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INFORMATION

WHEN TO CONSIDER A REBUILD
You don't always know when your engine needs to be rebuilt. Here are some signs to help you decide:

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  • ​Exhaust with a larger than usual amount of white smoke

  • Excessive oil use

  • Any type of metal shavings in the oil

  • Unusual knocking in the engine

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If any of the above are occurring, give us a call and let us help you decide.

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HOW TO BREAK IN YOUR REBUILT DIESEL ENGINE

A parts manufacturer can provide quality replacement parts and our technicians can do an outstanding job of assembling an engine but you will still have a problem with oil consumption if the engine is not broken in correctly so that the piston rings will seat properly.

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Rings are designed to apply a certain amount of tangential outward force but compression rings rely on the greater combustion pressure to force them down against the bottom of the pistons ring lands and outward to the cylinder wall. Without this combustion force these rings WILL NOT seat or seal properly. Oil control rings regulate the amount of oil left on the cylinder wall to lubricate the compression rings and in turn each compression ring removes some amount of this oil film resulting in proper oil control,

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Most of us cannot break in our new engine in a controlled environment such as a dynamometer test, where load factors, horsepower, temperatures, etc, can be controlled and monitored. It is simply not always an option available after a rebuild. You can get piston rings to seat correctly without such equipment, It is important that an adequate load be put in the engine to create enough combustion pressure and temperature to seat the rings. THIS IS CRITICAL WITHIN THE FIRST FEW HOURS OF THE ENGINES NEW LIFE. Idling, increasing RPM in short intervals and light loads WILL NOT create enough combustion pressure to seat new rings. DIESEL ENGINES OPERATE BEST UNDER LOAD AND BY LOADING THEM THE PRESSURES AND TEMPERATURES NEEDED CAN BE OBTAINED!

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We do not have an OE publication that formally details the process of breaking in outside a controlled environment. Research shows that by keeping IDLE TIME TO A MINIMUM and operating a freshly rebuilt engine at 75% OF FULL LOAD for at least the first 3-4 hours produces satisfactory results in getting piston rings to seat. 

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*****DELAYING THIS LOADING PROCESS CAN RESULT IN PERMINENT DAMAGE THAT WILL INCREASE OIL CONSUMPTION*****

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