[ need suggestions ] how to break in a 5 h.p. emgine

[Chicken]

i bought a 5 h.p. motor at the begininning of the year and it didnt last a good solid 10 hours of running.. i think i didnt break it in properlly.

i pulled it out of the box. mounted it on the tiller. and immidiatlly went to '' wide open'' in the garden.

i got a new motor over the weekend and ive been just letting it idle. for 10 minutes at a time. i havent turned it up yet. im gonna run it for '' a while '' idling for 10 minutes..

any suggestions on the best ways to break in a motor,??????

 

[Gdaddy]

On the first engine what happened to cause it to break down after only 10 hours? What broke/failed?

 

[grgfinney]

On those predator motors you are supposed to idle at 1/2 throttle for 3hrs then change the oil

 

[Chicken]

On the first engine what happened to cause it to break down after only 10 hours? What broke/failed?

I think the rings collapsed..it had no compression..even with starting fluid i got no "boom" in the cylinder.

 

[rustycase]

I would advise as finney suggested, and certainly Not running at wide open on a fresh tiller motor. rc

 

[Knucklehead]

grg's advise is sound. Several warm to cool cycles will help seat the rings. Then change the oil. After each warm to cool cycle go up in rpm's a little higher, slowly work your way to wide open.

 

[Chicken]

Thanks for the advice guys..I googled the same question.and got a answer similar to what I've gotten here..I can't really blame no-one but myself on destroying my first motor....I've never owned a new motor before...and the fact you got to break it in.never crossed my mind

But after a lot of research on the motor..I may have a good one after I break it in. I've read nothing but good reviews on the predator motor..

It's a china made..Honda knockoff...and we all know how reliable a Honda is...

I got the one year warranty on it..so around Dec. I'll take them the blower up one and get me another motor...

 

[bonehead]

if the motor is an ohv motor with pushrods a lot of times the valves need adjusting. the motor wont start because the valves are not closing properly. take off valve cover and tightenten up adjusters a quater turn and try to start it if it dosent start try another quater turn. you can run it with the cover off to adjust it before reinstalling it. let me know if this helps.

 

[MarcL]

sounds good... i like to run some Rislone once or twice.

 

[Smokin Harley]

as a new valve seats the stem get closer to the tappet ( a small gap or "lash" is necessary ) and may eventually cause the valves to not close fully, causing little to no compression. Could also cause a bent valve and thus (bronze)valve guides to be prematurely worn which compounds the valve, valve guide and seat damage. Used to be valve lash on an air cooled engine as such was around 0.020 feeler gauge. Consult a repair guide for actual valve lash values. But in general , a loose valve lash is much preferred over tight . As the engine warms ,metal expands and a slightly tight lash becomes zero to little valve closure...no compression.
there should be a valve stem inspection plate that can be removed . stick a feeler gauge in between the tappets and valve stems . If you have less than 0.020 it probably seated them to the point they need the stems filed a little. OR as you guessed the rings could have broken and in which case less than 10 hours , I'd return the engine to where you bought it for replacement.

Also ,Rislone should not be used in a small air cooled engine. All it basically does is trade places with the oil and you have instant engine wear. Most engines first oil should be changed as soon as you can . I think owners manuals say something like after the first 5 hours then every 50 but I'd change it after the first warm up then 2nd change about 20 hours or half season , then the suggested 50. It is full of assembly lubes and microscopic grits and filings . Oil in a small engine cools as well as lubricates so it does double duty and should be changed as often as possible relative to working conditions.

 

[Gdaddy]

The heat can cause the piston rings to stick and lose compression is pretty common. Engine will not start.

Running at full throttle if it's running too lean you can also over heat the top of the piston and blow a hole in it but that makes noise when you turn over the engine.

Racing karts for years these were by far the most common problems running these engines at high demand.

 

[Chicken]

well guys i can honestlly say im babying this motor at break - in ..... i been cranking it up and sitting it outside my front door to just idle for 30 min. at a time.. then shutting it down till cooling off and doing it again for 30 min.

ive done that about 6 times, and today i did a little tilling with it at low throttle to put a load on the motor,

tomorrow ill change the oil. and continue the process. plus maybe till 3 more passes. i got 5 gallons of 10w-40 oil... so a oil change to me aint nothing.

the other tiller thread i got going is idle right now.. im putting some penetrating lube on the rims.. hopefully this weekend we will do a tire / rim swap. and then continue forward with the troy bilt horse.

kinda ironic. i had no tiller before... and now i got 2 but i also got 2 planting plots. a small one for the veggies.. and a big one for the bacca

small one gets the front tine tiller. and the big one gets the horse,

 

[DGBAMA]

To tell if the first one is valves or rings, borrow a compression gauge and test compression both normally and "wet" (put a tablespoon of oil directly in the cylinder before testing compression) if rings are the problem compression will be higher, if valves are the problem it will not.

 

[Brown Thumb]

WOT, Works for me