engine break in

[simatos]

Do you have any advice for running a new engine??My 170 has zero time engine. I rented a c-172 with a new cylinder and the flying school asked it not be used for circuits, ie touch and goes for the first 10 hours. My local AME also says just cruise and avoid touch and goes for the first 10 hours to ensure the piston rings seat properly. Thanks Gary

[blueldr]

Check with TCM continental Motors in Mobile, AL. They have a recommended procerure.
Basically, put the hammer down and run it hard until the rings get seated. Watch your temperatures.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

I concure with BL run it hard. Babying and engine specially at break-in time is bad for it.

Who rebuilt your engine and is going to warrenty it? That's who's recommendation you want to follow for break-in.

[dacker]

I recently broke mine in per ECI break-in procedures. You can print the booklet from http://www.eci2fly.com . Mine broke in just great! I ran mine at 75% per the instructions for the first 30 minutes then varied power settings from 2300 to 2700 and avoided T&Gs and throttle chops. I babied mine from the standpoint of throttle movements but did not spend much time below 2300 rpm for the first few hours. Many say to run it wide open, I don't think it will hurt since we are only talking 2700 rpm, and I certainly did run it at that setting some, but I would recommend 75% per ECI for the first half hour are so. My rings seated (sat, went to sit ?) at about 4 1/2 hours and so far (with about 40 hours) I have had low oil consumption and a very smooth engine. You can do a search on this topic and see a lot more discussion ad nauseum. Good luck!
David

[cessna170bdriver]

I recently broke mine in per ECI break-in procedures. You can print the booklet from http://www.eci2fly.com . Mine broke in just great! I ran mine at 75% per the instructions for the first 30 minutes then varied power settings from 2300 to 2700 and avoided T&Gs and throttle chops. I babied mine from the standpoint of throttle movements but did not spend much time below 2300 rpm for the first few hours. Many say to run it wide open, I don't think it will hurt since we are only talking 2700 rpm, and I certainly did run it at that setting some, but I would recommend 75% per ECI for the first half hour are so. My rings seated (sat, went to sit ?) at about 4 1/2 hours and so far (with about 40 hours) I have had low oil consumption and a very smooth engine. You can do a search on this topic and see a lot more discussion ad nauseum. Good luck!
David

David,

It's good to know someone who has successfully used the ECI break-in procedure on the O-300. Their procedure is quite different from the "accepted" method of running it hard until the rings seat. Do you have CHT and/or EGT instrumentation? I have 6 new ECI Titans in the box (awaiting a few odds and ends to start build-up) and I'm curious if you could see a change in temps as the rings seated. As ECI is warranting the cylinders, I plan on using their procedures, including Phillips 15W50.

After my last overhaul in 1990, using overhauled +.015 Continental steel cylinders with new pistons and rings, compressions were in the 70's even before the first run. I used Aeroshell 50 weight mineral oil for break-in. I ran full throttle for the first hour at 3000 MSL and at least 2400 RPM thereafter. As best I remember, oil consumption was never excessive, and compressions stayed in the 70's until I started having valve sticking problems several years later.

Miles

[dacker]

The ECI break-in procedures worked just fine for me, I figure that it is usually best to use the recommended procedures of the manufacturer as opposed to what others may say. I paid particular attention to the run-in recommendations for the ground runs. I did four or five ground runs for three or four minutes at a time paying close attention to the head temp, and then let the engine cool down below 100 deg. I just have a CHT guage with the one probe on the #1 cylinder lower spark plug.
I was even anal enough to write down all of the engine parameters for each ground run and flight for the first few hours, just in case I had problems later and needed warranty service from ECI.
I saw the CHT and oil temp drop dramatically at 4 or 5 hours, I was flying along and reduced power slightly for a descent and just happened to look at my CHT when it noticeably dropped about a hundred degrees in just a minute or two, when I added power it stayed low (kinda neat to see it happen).
I can't tell you exactly what the oil consumption is but it is less than one quart per ten hours.
Now to throw kerosene on the fire... I used Aeroshell 100 Straight Mineral oil for the first 25 hours, then switched to regular old Aeroshell 100 AD as I have always used. ECI "recommends" the Phillips brand multi-vis in this booklet.
Good luck with your break-in, let us know what you did and how it works out.
David

