ak

Hey guys,i am going to be tuning my engine on a dyno in the next couple weeks and we are going to treat it as a car engine with car headers and rad etc.My question is it bad to run the engine with the oil cooler still plumbed into oiling system but not run water through it?I don't want to have to mess with the lines,would rather just leave on.What do think????

getrdunn

iTrader: (7)

Go for it. It's actually a good idea to utilize as many lines that your going to use in the boat so you can check for leaks also. That won't hurt anything running it without havng water running through it. As you know you'll more than likely have to rejet after you marinize it and bolt up your marine exhaust. What are you dynoing anyway. Just curious. Good luck.

John

FIXX

iTrader: (2)

i would put a hose on one end,stick a garden hose in the end of the hose and dump the other end into a garbage can,,just trickle the water through it..if your using the marine thermostat housing run the hose from their through it..

Young Performance

No problem with doing that. I do it all the time. Another thing to keep in mind is that if it is a new engine, you really shouldn't get the oil temp over 180* anyway.
Eddie

Vinny P

Eddie,
As an amateur engine builder, I am always eager to learn from pros. I never knew it was important to keep oil temps down when running in a new engine. Especially down that low. What are the reasons for that?

Young Performance

The main reason is that I don't want to oil to get to thin. The hotter it gets, the thinner it gets. Until the engine is completely broken in, I want as thick of an oil film as I can get. I will sacrifice break-in time if the temp gets to high. I like to drive them around for at least 30 min of break-in, but if the temp gets to high and it's only been 25 min., then I will shut it down.
Eddie

Vinny P

Eddie,

Thanks for the tip.

Young Performance

My pleasure.

Vinny P

Eddie,
While we are on the subject of running in new engines, I would like to ask you another question. I just built myself a new NA 565. Although I am not going to run it on a dyno, its a long story as to why not, my expectations are that it should produce around 750 hp. Regarrdless of hp numbers, my break in procedure was as follows.
I used Joe Gibbs 15W50 break in oil. I use a set of borrowed dragster headers, no oil cooler hooked up, standard HEI coil in cap distributor ( just for ease of wiring ). I hooked up all the important guages . I built a crude but functional engine stand. I fired it up and let it run for a bit over 1 hour, which was about the time it took to suck down the 5 gallons of fuel I had. Temp and pressure were fine. Sounded fine. Anyway, the point I was trying to get at is... I ran in the engine with the Joe Gibbs oil. I have since drained it and put in my usual Mobil 1 synthetic oil in. I will preform the usual easy running procedure when the engine is run in the boat for the first sevreral hours.
Do you feel that 1 hour of breaking in is enough time before using full synthetic oil?

PS> I cut the oil filter open, nothing unusual found.

MER Performance

I always, on a new build, running it on the dyno allow for the water temp to be at a minimum of 140 and the oil to be at least 160 to start with. I try to maintain 180 - 200 on the oil temps from pull to pull. It,s very important that the oil is at operating temp to flow properly through-out the engine, especially the main and rod bearings. To thick an oil trying to flush past a bearing clearance is asking for trouble, the same holds true for the lifters up to the rocker arms. The thicker the oil the less flow and flushing past the bearings there will be. I believe that ideal oil temp is 200 for proper flow.