan for break-in? Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

I know you bought a crate LNF. Did you have a game plan for break-in? Any thoughts appreciated.

Try this one, posted a while ago.

Sad Subaru STI

Recently I made a questionable trade for a new project. I traded my stock appearing tastefully modified 1990 Nissan 240sx for a clapped out Subaru STI.. I purchased this Nissan over 2 years ago purely out of impulse.. the guy had owed it for 8 years And had completely built the thing himself...

dfkitcar.com

 

[TheNuker]

I've been driving mine around lightly staying under 3500 RPM around the blocks almost to 50 miles on the crate LDK and i'll change the oil with break in oil again until I hit 500 miles then I'll change to a normal full synthetic and get to it!

Nuker-

 

[dastrups]

Try this one, posted a while ago.

Sad Subaru STI

Recently I made a questionable trade for a new project. I traded my stock appearing tastefully modified 1990 Nissan 240sx for a clapped out Subaru STI.. I purchased this Nissan over 2 years ago purely out of impulse.. the guy had owed it for 8 years And had completely built the thing himself...

dfkitcar.com

Would you go as far as pulling spark plugs out and fuel pump fuse and cycle the engine to prime everything and check oil pressure first?

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Would you go as far as pulling spark plugs out and fuel pump fuse and cycle the engine to prime everything and check oil pressure first?

Yes, oil priming the engine - even by turning over with the fuel cutoff - is better than dry-starting a brand new engine. Ideally, pressure priming the oil system through an oil galley would be best, but not everyone has that type of equipment. It's also important to get the zinc additive in the first oil in the engine as it will help reduce the break in friction on critical parts like the cam lobes.

 

[Gtstorey]

I used a cheap small block Chevy oil pump driven by a drill to pump oil through mine before I installed the engine and plan to do it again before first start. The only problem is I used the oil pressure switch port to pump into and I don't know how much of the oil is going through the motor and how much through the ecotec oil pump back into the pan.

 

[r3drckt]

The ecotec oil pump is driven off of the crankshaft, so wouldn't it still create friction issues trying to prime the engine using this pump since you'd have to be turning the entire engine over to do so? I'm going to be using assembly lube on anything that rotates, but I'd definitely like to prime the system with oil before first start.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

A new engine will (better) be assembled with some lubrication on all the rotating surfaces - assembly lube or at least oil. Starting a new engine the first time is when the greatest amount of wear friction will be generated, when oil galleys are empty and the oil pump is not charged (note a similar but not as severe situation occurs every time the engine is started for the rest of its life without an oil accumulator installed, which is also recommended).

The point I made is before starting a new engine, priming the oil system is a must. Whether doing that by pressure priming through the oil galleys - since you can't spin the oil pump separately - or by cutting fuel and cranking over the engine for 20 or more seconds is FAR better than just turning the key and firing up the engine. Yes, less friction is typically seen if the engine is pressure primed, but crank priming is better than not doing anything.

 

[TheNuker]

I'm using the comp camps break in oil myself, I unplugged the fuel rail and cranked it for about 10 seconds the first time to get oil pressure, Then went on.


Nuker-

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

I'm using the comp camps break in oil myself, I unplugged the fuel rail and cranked it for about 10 seconds the first time to get oil pressure, Then went on.


Nuker-

The Comp Cams break in oil is good stuff, lots of zinc and molybdenum additives for engine break in.

 

[Lonny]

10 engine builders will probably give 10 different checklists of what should be done before the first start of a new engine.

Personally, I would remove the oil filter plastic cap and pour some oil into the filter cavity, and put the plastic cap back on. Some of this oil will run toward the pump and some will run into the oil galleys.

Then I would fill the oil pan up to the full mark on the dipstick. Once the engine runs oil will be trapped in various places throughout the engine so you will probably need to recheck the level.

Then I would remove the spark plugs so the rods will be unloaded while priming and also remove the fuel pump connector so you don't have fuel pumping through the engine and out of the sparkplug holes.

I would leave the key off and jumper across the starter relay. Sometimes, you can hear the starter load up a little when the oil pump primes and starts pumping and then let it turn over another 20 seconds or so.

If you don't hear the oil pump pick up I would spin the engine for at least a minute.

There is no guarantee that it primed unless you pull the sending unit and install a manual pressure gauge. But there is no reason it shouldn't prime.

You may be able to measure the resistance from the oil pressure sending unit to ground and watch for a change in resistance while cranking.

 

[TheNuker]

One question while we are talking about break in, What exactly does the factory do to the brand new cars?

Nuker-

 

[JBINTX]

One question while we are talking about break in, What exactly does the factory do to the brand new cars?

Nuker-

 

[Rauq]

Not super relevant or insightful but still interesting. Here's what I've seen from an automotive assembly line:

1. Engines arrive at the plant fully assembled but completely undressed.
2. Engines are dressed with accessories such as AC, alternator, etc.
3. Engines are mated to a transmission, then a transfer case (if applicable), then to driveshafts, then to front and rear subframes which were delivered assembled with differentials, axles, wheel bearings, brakes, and all the suspension.
4. The body is dropped onto the powertrain, and the engine is never to be worked on again...
5. Then a bunch of other assembly happens; notably, the engine is still not filled with fluids as the car is still turned on its side for some assembly processes.
6. At a fluid fill station, fuel, oil, transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid are added to the vehicle.
7. Almost immediately after fill, the car cranks for about 30 seconds before firing.

There very well could be a priming process during engine dressing, but that would've been hours before any additional oil is added to the engine. I did specifically ask how the brakes are bled because the car is driven off the line about 30 seconds after firing, and they manage to stop just fine... the answer I got was pretty much ¯\_(ツ)_/¯