How to know if a engine has broken in?

[Fstndt]

Hello I'm planning to buy "used" nitros today. It will be another savage 4.6, and a new hpi nitro truggy. But the owner doesn't know if it has ever broken in, so is there a way for me to see if it has broken in? I'm already planning to disassemble the engine, so maybe I can see from the inside...

 

[rebelnitro]

yes good question! I wanted to know this also. I bought a new flashpoint engine that was said to be broken in using ebis, but have no paperwork to prove it.

 

[Clifffff]

There is no way to know. You see, the break-in process and the hot-cold cycles involved allow the engine components which are made from different metal alloys (ABC notion) and therefore have different temperature tolerances and characteristics to perfectly fit into each other. This makes the engine more inclined to hold tune and prevents premature wear.

This is why it is important to always start with a new engine and go through the break-in procedure yourself rather than take someone else's word for it.

 

[hwrd442]

Novarossi calls for running the engine for a half an hour and go. That's what the instructions said on my Rex Legend 28.

 

[Clifffff]

Good for Novarossi but I am not sure I see how Novarossi's break-in regime invalidates what I said earlier?

 

[hwrd442]

I never said it did.

 

[Clifffff]

I just read the SH 28 3 port manual and saw that it recommends that the engine be run 3 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of cooling down up to 15 times!!! That is nearly 4 hours of breaking in!

Pretty crazy...

 

[hwrd442]

I just read the SH 28 3 port manual and saw that it recommends that the engine be run 3 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of cooling down up to 15 times!!! That is nearly 4 hours of breaking in!

Pretty crazy...

That's nuts.

 

[Jam 1]

With every engine I have I heat cycle it a few times, up to over 200F and back to cool with the piston at the bottom, after that I run it on the ground for a tank and call it good. as for telling if it is broken in , the engine will tell you when it is ready to tune.... you can actually hear when it wants to run at its best....