Recommended break-in oil

[Greg L.]

What would be a good oil and grade to use for breaking in my all stock 69 L36? I already dumped a jug of GM EOS over the new cam and lifters and they are all coated in moly.

Should this oil then be changed right after the cam break-in or should I run it for a few hundred miles first?

[Chuck S.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

Hmmm...already a day and no one has answered this simple question.

Gregster, ain't nobody said nothing because they know this question won't be answered until Duke speaks up.

Unfortunately, I wager Duke isn't going to say anything because I have observed he's taken a firm stand against repeating himself ad infinitum.

We just had a detailed discussion of this very same process about a month ago...I know because I acted as interpreter. That information fits your question exactly, and is still relevant today. I couldn't begin to state it as elegantly as Duke did...dig it out.

[Greg L.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

You know Chuck I tried to search but for some reason this new search system and I just don't get along near as well as the old one. I find that this new way results in a much more general responce and is not as specific as the old one therefore there is more info but it's a lot harder to find a specific answer compared to the old way. Maybe it's just me...

I did find an "old" thread of a month or so back and it's probably the one you are refering to because it had a TON of info about oil, myths, etc and it was very informative. What I got out of it in regards to my question was that CJ-4 oil is the way to go after it's broken in so that is what I'll use.

What I was looking for though(maybe I missed it) was what is a good break-in oil(brand, viscosity, type) and how long the engine should be run with this oil before changing it out. Maybe break-in oil is a myth to and if that's the case then I'll throw in some 10W-30 of the CJ-4 variety, change it out after the initial 1/2 hour cam break in run and call it good.

I"ll search again but is it just me or was the old archive's search engine better at returning much more specific replies than our newer one?

[Duke W.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

Use CJ-4 for break-in. Change the filter after cam breakin or one to two hours run time and top off the oil level.

Do a complete oil/filter change at about 1000-1500 miles, thereafter every 5K miles or one year, whichever comes first.

Duke

[Chuck S.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

You know Chuck I tried to search but for some reason this new search system and I just don't get along near as well as the old one. I find that this new way results in a much more general responce and is not as specific as the old one therefore there is more info but it's a lot harder to find a specific answer compared to the old way. Maybe it's just me...

...I"ll search again but is it just me or was the old archive's search engine better at returning much more specific replies than our newer one?

Ah, you know I'm just messin' wid ya'...and if you hadn't made the search effort, trying to train you! Anyway...looks like Duke had mercy on you. HaHaHa...

Search engines are different, and for the most part using them effectively is simply a matter of learning their idiosyncracies. I have experience with this particular search engine from CF, and I know that doing an "advanced search" is generally the shortest route to success.

If you know the "user" most likely to have contributed on a given topic, enter the user's name and a topic specific word or two...e.g. "Duke Williams (22045)" as the user, and "oil" as the key word. You can use defaults for all the other info unless you can narrow the search further...the narrower the specification, the more likely you'll get what you want. If you don't know a user's name, simply enter a word or two specifc to the topic and see what pops out...sometimes, you'll have to massage the key words to find something that works like you want.

In this case, "Duke oil" also works in the basic search yielding the thread I mentioned, plus others:

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...e+oil&uid=3131

[Greg L.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

Thanks Duke, that's what I was wanting to know. Thanks for having mercy too!

I did try yet again to come up with an answer earlier today and for some reason had better luck and also read that you say that as long as the cam is parkerized that a "cam break-in" isn't really required but yet is still a good idea. How can I tell if the cam is parkerized? I'm guessing that it was because the lobes are dull black but I didn't know enough to look for the tell tail sparkle of the parkerized/phosphate coating. The cam is a Crane Cams "blueprint" series of the old L-36 cam...

Oh Chuck I know you were jsut messin with me but I did like the old search engine better. I've used our current type of search on a lot of the other forums too and they are good too just like this one but there was something about the old one that really clicked with me and I always thought that it was by far the best out there. For example I'm 99% sure that Jerry Fucillo posted some pics of his p/s hoses a few months back and I wanted to see those so I searched under his name and power steering and I couldn't find them...but I'm pretty sure they are there...somewhere...

