New Truck Break In Period

jwfbass

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Just got a new Ford F-150 with the 3.5L Ecoboost Engine. 4x4, Max Trailer Tow. The manual states 1,000 miles before towing. I wanted to tow my boat this weekend for some fishing but now I am a bit concerned I will screw up something with the truck if I do. Does anyone know why the 1,000 mile (I've seen 500 for other trucks) is required? I am planning on towing for about a 90 mile round trip. Any knowledge is appreciated.
 

bruceb58

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You have plenty of time between now and Saturday to drive 1000 miles. What's the problem? :)
 

jwfbass

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That's a good idea ... but my non-boating/fishing life won't permit such a road trip right now.
 

smokeonthewater

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Does anyone know why?.... YEP Ford does.... they don't print that stuff just for fun...... Might damage all sorts of stuff..... Rent or borrow a truck OR hold off a while till you complete the break in... Personally, although I would never buy a new vehicle, I generally double the break in period on fresh engines and change the oil an extra time early on.
 

H20Rat

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The most important thing during engine break in is to vary the load on the engine, a lot. You need to be somewhere between nearly full throttle and coasting. (don't believe anyone that says you should go easy on an engine, this is actually quite bad for it, but do avoid going above about 2/3 of redline rpm.)

Anyway, with a boat behind its going to be hard to constantly vary throttle conditions. What size boat are we talking.?
 

Scott Danforth

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how big of a boat? a 10' dinghy or a 25' cruiser? all highway for the 90 miles, or stop-n-go.

If you have a small boat with a variety of driving conditions - then maybe. if you have a big boat and its a constant highway haul - then wait.

you need to vary the load and RPM on the motor to get proper break in.
 

midcarolina

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I think scott is right........... Since it's your truck I ain't gonna tell you what to do, But I will tell you my ex FIL retired from Ford, every engine is hot tested......... I mean they run the snot out of them prior to installation..........Now is some of that ( break in ) time for the rest of the running gear?beats me.................

It problably has more to do with data stored for that first 1K................... If it's gonna break something I would rather it be early in the warranty..........But that's just me.
 

oldjeep

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Take this for what it is worth, but when I bought my 09 Ram I drove it to Montana fully loaded towing a car trailer the next week. It has 105K on it now and never had an issue with the drivetrain. However it is not a Ford and does not have an overly complicated little turbo engine ;)
 

H20Rat

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Does anyone know why?.... YEP Ford does.... they don't print that stuff just for fun......

Keep in mind 'technical writers' are the ones who write manuals. They are generally english/communications majors. They have minmal to some input from the engineers, but lawyers and accountants have 100x more influence (and the final say) into the contents of the manual.
 

JASinIL2006

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I don't know, but if I just bought a $30,000+ piece of equipment, I'd probably be following the manufacturer's instructions for its use...
 

jbetzelb

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When I bought my 5.0 F150 I asked my dealer why 1000 miles. They said it was the wheel bearings and the tight tolerances they have. I got it up to 800 miles before I needed to tow. I have 45K miles now and not a single problem with the truck.
 

nsjames

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Dec 19, 2013
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I'm a boat newbie, but trucks and solid axles is something I know lots about. 1K miles is for the ring and pinion to work harden before you put a heavy load on it. If you put too much load on them before they work harden you risk galling the mating surfaces and "burning" the gear set.
 

Saline Marina

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In my mind the breakin is for the piston rings. Turbo and supercharged engines have a super heavy ring pack with lots of wall tension to keep the cylinder sealed against all that combustion pressure (after all the power charging is designed to wring more performance out of smaller displacement by packing more than atmospheric pressures into a given cylinder and so combustion pressures under boost are higher). Put a turbo and a normally aspirated piston side by side (I worked in an engine plant building both variants for 2 years) and you will see the charged conrod is heavier, the charged piston is heavier, and the ring pack is also heavier. My guess is a lot of boost is used during towing which could cause a lot of heat stress on a ring pack not yet "finish machined" to match the bore yet. I think that would cause uneven wear in the ring pack and blowby problems down the road.

To dispel what I would consider are other myths is that engines are cold tested in 2K14. Its a much more sophisticated test with high speed data acquisition which can find things as sensitive as a missing tooth on a geared oil pump. A hot test basically runs on natural gas to make sure the engine runs smoothly but its without any crank load whatsoever. I have seen that as well in a different engine plant, they idle, bark the throttle and run wide open for a few seconds but its "old school" and the feedback is minimal other than it sounds smooth enough.

As far as your ring and pinion, they are finish machined at the factory (ground and perhaps shaved). Work hardening any steel implies that it changes dimension due to plastic loads applied to the material, the way a steel mill crunches down a bar with multi ton rolls to produce "cold rolled steel". If that happened the gear lash and contact pattern carefully setup by gaging and assembly would be lost. Galling of the very hard material (basically as hard as you can get without brittleness) would be attributed to lubrication failure of the EP (extreme pressure) lube.
 
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jerkoz

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what a bunch of **** from the dealer. you probably have a 50-75 thousand mile warrantee on the powertrain. that ecoboost motor is overrated on the power and gas mileage. I run a gm v-8 truck that gets better mileage and have better towing mileage then friends running that ecoboost engine. change the oil early (4-5 hundred) and run it .
 

H20Rat

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that ecoboost motor is overrated on the power and gas mileage. I run a gm v-8 truck that gets better mileage and have better towing mileage then friends running that ecoboost engine. .

