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engine break in destroy ceramic coated headers?


V8_DatZun

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well i just forked over $190 for a set of ceramic headers (almost made me sick considering i spent only $80 bucks for the reg headers which didnt work on my conversion) and when reading some info on it... it said you are NOT suppose to break in an engine on ceramic headers.. said it will destroy the ceramic coating because it is suppose to be subjected to serveral heat cycles before it fully cures... is this true? said run an old set of headers or manifolds for engine break-in. if this IS true should i break the engine in on the stand w/manifolds on first? and how would i exactly go about keeping fuel fed to an engine stand running engine? any insight would be helpful with either/and/or both questions...

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You can hurt ceramic headers on break in by overheating them. I have broke in motors with ceramic headers and not had any problems, but the key to that is make sure the A/F is close, lean runs them hotter, and make sure the timing is dead on, retarded runs them hotter. Then, get a big pedestal type fan and position it blowing on the motor as soon as you get the timing set, and one from each side is better. This provides enough airflow to keep the headers cool.

 

John

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Is there any reason you couldn't break the engine in in "steps"? My understanding on break-in is total time at a specific RPM range. Breaking it down into several steps: First one say a minute, cool down, next one 2 or 3 minutes, cool down, and then run 10-15 minutes, all steps at a decent "break-in" RPM.

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an engine builder i know (i asked him could i fire it up w/o radiator etc in it) said that if you heat the rings.. and the block doesnt get to full temp (the engine doesnt have a full heat/cool cycle or two) the rings will glaze over because the block didnt heat to full temp, then the rings will not seal.. dont know how true that is either... just going by what he had told me...

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