I have a 235 that has been asleep for a few years with a blown head gasket. I recently put everything back together, how can I lube the engine before starting it? JC CA
JC - Here is a post I copied from the 1947-54 forum: Proper Breakin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So : proper piston ring bedding in is the same as bedding in a new camshaft & lifters... Engine all assembled and buttoned up , valves properly adjusted & the engine _must_ be pre-oiled by removing Distributor and turning the oil pump untill oil comes out the rocker arm weep holes . Set the timing static to ball & pointer , fill carby with fuel , connect tachometer and have a stop watch or any clock with a sweep second hand on your wrist or propped up where you can see it along with look at the tachometer , start the engine and the _instant_ it lights off you immediately rev. it up to 3,500 RPM and -HOLD- it there for one full minute ~ this is where the tachometer comes into play along with the sweep second hand as time will seem to slow down as your $2,000.00 + rebuild is howling away next to your ear...... this is the scary part for the NOOB , trust me . no revving nor blipping of the throttle is permissable ! hold it at 3,500 RPM's for the full minute then snap the throttle shut , allow to idle for a moment and shut it off , allow to _fully_ cool before re-starting and the check the timing and set idle mixture etc. NOTE : it may smoke a bit as you're doing this but the smoke _will_ stop once the engine has cooled won and you re-start it . NOTE : if you have installed a new or (God forbid) re-ground cam & lifters , there will be a tag in the cam box tellng you what RPM's to use , follow that guide as the cam is harder to properly " work harden " correctly so the RPM's are critical there . I know you think I'm a nut but BMW and Lycoming Textron (aircraft) both specify this on ALL rebuilt engines as does Honda in thier CART racing engines It takes a serious leap of faith to do this but it works , you'll have far less blowby and the piston rings will last nearly forever . The high unloaded engine speed causes the increased gas pressure to push the rings out against the cylinder walls , bedding them in quickly . Proper cylinder prep is important to ~ if the cylinder is glazed but not scored you need not hone it nor run a ball in them , _do_ wash the cylinders with soap and water untill a white paper towel comes out perfectly clean after wiping the dry cylinder . assemble pistons & rings into the cylinder _dry_ ~ NO OIL . __________________ -Nate ' PASSION ' : There are many things in life that will capture your eye , very few will capture your heart ~ those are the ones to persue . Those are the ones worth keeping .
