Olas

I finished my rebuild of a 1987 22re with 188K miles on it last weekend. New pistons, rings, timing chain kit, valve job, etc... Immediately after the first full warm up and following some break in procedures I changed the oil... Now I have about 200 miles on the 2nd oil change and have not noticed any signs of burning oil...I know it's low miles to be able to tell but from what i've read about other people's issues it looks like my rebuild is looking good so far.

I'm going camping this weekend and want to take the truck but I dont want to push it if it's not ready to be pushed...if you know what I mean. I live in Colorado, lots of hills everywhere and I'd be bringing two small dirtbikes and camping gear for 2 people, maybe around 600 lbs of weight in the bed.

You guys think this is too much too soon for a fresh motor that will have about 300 miles on it by the time we leave? Should I stop worrying and drive it normal?

Thanks.

BrianJE

Drive it like u stole it. just vary the throttle a lot and try not hold the same rpm for long periods. also don't high rev it for very long but do some wide open throttle runs for short distances. Those rings are pretty close to fully seated now. There will be a lot of opinions on this subject. I have broken many engines in this way and they always have great power and last a long time.

MudHippy

No excessive oil consumption? Odd. That usually takes around 2500 miles or so to normalize. Generally, a quart or more every 700 miles is considered excessive.

Heavy loads and/or extended high-speed/rpm driving should be avoided for the first 300 miles atleast. To give the compression rings enough break-in/seating time. Which you say you will have before you plan on heading out.

So, yeah, go for it. Take extra oil with you just in case, and I'd say you should be alright.

angrydogtattoo

+1, on the oil and go for it.

peow130

imo, drive it like you stole it.
seats the rings helluva lot faster, and a better seal, too.
no blowby, and no glazing.

MudHippy

I would like to amend my previous statement by now including the words "drive it like you stole it".

By which I mean, for the first couple hundred miles, you should. But not necessarily for that entire time, or afterwards. But for a good portion of it that's just fine. No real need to beat on an engine too much though, when the rings will do the greater extent of their seating in the first 20 miles of which. And if that "window of opportunity" has already closed before you do "drive it like you stole it"(which you needed to do to begin with if you wanted to be able to safely do so later), you'll likely be causing more harm than good by running the engine too hard. Because a good ring seal needs to be achieved first, and is essential in preventing scuffing damage to the pistons and cylinder walls.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

In other words... If you haven't broke 'er in hard during the first 20 miles after a rebuild, you should have. And if you did, you're pretty much done after that! So how much crazy hard driving you do after that point is really up to your own personal preferences. I still say you should take 'er relatively easy till about 300(but not during the first 20)or so miles. Why? Because after the first 200-300 miles there's not any real break-in still occuring, and after the first 20 of those miles(if you did it the right way)there's very little breaking-in left to be done. And, during the period of initial break-in that follows those crucial first 20 miles, it probably won't require alot of real hard driving, if any, to accomplish the remainder of which. Also any hard driving at all, even during the initial break-in, will inevitably put an excessive ammount of strain on many of the vehicles other components, as well as all the engine's components that don't require it. Which quickly leads to not just unnecessary wear to those other components, but can ultimately cause their premature failure. Meaning, it pays to keep the "driving it like you stole it" to a minimum.

Furthermore, driving any vehicle "like you stole it" isn't for the faint of heart. It requires not only a certain ammount of skill to do so in a safe manner, but also requires that the conditions be suitable for it. I know my driving prowess is on par with any current F1 racing driver's. However, if yours isn't, there isn't much sense in trying to get one's self, or someone else, killed in the process of trying to break-in your freshly rebuilt engine.