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New engine mineral oil change.

RidiculousM

Well Known Member
Hi, could someone point me in the right direction for the proper procedure to change the mineral oil in my new Superior IO 360 that Ive had hung on my RV8 for about 6 months (not flying yet)? Thanks in advance - very much appreciated. Mike
 
Having done many new break ins on engines, this was the guidance given by very experienced Engineers.

Run for 1 hour hard, as per schedule for break in.

Drop the oil and change the filter.

That gets rid of any storage oil residue, bits and pieces, rocks and stones leftover from the build ;)

Run hard for 5 more hours, do the same.

Then run until oil consumption stabilises at which point, swap to a good multigrade and enjoy a long and healthy engine life :D
 
You might check the build logs for your engine and see if it received a factory test run. Both of my new Lyc's purchased through Van's received a documented 2 hour factory run.
 
A few thoughts...

Having done many new break ins on engines, this was the guidance given by very experienced Engineers.

Run for 1 hour hard, as per schedule for break in.

Drop the oil and change the filter.

That gets rid of any storage oil residue, bits and pieces, rocks and stones leftover from the build ;)

Run hard for 5 more hours, do the same.

Then run until oil consumption stabilises at which point, swap to a good multigrade and enjoy a long and healthy engine life :D



Caveat: I'm not an expert, but that's rarely stopped me from having an opinion. :)

+1 on the above, with a few suggested additions/clarifications.

First and foremost, make sure that you know what oil is in there now. If it's storage oil, dump and replace it before proceeding further.

If it's been 6+ months, it's likely that oil is largely gone from cylinder walls. Just before starting, remove all spark plugs. Position a piston to BDC, spray in some sort of light oil through both top and bottom plug holes. Wash, rinse, repeat... for other cylinders. Replace and torque plugs, take a last look at everything, button up and go.

Other minor thoughts that come to mind wrt Mike's procedure are:

1) At the one hour oil change, I don't know how much value there is in changing the filter. Anything trapped there is presumably going to stay. Certainly however, it can't hurt to do so, other perhaps than scaring yourself with the stuff that you see when you open and inspect it.

2) Probably implied in Mike's note, but if not, be sure to remove, inspect, clean, and reinstall (with new crush gasket and safety wire) the suction side oil screen. Even if not changing the filter, I'd do this at one hour mark, as some of the stuff captured there could later get through depending on shape and orientation.

3) I'd probably let CHTs and (if you can determine it over such a short window) oil consumption guide me as to whether to do the second change at 5 hours, or possibly until 10. Basically the idea would be to have confidence that the break-in was largely complete before the second change.
 
Hi, could someone point me in the right direction for the proper procedure to change the mineral oil in my new Superior IO 360 that Ive had hung on my RV8 for about 6 months (not flying yet)? Thanks in advance - very much appreciated. Mike

I’m goign to take the OP’s question at face value - if the engine has just ben hanging there for six months, and you haven’t flown yet, I will assume that means you haven’t run it yet - so there is no reason at all to change the oil….

If you have run it, and it has only been for short periods, there is still no reason to change the oil.

Paul
 
I usually build 2-3 engines a year and my golden rule is do NOT run the engine hard for breakin. It is the most counterintuitive thing one can do, which is to run hard creating elevated cylinder temps that cause cylinder glazing. Three short ground runs not to exceed 300 CHT is all it takes.

Aviation filters are rated at 40 microns so the smaller particles are floating around in your oil and they are abrasive. Oil is cheap and I change after the ground runs and after 5 hours, where I like to cut open the filter and re-check cylinder torques. Only use Phillips XC.

I use Napa 1515 oil filters for ground runs on certified aircraft. They are 25 micron filters and I get them for a really good price as I have a friend that owns a Napa store.

Engines I've built typically go a minimum of 15 hours per quart using the above methods.
 
Thanks for the replies, especially yours Paul. That did answer my question. I bought the engine new and it was run on a test cell for a little over an hour then sent to me then and hung on plane and not started, just hanging around. So no oil change. Very helpful Thanks Mike
 
Thanks for the replies, especially yours Paul. That did answer my question. I bought the engine new and it was run on a test cell for a little over an hour then sent to me then and hung on plane and not started, just hanging around. So no oil change. Very helpful Thanks

I was taught that once an engine is run, the clock starts ticking on the oil clock. If it's been 6 months I'd dump the oil, refill and start the break in. The small cost of an oil change is minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

-Marc
 
I was taught that once an engine is run, the clock starts ticking on the oil clock. If it's been 6 months I'd dump the oil, refill and start the break in. The small cost of an oil change is minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

-Marc

Generally, if the engine was run for an hour in a test cell at one of the manufacturers, they drained the oil to check for particles, the. Preserved it before shipment - that would be standard for Lycoming. If the OP isn’t sure, the right thing to do is check with Superior ( if they assembled the engine).
 
