I should be getting my engine back from the machine shop in about a week, and I wanted to start trying to get a few answers I'll need for start-up:

Cold valve adjustment/ cam break-in - Erson recommends .022 valve lash for intake and exhaust. Should I open those up for initial start-up, to .024? They also recommend RPMs at or above 2K for the first 20 minutes of operation. (Kinda worries me without a proper valve adjustment...) Guess that's not really a question, but me and my buddies never did that 20 years ago when we put engines together. Guess we were just lucky we didn't wipe a lobe...?

Oil pump priming - I know I'm supposed to load the oil pump with vaseline or some such. Do I just squeeze it on through the block inlet/outlet, or do I need to remove the cover and "top it off"? Anything I need to be careful of while doing so?

Tap Oil Pump for turbo - where is this done? I want to do this now so I won't have to worry about it later.

Any other new engine start-up tips or tricks anyone wants to share? I plan to run straight 40 wt. (Rotella if I can find it) for break-in, and change the oil and filter affter 500 miles. Straight water (no antifreeze) for initial start-up, in case of leaks. I also have a magnetic drain plug I'll be using. I plan on having Autozone charge the battery the night before. Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance!

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vm

The twenty minutes over 2000 rpm can lead to other problems if you do it all at once. When you pack an oil pump the way to do it is with the cover off and pack it full and level. I would set the valve lash cold and only run it for about 5 minutes, then shut it down and check everything including the lash. A new engine will be pretty warm after 5 minutes over 2000 rpm so you could adjust the valves hot at that point. This will raise allot of controversy, but on the personal advice of one of the best and most successfull engine builders in the country I have only been running in street cams for 5 minutes at 2000 rpm or a little above. I have had zero problems. I would not idle it for an extended period of time, but long enough to actually get the timing set right. This advice was based on tear downs and inspections of engines run in on a dyno. At least don't try to do the whole twenty minutes all at once. It is easy to overheat the engine and exhaust, especially if the timing is not right. Better to run a little and stop and check things. Make sure everything has oil or assembly lube before the start up. A small squirt of oil into each cylinder via the spark plug holes is not a bad idea. If it is an auto I would put a new front seal in the trans and make sure it is lubed, cheap insurance. In my book 40 wt. is a little heavy, I would go with 30 wt. and a bottle of gm EOS or other supplement for the run in.

I left this out. I would change the oil and filter within the first half hour of running and then at 500 miles. Moly in the assembly lube will clog the filter and draining the oil will get out most of the assembly lube still in suspension as well as the vaseline and hopefully any dirt that found it's way in there.

I drill and tap the main oil gallery at the boss near the rear of the engine.
DD

20 minutes to break in the cam probably isn't NECESSARY for a street cam with mild lift and mild valve springs, but it won't hurt anything provided you keep an eye on oil pressure and temp the whole time to make sure everything's OK. I'd rather go ahead and run 20 minutes rather than risk the cam. Being a little loose on the initial valve clearance is probably safer than risking being too tight.

You can prime the oil pump either way. Removing the cover is easy and quick, but if you have a tube of Vaseline, you can feed Vaseline into the pump inlet while rotating the pump by hand until it starts to pump out the outlet. All you really need is a coating of Vaseline on the rotors inside the pump so they form an air-tight seal and will immediately pulll oil up from the pan, you don't need the whole cavity packed with Vaseline.

Also, I would absolutely *not* run straight 40 weight during break-in, personally. I think that is way too heavy for a new engine that needs all the initial oil flow and lubrication it can get. What I do is buy a middle-priced but decent quality 10W30 conventional oil for my break-in run (Castrol GTX, Valvoline, Mobil Clean 5000, etc.), and I change it after the cam break-in, then again at about 500 miles. At 1000 miles, I go to my final oil that I intend to use (Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10w30 in the case of my 440- I do not belive that synthetic oil prevents rings from seating).

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Good info, gang. Thanks very much!

Any other suggestions?

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vm

Make really certain that you get all the galley plugs, etc. installed. It's easy to miss them in the rush to reassemble. DAMHIK

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

Having the short block assembled by my machine shop, but I'll double-check. Thanks!

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vm

I would not use platinum plugs to do initial tuning if you were planning on it. They foul way too easily. I agree 40 weight is too much and will not get into the new tight clearences on that engine. I use 10/30 when I break in and then change it out with a new oil filter after the first day or so and again 1000 miles later. My thinking is prolly dont have to but cost of a filter vs cost of all my new parts and machine work.