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Mineral Oil for break-in, now what?

carrollcw

Well Known Member
So, I have a brand new Titan IOX 370 that I am in the process of breaking in. I have about 25 hours on the engine, and it is almost broken in, but I don't think it is totally. Although the temps have come down, I am still burning about a quart every 3-5 hours (depending on how hard I run it). It had one oil/filter change after the dyno run (3.5 hours), so, I know it is time for another oil change. I am planning on doing another round with mineral oil, but figured I might as well order a case of regular oil at the same time.

What do you guys recommend? Exxon Elite or Aeroshell 100 Plus? Other ideas for this stage of the game? Would any of you guys recommend not doing another oil change with Mineral Oil and going straight to a normal blend?
 
oil

Running Phillips 20w50 and a pint of CamGuard in my O-360. Pleased with it so far (170 hours SMOH). Went to this from mineral oil at 35 hours.
 
Switch to detergent oil, W100 Plus if the airplane is flown once a week or less, muli-grade if flown more often. At this stage in the game I would doubt that the slightly higher than expected oil consumption is due to the rings not being seated, or broken in. Are you getting lots of oil out of the crankcase breather? Do any of the plugs show any oil contamination?
 
ECI Recommends Phillips XC 20-50

for break-in and normal ops ------ Has worked great on my new (AD replacement) cylinders!
 
Are you running 7qts or 6?
At 7, I was blowing a bit out the breather. Mine is happier at 6qts. Very low consumption.

I use Phillips XC20w50 and Camguard also. Broke in with Phillips M 20w50.
Unfortunately, I have to do the Eci cylinder AD soon and do the break-in dance again.:mad:
 
ECI Recommends Phillips X/C 20W-50

I like to use Phillips 20W-50M till temperatures drop and oil consumption stabilizes. (</= 1-quart in 25-hours) then switch to Phillips X/C 20W-50 for the next two oil changes. (~80 to 100 hours). After that, I run X/C 20W-50 if in a climate that does not have a lot of humidity / corrosion or switch to one of the Multi-weight oils that meets Lycoming LW 16702 antiwear additive included.

ECI recommends using Phillips X/C 20W-50 for break-in and all the time. IMHO, one will not go wrong using Phillips X/C 20W-50 all the time in an ECI engine.
 
Are you running 7qts or 6?
At 7, I was blowing a bit out the breather. Mine is happier at 6qts. Very low consumption.

I use Phillips XC20w50 and Camguard also. Broke in with Phillips M 20w50.
Unfortunately, I have to do the Eci cylinder AD soon and do the break-in dance again.:mad:

I have been putting in a quart as soon as it dips below 6, so I am running between 6-7. Maybe I should try adding a quart once it dips below 5 and see how that goes.
 
Yeah.....

I have been putting in a quart as soon as it dips below 6, so I am running between 6-7. Maybe I should try adding a quart once it dips below 5 and see how that goes.

Don't try to run 7 qts. It'll just blow out. 6 down to 5 is plenty.
 
What Mell said! We alwasy run ours between five and six - anything more is just donating to the oil companies.....
 
Concur, I also run between 5 & 6 quarts (X/C 20W 50) and have had very good luck. The only time I've ever had to add much oil was when I had a crankshaft seal fail. After I replaced that I went right back not having to add oil.

Mark
 
Another vote for running 5 to 6 qts.

I also agree that the oil you choose should be based on engine operation and where you are located. Those in Canada would do best with multi-grade while those in Arizona would likely do fine with single grade.

Additives are another subject entirely but still relative to how often you fly.

Personally, I run Philips 100 Plus spring to fall and 20W-50 in the winter months for easier cold starting and to get the oil back to vital parts more quickly than single weight molasses would at 40 degrees F.
 
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