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Am I being overly worried about engine break in?

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So I've had my gladiator about 2 weeks ago and bought it with 13 miles on it, drove it around the dealership area about 10 miles. signed my papers and got another 10 miles on it before reaching the interstate. I made about a 130 mile trip back home after purchase mostly interstate between 70-85 with little fluctuation in rpms. I didn't think anything of this before but aside from that long stretch its mostly had a fair amount of city driving to and from work and never went above 4kish. My jeep now has about 600 miles on it. I feel like it shouldn't be the end of the world and if anything maybe drive it a little more aggressive for a few hundred miles, I see tons of post about seating the rings but nobody ever really says at what point is it too late to seat the rings. Yes I'm slightly embarrassed as well because I got a built and boosted 4.6 but I've never bought a brand new car so I thought nothing of it . Pic of my racecars engine bay included, just so I can accept the memes and yes I seated those rings :LOL:

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sass JT

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Jefe1018

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Maybe it’s because I don’t have my JT yet, but I’ve read a large portion of the manual already. This is what Jeep recommends, as in the ones standing behind the motor for 5 years / 100k.

Jeep Gladiator Am I being overly worried about engine break in? DB86767B-ECE5-4D3F-A6A5-D79D74EF4056
 

Kevin_D

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Maybe it’s because I don’t have my JT yet, but I’ve read a large portion of the manual already. This is what Jeep recommends, as in the ones standing behind the motor for 5 years / 100k.

Jeep Gladiator Am I being overly worried about engine break in? DB86767B-ECE5-4D3F-A6A5-D79D74EF4056
He doesn’t have the diesel…

Kevin
 

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He doesn’t have the diesel…

Kevin
Kevin would be correct I do not have a diesel didn't consider adding that in my post, my apologies.
and as far as engine swap 😆 I'll build the bottom end and slap a maggy blower on it before spending 37k for a N/A 6.4 🤢
 

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I wouldn’t worry about it:). It’s done now anyway. Odds are it will just fine!
 

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Since I'm about to drop a question in your thread let me first try to be helpful :) The manual says:

1) Drive moderately during the first 300 miles (500 km). After the initial 60 miles (100 km), speeds up to 50 or 55 mph (80 or 90 km/h) are desirable.

2) While cruising, brief full-throttle acceleration within the limits of local traffic laws contributes to a good break-in.

3) Wide-open throttle acceleration in low gear can be detrimental and should be avoided.
The terms aren't really well defined, but logically "drive moderately" has to mean driving slower than 50mph in order for there to be any difference for the first 60 miles versus what they recommend for the next 240.

Compared to the recommendation your driving wasn't perfect but it wasn't terrible either. You went 20 miles pre-interstate so that was pretty on track with the initial period recommendation. Then you did go faster than the recommendation on your drive home, but since you've been home you're doing exactly what's recommended via moderate speeds and varying levels of load on the engine. You also seemingly avoided WOT in low gear. So in terms of worst-case scenario I think you're good!

Question: I'm about to pick up my own Jeep. It's a manual. How would this procedure change, or perhaps better said can I leverage the manual to make the procedure easier? Thinking stuff like cruising in 4th vs 5th vs 6th to vary the RPMs and/or holding gears longer on acceleration and/or upshifting early and going WOT to vary the load without a ton of speed. Anyone have any thoughts here?
 

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He doesn’t have the diesel…

Kevin
Kevin would be correct I do not have a diesel didn't consider adding that in my post, my apologies.
and as far as engine swap 😆 I'll build the bottom end and slap a maggy blower on it before spending 37k for a N/A 6.4 🤢
Whoops, I thought this was the 3.0 forum, sorry!
 

spectre6000

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I see tons of post about seating the rings but nobody ever really says at what point is it too late to seat the rings.
There is not a point so much as a tail and multiple potential points of badness. Before the rings are set, they can move around. As they move, they cause additional wear to the ring lands and cylinder wall. Wear occurs over time, and that's the tail. The goal is to make that tail as short as possible by allowing the rings to seat properly from the get-go. The multiple potential points of badness occur as if the rings are able to rotate prior to setting. When rings are installed, they are done so with their gaps opposite each other so any escaping gasses or oil have to travel further to get past. If you get unlucky and manage to set the rings at bad angles relative to each other, you can end up with poor or uneven compression or burn oil. This may not be a huge issue while the truck is relatively new, but as the miles and wear accumulate, these issues get worse and worse. I've often said, "the quality of the first 1000 miles dictates the quality of the last 100,000 miles." Depending on a variety of factors you may be just fine. Even if you're not, you may not notice it for a long time. If you do, it'll likely be in the form of oil consumption between changes. It's not entirely foolproof though; manufacturing fuckups can still get you. We were very careful with the break in of my wife's JKUR, and at 80-something K miles, it doesn't burn a drop of oil. I was at least as as careful with my diesel ZR2 Bison, and it wouldn't burn a drop for a few thousand miles, then would guzzle 2-3 quarts in half a tank. The theory is that a conical oil control ring was installed upside down in one of the cylinders. Because of the interval between events, GM pretended it was normal, and so I gave them their truck back.
 

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Avoid cruise control for the first couple of hundred miles. Vary RPMs, try not to hammer it at the redline until 1,000 miles.

^ If you are concerned. For the average driver, just drive it.
 
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kd1yt

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I am a big believer in following break-in procedures and I read the manual before I picked my truck up and drove it home (about a 4 hour drive, because I found the exact truck I wanted four hours away) and purposely drove secondary roads, no interstate, highly varied terrain, differing speeds, RPM ranges, varying gear selection even when moving at similar speeds (6MT), etc., etc. And kept doing that style and mix of driving for about a month. Just because I wanted to make the most of a $40K truck that has a combination of features I pretty much never expected to be able to buy new, and that I hope to keep for a very long time.

That said, if careful adherence to owners manual break in procedures were crucial to modern engine performance and life, our roads should be littered from coast to coast with failed hulks with ruined engines, because nearly nobody -probably 1 in 500 or less- does this. Despite owners' total obliviousness to break-in, engines perform better and generally last longer than ever.

I think this all mattered a lot more when materials and manufacturing tolerances were a lot more primitive.

Mix it up a little in driving conditions for the next month, don't do interstate MPH single speed drones, don't use cruise control for a month, call it good, and enjoy.
 

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Hmm…every comment is on the engine. There is much more to break in than just the engine. Brakes, transmission, diffs, transfer case, seats to conform to your butt…lol.
You didn’t pin it, your distance wasn’t excessive, this isn’t fine crystal, it’s under warranty with no way to recall how you just trashed it.🤔
I say your golden, enjoy.
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