64 replies to this topic

[DClarke1954]

I was always told the best way to run in a new engine is around town driving. Stop start and different speeds. Cruising at a constant speed doesn't help set the rings as they need a load on them, but at the same time try to keep it below 4K rpm and don't let the engine struggle at low rpm with high loads.
How true any of that is I don't know but it's what I was told when I run my engine in. Good luck

Can I ask for how many miles you ran it in?

[lsto]

I did 500 but I was told 300-500 is where you want to be.

[DClarke1954]

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

[Shooter63]

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Where is the oil leak coming from? 

 

Shooter

[DClarke1954]

 

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Where is the oil leak coming from? 

 

Shooter

 

Not sure yet, it is spread everywhere (mostly front end though) I need to clean it all off and then run it up and see exactly where it starts from.
 

[Shooter63]

 

 

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Where is the oil leak coming from? 

 

Shooter

 

Not sure yet, it is spread everywhere (mostly front end though) I need to clean it all off and then run it up and see exactly where it starts from.
 

 

If its on the front of the engine it could well be something simple like a gasket or sealing ring not quite right. If it starts above the head then it's probably the rocker cover gasket, below the head, oil union etc 

 

Shooter

[Ethel]

The front is where the pressurised feed is. That will leak worse than drain down escaping a gasket or seal & also be an easier fix.

 

I had one get a pin hole in the rubber hose for oil gauge: windscreen quickly looked like a shot down Messerschmidt's. 

[DClarke1954]

 

 

 

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Where is the oil leak coming from? 

 

Shooter

 

Not sure yet, it is spread everywhere (mostly front end though) I need to clean it all off and then run it up and see exactly where it starts from.
 

 

If its on the front of the engine it could well be something simple like a gasket or sealing ring not quite right. If it starts above the head then it's probably the rocker cover gasket, below the head, oil union etc 

 

Shooter

 

Ahhh my bad, "Front of engine = Radiator end.  Not literally the dipstick side of the engine.

[Shooter63]

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.
I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 
Where is the oil leak coming from? 
 
Shooter

Not sure yet, it is spread everywhere (mostly front end though) I need to clean it all off and then run it up and see exactly where it starts from.

If its on the front of the engine it could well be something simple like a gasket or sealing ring not quite right. If it starts above the head then it's probably the rocker cover gasket, below the head, oil union etc 
 
Shooter

Ahhh my bad, "Front of engine = Radiator end.  Not literally the dipstick side of the engine.

Same question really, above the cylinder head probably the rocker cover gasket, below the head things start to get more aggy, which will involve taking the rad out and no doubt skinned knuckles. Just follow the oil trail.

Shooter

[Peter_NottinghamS]

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Dan

How on earth did I miss this thread?  You've been keeping me up-to-date via DM but this is the first time I've seen this thread!!

As a fellow UK Minis 'winner' I want to ask one question.  How on earth are you getting 47mpg?

Marvin is returning 27mpg at best although where we live allows me to enter fast country A and B roads within 90-seconds of leaving the garage, spirited driving is usually the order of the day!

 

Marvin is fast and has regularly attracted "What the  " from BMW and Audi drivers who can't fathom why this little blue box keeps up with them.
 

On reflection, 27mpg is pretty good. 

 

It's good to see Gwen back on the road.  

[Shooter63]

 

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Dan

How on earth did I miss this thread?  You've been keeping me up-to-date via DM but this is the first time I've seen this thread!!

As a fellow UK Minis 'winner' I want to ask one question.  How on earth are you getting 47mpg?

Marvin is returning 27mpg at best although where we live allows me to enter fast country A and B roads within 90-seconds of leaving the garage, spirited driving is usually the order of the day!

 

Marvin is fast and has regularly attracted "What the  " from BMW and Audi drivers who can't fathom why this little blue box keeps up with them.
 

On reflection, 27mpg is pretty good. 

 

It's good to see Gwen back on the road.  

 

 

 

I think both of us suffer from a medical condition called leadfootitis, when I drive my Mrs mini it gets around 25mpg, I built the engine/box to allow a decent turn of speed with a long diff, it's fun watching drivers give you the old sideways glance when you are still accelerating up or near the speed limit.