[Duke W.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

First keep in mind that Chevrolet did not do a "cam break-in", and all the OE cams were Parkerized, which effectively and necessarily eliminated the need for a "cam break-in". The Parkerized surface greatly decreases the chance of initial scuffing that can lead to early lobe failure. When new these engines got the absolute worst possible treatment that a new engine can be subjected to.

First, the run test at Flint and Tonawanda lasted about 30 seconds. The next time it was started was at the end of the assembly line. It went through a short roll test and then to a parking lot - a few minutes of operation.

Then the car may have been moved around several times before shipment, in the course of shipment, and at the dealer. So by the time it was delivered to a retail customer with 5 miles on the odo the engine had experienced a score or more of cold starts with most of the operating time at idle speed, and rarely fully warmed up. It makes me cringe just thinking about it, which is why I prefer special ordering cars with plant delivery.

Yet the OE cams and valvetrains were quite troublefree with the exception of valve spring issues on early BBs.

So if you assemble everything properly with a Parkerized cam, cam breakin lube, CJ-4 oil with a pint of EOS, OE spec valvesprings, and do a cam breakin, the likelyhood of problems is near nil.

"Cam breakin" became and aftermarket staple as the aftermarket went to high valve spring loads and more aggressive lobes, and some of these early cams had built up lobes of weld material. Needless to say their life was often short!

Initial scuffing wear leading to rapid lobe failure reared its head again a few years ago with aggressive lobe/high valve spring load aftermarket cams when S-rated oils saw a reduction in ZDDP concentration, which is why CJ-4 should be used. It has about the same ZDDP concentration as S-rated oils before the ZDDP reduction. .

"Can break-in" is really not necessary with an OE quality cam and OE spec valvesprings, but it also does no harm and can provide additional insurance.

Parkerizing is a surface treatment that leaves a dull mottled dark gray finish. In contrast, the cam bearing journals are shiny silver. The process leaves the entire cam the gray color, but it's polished off the cam journals, so you can always tell if the cam is Parkerized by observing a dark gray finish on the lobes and shiny silver on the journals, and AFAIK all Crane cams are Parkerized, which is one reason why I consider them to be one or very few acceptable camshaft vendors.

Duke

[Chuck S.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

...Oh Chuck I know you were jsut messin with me but I did like the old search engine better. I've used our current type of search on a lot of the other forums too and they are good too just like this one but there was something about the old one that really clicked with me and I always thought that it was by far the best out there. For example I'm 99% sure that Jerry Fucillo posted some pics of his p/s hoses a few months back and I wanted to see those so I searched under his name and power steering and I couldn't find them...but I'm pretty sure they are there...somewhere...

Aw, com'n Gregster, yer making this too easy. But, I'm wondering if this is really the thread you wanted...Jerry is showing you what it shouldn't look like:

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...hoses&uid=4316

This result with Advanced Search, User: Gerard Fuccillo (42179), find posts by, Key word: hoses. Got to call him by his real NCRS name, Gregster...see Members List.

[John H.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

First, the run test at Flint and Tonawanda lasted about 30 seconds. The next time it was started was at the end of the assembly line. It went through a short roll test and then to a parking lot - a few minutes of operation.

In the "what's worse" department, after the car was started for the first time on the Final Line, it sat and idled for about five minutes as it traveled down the conveyor before it was driven off the end to the roll-test, getting next to no splash lubrication to the lobes/lifters. Parkerizing was clearly the key to lack of infant mortality.

[Greg L.]

Re: Recommended break-in oil

Thanks again guys. That's really interesting info on our engines first few minutes because I never really thought about it before. I'll bet that they weren't pre-oiled either then?

Yes Chuck that is the post I was looking for and now I see that I was searching under Jerry... no need to say anything...I'll just go sit in the corner now.