Engine break in.

[Gardyloo03]

Out of curiousity what are the possible negative effects of not having broken an engine in? Give me all the possiblities please.

[Tige M.D.]

it might burn a little more oil than other engines. it might only last 3000hrs. instead of 4000hrs. if it survived the first 5hrs. of life then it will most likely run for many many flawless hours. i personally feel that you should break it in the way you plan on using it. but, that's just my way of doing things. it seems to work good on my 125cc shifter kart
everyone will have a different opinion on this subject, so, if the engine was not broken in correctly (in your opinion) there is not much you can do about it now. what's done is done. drive it like it's not yours

[smendez]

Originally posted by Tige M.D.
... there is not much you can do about it now. what's done is done. drive it like it's not yours

This is coming from a guy who makes a living fixing it after you break it


Sorry MD, I just couldn't help it

[Tige M.D.]

hey, i guess it's a certain level of confidence/arrogance i have in my ability

[Gardyloo03]

My dealer told me that the engine was prebroken in, that didnt seem right but hell ive never owned a ski boat until this one. The other 4 ive owned needed break in time and i did it as recommended by the engine manfacturer. Guess i got lied to and for some reason believed it.

[raythompson]

I remember when cars had to have their engines broken in (ages me doen't it!). You could not drive over certain speed, had to vary your speed, allow warmup time, etc.; basically the same thing that the current boat manufacturers recommend.

All the engines have to be run before they leave the factory. They are assembled with assembly lube and run to make sure everything works and there are no problems. The oil is then removed and shipped to the dealer (auto or boat) where new oil is eventually added.

The technology of machining, assembly, and materials used today does not require a break-in for an auto engine as that has already been accomplished. When you have an engine rebuilt, then you have a break-in period.

I suspect the break-in period is little more than archeology from times past. But, and this may be the big difference, marine engines run much much harder than car engines. Marine engines are generally under a full load most of the time. Moving that mass through the water with the constant water resistance is a lot of work.

If the engines did not have a reliable source of constant temperature water to cool them they would soon overheat. An air radiator to dissipate the amount of heat would require a huge radiator. That is part of reason that marine engines can be run hard is that they can be adequately cooled without much difficulty and the temperature of the cooling medium does not vary.

With the computers in the engines now used it is possible for the dealer to read the information about how the engine was operated. So I would suspect that somewhere they can tell well you have taken care of that engine, even during the break-in.

I would still follow the instructions given. I feel that break-in is probably not needed, but I would certainly not take a chance on a voided warranty due to failure to follow instructions. The harder running marine engine may just require a little more care before everything is properly mated because of the much higher constant strain on the parts.

The break-in is just a part of acquiring a new boat, and enjoying that boat for a long time. Even if a break-in is not needed, it certainly does not hurt. Better to be on the side of safety.