 

Shooter

[DClarke1954]

 

357 miles of running in so far, 143 to go and achieve my 500 mile run-in target.

I just topped the tank up (just under 1/2 full) and with gentle driving and some moderate-speed cruising it is returning just over 47 MPG.
I am annoyed that I have a nasty oil leak that I may have to pull the engine back out to fix.  :-(

 

Dan

How on earth did I miss this thread?  You've been keeping me up-to-date via DM but this is the first time I've seen this thread!!

As a fellow UK Minis 'winner' I want to ask one question.  How on earth are you getting 47mpg?

Marvin is returning 27mpg at best although where we live allows me to enter fast country A and B roads within 90-seconds of leaving the garage, spirited driving is usually the order of the day!

 

Marvin is fast and has regularly attracted "What the  " from BMW and Audi drivers who can't fathom why this little blue box keeps up with them.
 

On reflection, 27mpg is pretty good. 

 

It's good to see Gwen back on the road.  

 

Hi Peter,

 

My MPG figures are coming from "miles travelled"/"fuel used" (converted from Litres to Gallons).

The 47MPG is from the very gentle "running-In" driving where I tried to use the gearbox and keep the RPM's 2..3K.
Now all that is over the latest fillup shows an awful, indeed tragic dip down to 37.5MPG.   
My car was partially tuned by AC Dodd last year and so he managed to partially profile the needle until the oil-blow-by ruined things.
I am seeing nice white electrodes on my plugs and no pinking or hesitation, so I guess it is running pretty well.
AFR measurement at the exhaust (static) shows decent/reasonable AFR figures eg 1.0 @ 3000 rpm (typical cruising RPM)?).
Yours is a 1380 hot rod and mine is a little 1293 of course. 
I did take it out today after modifying the piston damper to fast-drop and did some more spirited driving and it was fabulous. 

Dan.
 

 

[DClarke1954]

Well it continues to "amuse/infuriate" me at every step.

I think I have found and fixed the oil leak.  Major leak at the fuel pump mounting point that then spread itself everywhere.

So I bought a new spacer block + gaskets to effect a fix.

But NO!

The brand new fuel pump spacer and gaskets I bought to try and cure the oil leak have now made their way to the rubbish bin where they belong.

 

Using the new spacer neither it (nor the pump if the spacer was in place) could be slid down the studs on the block as it seemed to "spread" the studs out so they were not square to the block and parallel to each other).  However, having forced the new spacer on there with the aid of the fixing nuts wound down the studs I couldn't get anything to pull back off again.

I resorted to locking two nuts against each other to wind one of the studs out of the block.   All this in the cramped 5 inches between cylinder block and firewall/bulkhead so I had to deploy my gynaecologist dexterity skills.
Once that was out removing the junk parts was easy, but of course both new cheapo paper-thin gaskets were now torn.

I checked the original spacer block for cracks (none) and found that it went on the studs easily.  Quick trip to the local auto place and a sheet of quality gasket paper later I made my own gaskets up, the pump slid on easily too and everything is buttoned up nice & tight.  I have run the engine up and when it was all cold again I checked for oil-leaks from the pump area, and dry-zabone.

The curse of "new" parts eh?    So that is a "Win".

 

But then, I noticed a "clunk" on a RH turn and I thought   "Hmmmm... that's new", So I jacked the car up and checked for play N-S & E-W at the driving wheels.
BOTH were clunking with excessive play.  Got an assistant to stand on the brakes, and the wheels don't clunk, so it is the bearings not the ball-joints.
Took a wheel off to look at the hub-nut and found this....

 

I undid the hub nut and found that the split-washer was indeed "split".

 

It is the same "Clunk-Clunk" on BOTH front wheels (was solid with no play before).  I suspect this is pothole/road-seam impact damage.
However, I cannot trust that the bearings are not now FUBAR so both hubs probably need rebuilding (bearings and ball-joints) to be on the safe side.

2-Steps forwards and 1 step back at all times with this car it seems. 

 

 

 

 

[Shooter63]

You have some luck and it seems all bad, what did you torque the hub nuts up to when you put it back together?

 

Shooter

[imack]

I've never experienced one of those split tapered washers fail, although these days I run the non split versions from KAD.