I usually build 2-3 engines a year and my golden rule is do NOT run the engine hard for breakin. It is the most counterintuitive thing one can do, which is to run hard creating elevated cylinder temps that cause cylinder glazing. Three short ground runs not to exceed 300 CHT is all it takes.

Aviation filters are rated at 40 microns so the smaller particles are floating around in your oil and they are abrasive. Oil is cheap and I change after the ground runs and after 5 hours, where I like to cut open the filter and re-check cylinder torques. Only use Phillips XC.

I use Napa 1515 oil filters for ground runs on certified aircraft. They are 25 micron filters and I get them for a really good price as I have a friend that owns a Napa store.

Engines I've built typically go a minimum of 15 hours per quart using the above methods.

That’s interesting, and sure seems a lot easier than what I’ve been told in the past. The NAPA 1515 is still available:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/FIL1515

Also sold on Amazon. It is made by WIX. Is a WIX Gold 51515 the same? About the same price…….
I was always told to run the engine hard at first because higher cylinder pressures will force the piston rings out against the cylinder walls to break them in. Will three ground runs, vs hard running in flight, do the same thing?
I will be breaking my engine in a couple months from now - I hope.
 
Thanks for the replies, especially yours Paul. That did answer my question. I bought the engine new and it was run on a test cell for a little over an hour then sent to me then and hung on plane and not started, just hanging around. So no oil change. Very helpful Thanks Mike

Mike, if you are going to be building for a few more months or years, I'd recommend just filling the engine with oil - as much as you can get in there - and then replacing the top plugs with desiccant plugs. Seal the intake and exhaust. You want the engine to stay as dry as possible.

https://www.amazon.com/Plug-Dri-Dehydrator-Desiccant-Plug-Dri/dp/B017ZAR6A4/

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/dehydrplugs.php

https://resources.savvyaviation.com/protecting-your-engine-during-the-covid-19-lockdown/
 
same boat (plane?)

I am in the same place as thread author. But I like what Rocketbob said.
There is a difference between my factory new engine and one that has had fresh overhauled cylinders installed. Being factory new, I have the test run data so I know it has had some break in of the cylinders and that it is making good power. To me this means my engine break in could already be well on the way. I agree with Rocketbob that it doesn't make sense for me to run this engine hot.

So I think the distinction needs to be made between a factory new engine that has several hours of test cell running, and one with fresh cylinders that have zero hours of test cell running.

Seems to me the factory fresh engine could be past the time needed to be run hard to prevent cylinder glazing.

I think what I will do is after the first ground run, I will do a compression check. If the cylinders have very good compression, then I will reduce my "hard running" time during first flight.
 
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Lycoming Service Instruction

Directly to the OP's question, this is the guidance Lycoming has provided regarding oil for engine break-in.

Lycoming SI 1014N

Adding to what others have talked about, if you have run the engine with the current oil it has, there's been no acid production or actions that would degrade the oil, so I wouldn't change it. I personally don't change the oil after the first couple hours - clean or change and inspect the filter, but the oil hasn't degraded and there's not a technical reason for changing it early.
 
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Mahlon (Russell) has published engine Run-In and Break-In instructions in various places on the 'net, including VAF. Here is one:


And Mike Busch's presentation on engine Break-In:


Funny that those two directly contradict each other even though they're both the experts.

Russell says "If we operate the engine at too low of a power setting, to seat the rings, we will not harm the engine or the eventual break in process, unless we develop enough heat to glaze the cylinders. In another words, operation at a low power setting, isn't a deterrent for break in unless we have the heat."

Busch's take is "It’s very important to run the engine hard right from the outset. Keep ground running to a minimum, avoid a protracted runup, and don’t cycle the prop more than once. Minimize ground and low-power
ops—at least for the first few hours"

So one guys says don't worry about glazing if things don't get hot. The other one basically implies that any type of ground operation is going to cause glazing before break-in is complete. Looks like the only thing to agree on is break it in with mineral oil and no additives. I was surprised to see the 5 hour oil change recommendation after switching to non-break in oil. Makes sense though.
 
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Looks like the only thing to agree on is break it in with mineral oil and no additives.

Not really. Busch says that there is no evidence that mineral oil provides a better break in than an ashless dispersant oil like Phillips 20W-50, which is what I used. To each his own.
 
Another option ?

Phillips says their preservative oil is good for 10 hours of normal operation. There is justified concern about flying frequently enough to keep the cam oiled. The time lapse between first start, final adjustments of various functions and Airworthiness Inspection could be significant.

My plan is to use Phillips preservative oil from first start to first oil change. It is non detergent and supposedly preservative. Any comment ?

PS, I used Phillips 20x50 from first start for 250 hours on my 3B and the engine was perfect except for one stuck exhaust 😏
 
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