New Camshaft Break-in Oil

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
My engine assembly lube was a 50/50 mixture of STP oil treatment and SAE 30 wt. oil. I NEVER lost an engine using this assembly lube. My dad passed this tip onto me. He raced and built engines in the 60's, 70's, & 80's.


What about the filter? Just use the same one till the first real oil change?

 

[Scdevon]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter

You're absolutely correct about the 80's camshafts. ESPECIALLY in a 305 engine! I can't tell you how many 305's I have pulled apart with a broke camshaft or the lobes rounded off so bad! GM did A LOT of finger pointing at the consumer for using the WRONG engine oil. Yeah, right.........

GM's flat rate warranty time was horrible in the 1980s (don't ask me how I know), but I got to the point where I could change a cam and a set of lifters in a typical GMC pickup in just under 4 hours and the warranty time didn't pay a whole lot more than that if any.

You don't break-in a customer's camshaft as a flat rate dealer tech. You filled the engine with whatever cheap 10W30 that was in the bulk oil dispenser that the parts manager bought on sale and you dumped a can of EOS in the engine like the service bulletin said and you sent the customer on their way after a short road test.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
My engine assembly lube was a 50/50 mixture of STP oil treatment and SAE 30 wt. oil. I NEVER lost an engine using this assembly lube. My dad passed this tip onto me. He raced and built engines in the 60's, 70's, & 80's.


What about the filter? Just use the same one till the first real oil change?

NEVER!

 

[Shannow]

when I was building I used to use the Crane assembly lube.

Wife's captiva diesel got a new cam, lifters and rockers free courtesy of GM a couple weeks back...the bulletin doesn't include an oil change, bit don't know what pre-lube it's got.

I changed the oil the next weekend.
5 litres of this
http://www.shell.com.au/motorists/oils-l...l-ag-5w-30.html

and one of this
https://www.nulon.com.au/images/files/productbulletins/PB-ST25W60.pdf

The latter could probably double as an assembly lube in cooler places.

 

[chainblu]

In the 90's, when I building small block Chevys, my 'break in' oil was 4 quarts of ND30 and a bottle of EOS. That plus the moly paste that I used generously on the cam. The engines that I kept track of are still running today.

Somewhere I read that GM has weakened the additive package of EOS. Can someone verify this?

 

[BrocLuno]

EOS is not available (easily, at least) in Cali ...

 

[bunnspecial]

With regard to priming the pump, the MG guys say to force oil back into the oil cooler fitting on the block. As I thought, there's no pulling the distributor and spinning the pump with a drill like you can on other engines.

Since this isn't a full rebuild and I'm not planning on pulling the engine, I figure I should be okay to prefill the filter and then spinning the engine a few times to at least register oil pressure before starting.

 

[BrocLuno]

That sounds like a plan. Do the best you can and you'll be fine