?

How about unloaded mpg's? Most trucks spend the vast majority of their life without a trailer behind. Gas turbo engines are NEVER efficient if you load them hard... And as far as overrated power, stock dyno graphs for the v6 ecoboost consistently show 300-310hp at the wheels and 360-380 ft/lb of torque. The 2014 chevy silverado v8 dynos around 300 hp and 330 ft/lb of torque. So roughly the same horsepower, same horsepower peak, but substantially more torque on the ecoobost.
 

nsjames

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As far as your ring and pinion, they are finish machined at the factory (ground and perhaps shaved). Work hardening any steel implies that it changes dimension due to plastic loads applied to the material, the way a steel mill crunches down a bar with multi ton rolls to produce "cold rolled steel". If that happened the gear lash and contact pattern carefully setup by gaging and assembly would be lost. Galling of the very hard material (basically as hard as you can get without brittleness) would be attributed to lubrication failure of the EP (extreme pressure) lube.

Don't take my word for it. Here's recommendations from several of the leading ring and pinion distributors/manufacturers
http://www.ringpinion.com/technical...t/Parts/RingAndPinions//New_Gear_Break-In.inc
Motorhomes, towing, tall tires, and high numeric gear ratios (4.56 & up) can all generate a lot of heat and cause the gear oil to break down. The greatest damage to a new gear set results from running for ten minutes or more during the first 500 miles when the oil is very hot. Any heavy use or overloading while the oil is extremely hot will cause it to break down and allow irreversible damage to the ring & pinion.
In order to make them run cooler and quieter, new gears are lapped at the factory. However, they are not lapped under the same pressures that driving creates. The loads generated while driving force any microscopic high spots on the gear teeth back into the surface of the metal. This is called "work hardening". Work hardening is similar to forging in the way that it compresses the metal molecules into a very compact and hard formation. This can only be accomplished if the metal surfaces are lubricated and the gear temperature stays cool enough that the molecular structure does not change. If the temperature of the metal gets hot enough to change the molecular structure, it will soften the surface instead of hardening it. This may seen like a balancing act, but it all happens easily and passively as long as the oil keeps the gear cool while it is breaking in. Some of the synthetic oils on the market today can help a gear set live longer. I've had great success with Red Line ®, Torco ®, and Richmond Gear ® synthetic gear oils. These oils will continue to lubricate at temperatures where many crude oils break down.


http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/ft-1479-new-gear-break-in-procedure.html
New gear sets MUST be broken in correctly to prevent damage. Not following proper break-in procedures will lead to overloading and overheating the ring and pinion as well as breaking down and ruining the gear oil. Not following proper break-in procedures can be determined during inspection and will void the warranty.

Please follow the below guidelines to ensure a proper break-in and long life of your gears.
• Only use high quality gear oils. ECGS recommends Lucas non-synthetic 85W-140
• On initial run, drive lightly for 15 to 20 minutes then stop to allow differential to cool completely for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Avoid towing and heavy acceleration, as well as vary speeds every 5 to 10 minutes while driving on highways.
• Drive conservatively and do not drive more than 50 miles at a time without allowing a cool cycle during the first 500 miles following installation.
• After completing initial break-in, change gear oil at 500 miles. Small metal particles are normal and gear oil will typically be black. Excessive metal in gear oil should be reviewed by a competent differential mechanic to ensure safety of internal parts.

Post gear oil change and initial break-in: Towing.
• First time towing should be limited to light load for no more than 15 miles, then allow differential to cool completely for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Repeat this procedure for first 45 miles of towing for full break-in of gears for towing vehicles.


PREMATURE OVERLOADING AND IMPROPER BREAK-IN WILL CAUSE GEAR OIL BREAKDOWN AND MAY RESULT IN RING AND PINION FAILURE VOIDING THE GEAR WARRANTY!


http://www.differentials.com/technical-help/ring-pinion-gear-break-procedure
[h=3]ALL new ring & pinion gear sets must be properly broken in to prevent damage & premature failure.[/h] Improper gear break-in procedures may cause overloading and overheating of the ring and pinion gears as well as break down of the gear oil. Failure to properly break-in a new gear set can be identified by inspection, and may void the manufacturer’s warranty.
If you’re replacing the ring & pinion gear set, don’t plan on heading up over that mountain pass or hooking up that heavy trailer just yet….. Following the simple steps outlined below before you head out can prevent potential noise issues or gear damage.
After driving the first 15-20 miles at around 60 mph, it is best to stop and let the differential cool completely. Maintaining a speed below 60 mph and driving conservatively for the first 100 miles is also advised. The gear oil should be changed after 500 miles. We recommend that you drive at least 500 miles before any heavy use or towing. During the first 45 miles of actual towing, only drive 10-15 miles at a time before stopping to let the differential cool.
These steps are necessary to prevent damage to the new ring & pinion gear. Any heavy use or overloading of the differential during the first 500 miles may cause irreparable damage to the gear set.
Again, IMPROPER BREAK-IN CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY INSPECTION AND MAY VOID THE MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY.


The running theme there is at least 500 lightly loaded miles before you put a substantial load on the gear set. Yes, new gear sets are finish machined, but if you've ever pulled new and used gear sets and compared them you'd see that they wear in and lap themselves to the final wear pattern.
 

oldjeep

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One thing to remember when quoting from places like Randys, etc is that aftermarket gear sets are notoriously lower quality and noisier than OEM.
 
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