[mrpibb]

I used the eci breakin when I replaced two cylinders at the annual two months ago when I found a oil filter full of unhappiness (story to follow later). Remember after the initial runs, each time when you shut down the engine do not move the prop. Those toasty pistons get pretty tight in the bores right after shut down untill the engine cools a bit.

[zero.one.victor]

I broke mine in 4-1/2 years ago per the ECI instructions, and using the recommended XC20-50. OIl comsumption and compressions are still good 800 hours later. Mine was ran-in for an hour on a test-stand by the overhauler before hanging it on the airplane.
Miles, the ECI procedure sez to run at 75% power first half hour, then at 65-75% for the next 50 hours. Don't have my power-settings chart here but 75% is fairly hard, but of course not as hard as firewalled.
I used the Classic cast steel cylinders, not chrome/cerminil/carbonfiber plated ones. I think if you plan on flying regularly, the steel cyl's are the best bet. IMHO that other stuff is just to prevent cylinder rust on hangar queens.

Eric

[170C]

I did a major overhaul in 1999 and replaced my old cylinders with ECI steel cylinders. We did one very short engine run on the ground to make sure there were no oil leaks or other problems. The next day we took off climbed, at full power, to about 1000-1500 ft agl and flew at full power (did not exceed redline) for 1/2 -3/4 of an hour. The temps came down at that point and my AI said he felt the rings had seated so we landed. He advised me to run it hard, but not over redline, for the next 10 hours or so which I did and up until a year ago my oil consumption was around a quart per 25 hrs. A friend of mine did an OH on his C-O300B several yrs before I did and he babied it and as a result the rings never seated and his oil consumption was high. Eventually had to pull the cylinders and rehone them to get oil consumption within acceptable limits. Guess the final decision of how to break one in is up to the guy paying the bills, but if I had it to do over I would do exactly as I did.

[cessna170bdriver]

I broke mine in 4-1/2 years ago per the ECI instructions, and using the recommended XC20-50. OIl comsumption and compressions are still good 800 hours later. Mine was ran-in for an hour on a test-stand by the overhauler before hanging it on the airplane.
Miles, the ECI procedure sez to run at 75% power first half hour, then at 65-75% for the next 50 hours. Don't have my power-settings chart here but 75% is fairly hard, but of course not as hard as firewalled.
I used the Classic cast steel cylinders, not chrome/cerminil/carbonfiber plated ones. I think if you plan on flying regularly, the steel cyl's are the best bet. IMHO that other stuff is just to prevent cylinder rust on hangar queens.

Eric

The book (170 owners manual) says 75% is about 2450 at sea level, or 2700 at 5000ft which is the more likely scenario around Mojave (2700msl) or Tehachapi (4000msl). The big thing ECI harps on is keeping CHT's in check, especially on the ground. I bought the complete baffle kit from Airframes, Inc, and I just took the plunge on Chief Aircraft's deal on the Electronics International UGB-16 engine monitor. With those two items, keeping reasonable CHT's shouldn't be a problem.

I would LOVE to average 4hrs/week, but in the real world, my flying is sporadic at best. I don't consider my airplane a hangar queen (current situation excepted), but its not uncommon for '98C to go 2-4 weeks between flights. Also, I soon expect a formal job offer in Tennessee, so I'll likely be back in the higher humidities by spring. For these reasons, I chose ECI's Nickel+Carbideâ„¢ Coated Bore. (I bought my cylinders from Premium Aircraft Parts, and their price was the same regardless of options). BTW, ECI recommends the same break-in procedure regardless of cylinder bore material, be it steel, chrome, or nickel composite.

Miles