Leave it to my dumbass to start the rebuild at the end of October (My family is currently stationed at the Minot AFB in ND) anyways, I was reading the Haynes manual aswell as other sources and all of them have a different way to start up a freshly rebuilt motor(Haynes said run it for a few minutes, shut off, check for leaks, then drive no more than 3 miles then shut off again. Someone else said run it for an hour. And lastly I found someone say drive it under load for quite a few miles) what would you recommend? And when winter comes to **** me, would it be recommended to drive a bunch if kept in warm garage? Temps get quite low up here but I don't want seals to seat improperly.

 

I like to heat cycle it three times by letting it idle for 30 minutes letting it cool off completely between cycles. Then stay under 3k for the first 500 miles. Change oil at this point.

 

thanks

 

Why would you need to change the oil? I'm approaching 450 miles and have run it up to 6 k for periods of about 2 seconds on at least 5 different occasions just because my car is an auto and the carbon deposits will be an issue as the car never sees above 2700 unless I floor it from 0 .

 

Mix of new/old parts are mis-matched tolerances on a Build. The 500mi oil change flushes out the debris.

Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

Well, that explains why the oil was so darn filthy after I removed the oil cooler.

 

As rebuild time approaches I was wondering what im supposed to do with cooling system during heat cycles.. fill coolant to top, put cap on, and refill after every cycle? Or keep cap off and refill as it goes down? Haynes manual said that coolant level will drop but I'm not sure if it means it'll drop quickly or not so quickly

 

It will drop because the engine will not have any coolant. Just leave the cap off and once the t-stat opens keep filling it. You can get a auto-feed funnel like this.

 

alright, final question. What is "cool off completely"? 30 mins? An hour? A few? Also thanks for all your help.

 

The goal is to let the t-stat close and to let the metal and seals in the engine cool off so it they back to its original state. The aluminum housings, iron plates, and all the soft seals will expend/contract. You want this to happen in a controlled environment and not on the road. If something is going to fail, better to be in the garage/home than on the road. Monitoring oil pressure/water temp and checking for leaks. 15 - 30 minutes.