"Breaking in" your Brand New Tacoma

Interesting, but I wasn't talking about the assembled car. The engine assembly plants is what I was referring to. To my knowledge the engines are tested and run as I described before even being installed into a chassis. I could be wrong and it may not be every manufacturer though. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.

 

This isn't even remotely close to the truth. Where we've had 10 years with essentially the same truck, back in the day they did a major body change every 3 years and trim changes every year. Talk about planned obsolescence look at this link and compare year by year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bel_Air

The cars of that era made no attempt to control rust and if one made it to 100K miles it was ready for the scrap pile. Want proof? The odometers only went to 100K. Why because the majority of cars didn't make it that far. No, cars from the turn of the century till the mid 80's were designed to fall apart and be replaced every couple of years. Maybe back in those days the way you "broke in" a car mattered, but when they only lasted 50 to 100K miles it probably didn't matter that much back then either.

 

I work in the auto manufacturing ( not engines but components ). There is no way they could run in every engine as described.

I am sure that they do this to a specific sample rate XX number of XX Number produced ( SPC or Statistical Process Control ). They take these engines and run the crap out of them for so many hours etc. These samples do not get assembled into a vehicle but are disassembled and inspected for problems. This inspection is used to identify problems ( if any ) with the production of the engines.

That is how they check in the real world. After assembly into the vehicle I'm sure they do a check of the complete assembly, but nothing like what was described. It would cost too much and slow production down to a crawl.

 

Don't think I'm going to buy into that Million miles without a rebuild on any engine of any type. It could last to a million but it would be a smoldering heap without the proper maintenance which through normal wear will have to include a rebuild of some type upper lower engine transmission differential etc...

http://motoarigato.blogspot.com/2014/05/million-mile-250se-coupe-is-socal.html

 

Makes sense

 

Maybe a late response but metal has worn off while mating surfaces were established, and those metal scraps need to be flushed out from the engine before they cause(not might) long-term damage 3kmi is too late.

 

I posted my findings in another thread but thought they may help here as well. I changed the oil in my truck right around 3k. Before draining the oil, I placed a very strong magnet on the drain plug and ran the engine for several minutes. I then removed the plug which had no metal stuck to it at all. I drained the oil and then let it sit in the drain pan for about 30min. I then ran my fingers around in the bottom of the pan and still couldn't find any metal shavings. The oil was really clean as well and I couldn't see anything shiny suspended in it. Stemming from these tests, while primitive in nature, I concluded that there are no metal shavings in the first cycle of oil.

 

Well said. In a new engine if there are metal shavings or particles you have bigger issues.

 

x2.. Owned 3 - 2nd gen tacos (2 new, 1 used) and changed the oil myself every time per the manual and have never found shavings.

 

I am a mechanic by trade, not automotive. I have been taught to load the Rings from both sides. Good hard acceleration just not to redline for first 500 to 800 miles. The cylinder pressure. Forces the Rings against the cylinder wall and keeps blow by to a minimum while seating the Rings. There are a few studies on this as well.

 

^^

 

It's amazing the varying breakin procedures given here by certain members.

 

Everyone needs to read this: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Yes, it's focused on bikes engines but doesn't matter...

Basically, don't pussyfoot it around and DRIVE THE SHIT OUT OF IT!

/thread.

 

Would the shavings present be non-ferrous and not attracted to a magnet?
If they're not present in the pan later I guess it's moot. Just curious. Regular curious. Not that brokeback curious.

 

I run oil plugs with magnets built in on my dirt bikes and they get very fine shavings on them when I change the oil from time to time. Granted it's a bike vs. a truck engine but I would say the shavings if any are going to be ferrous.

 

Yes there are...

 

You might not consider it but that's essentially what it is, shavings

 

Too small to be seen by naked eye but its there.

 

If that were true, and these microscopic metal shavings are really there but are just too small to be felt with human hands, or seen with the human eye, but these flakes are still causing damage, don't you think toyota would recommend an early oil change?

 

This is how my thinking has always been as well, call me old School.