Sponsored

Understanding Engine Break In / Dos and Don'ts

sportcoupe

Wildtrak
Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Jul 16, 2023
Threads
26
Messages
336
Reaction score
258
Location
Georgia
Vehicle(s)
2023 Bronco
Your Bronco Model
Wildtrak
Owners manual still says

For the first 1,000 mi (1,600 km), avoid driving at high speeds, heavy braking, aggressive shifting or using your vehicle to tow.
 

cbrenthus

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2021
Threads
38
Messages
1,549
Reaction score
3,494
Location
Western PA
Vehicle(s)
'22 BadSquatch, '02 T/A
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
modern engines are broken in at the factory. Enjoy your ride.
When was the last time you heard of someone having issues because their engine wasn't broken in properly? Can we get back to arguing over synthetic or dino, EFI or Carb, Leaf or Spring?
 
OP
OP
Bronc69

Bronc69

Wildtrak
Well-Known Member
First Name
Rob
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Threads
15
Messages
455
Reaction score
524
Location
Chester County, PA
Vehicle(s)
Porsche 911, 2022 X3 (wife's), 2015 GTI (sold)
Your Bronco Model
Wildtrak
Clubs
 
I worked in the automotive industry (supplier for the production facilities) and had a number of conversations with their engineers along with race engineering teams over the years.

Not all modern engines are "broken in" at the factory. Some higher end, hand-built engines, are actually broken in on a dyno. The engines that go into hundreds of thousands of vehicles are not broken in at the factory. It would be impossible to properly run-in all the components on the engine at that scale.

I keep my vehicles for a long-time. I want them to last as long as possible without any issues (I had a 2000 VW Golf GL, 5-speed manual that I put 240K miles on and traded it for $300 and still had the original clutch).

If you want to drive it like you want to and ignore what the engineers (who actually designed the engine) state as a break-in period - go right ahead. It could end up costing you problems down the road, but we all know it's just a piece of junk that Ford doesn't know how to design an engine properly.
 

Blakshukvw

Wildtrak
Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
Sep 1, 2023
Threads
17
Messages
101
Reaction score
83
Location
Blue Springs, Mo
Vehicle(s)
96 explorer, 99 explorer, 04 marauder, 23 bronco
Your Bronco Model
Wildtrak
I’m a firm believer in driving it on day one like you intend to drive it the rest of its life. I’ve always put my new cars through their paces and it’s never disappointed me. Ran several well over 250k.
 

Aonarch

Outer Banks
Well-Known Member
First Name
Jack Hoff
Joined
Aug 4, 2021
Threads
17
Messages
1,617
Reaction score
3,080
Location
MT
Vehicle(s)
ā€˜23 Bronco OBX 2DR Lux 2.7, ā€˜24 V60 Polestar
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
I’m a firm believer in driving it on day one like you intend to drive it the rest of its life. I’ve always put my new cars through their paces and it’s never disappointed me. Ran several well over 250k.
I do the same thing.

The one thing I do avoid is flat cruising, especially on cruise control for long periods of time. The rings/ engine need variance in RPMs and load to properly break in.
Sponsored

 
 





Top