bad vibration

[SomeTexan]

I've always used straight 30 weight break in oil. No extra zinc additive, just a specific break in oil. It's not as important in a roller cam engine, but older flat tappet designs I always use break in oil.

Ditching the cats really wakes up the ls engines, at least with a good tune. I know some states require that you run the emission system from the donor vehicle, but you can get away with gutting the cats. They run cleaner without cats than with, oddly enough.

[philo_beddoe]

Thanks,,,amazing, i'm not talking about this forum, but nobody can give me a solid straight answer on a break in oil, chevy performance and the chevy dealer were the worst to give me an answer. I have researched a thousand different answers. Therefore, i am going with plain old valvoline 10w30, and adding this stuff.

[SomeTexan]

Hopefully that works. Personally, I don't trust the additives like that. They don't always mix well with the oil. I would use a break in oil instead for the cam break in and again for the first couple hundred miles. Save the additive for the first regular oil change. If you do use that stuff, mix it with your oil in a bucket before you fill and prime the engine.

[SomeTexan]

Check out Joe Gibbs break in oil. Also, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Maxxima and a few others make good oils for break in. I called a friend of mine that rebuilds engines for a living, he said he won't warranty an engine if they used an additive instead of a break in oil. He claims 3 out of 5 come back with flat cams after a couple thousand miles, max. Usually less than 1000.

[philo_beddoe]

Ok, i'll look for joe gibbs. That was mentioned, but i've never seen it around here. I'll research it.

[philo_beddoe]

Found some royal purple break in oil at o'riellys. $9.99/qt. Dang!
Oh well, it is what it is. Should be all set now.

[SomeTexan]

The Joe Gibbs stuff is cheaper. My luck with royal purple is pretty bad, but some people love it.

[VileZambonie]

Any oil formulated with higher levels of ZDDP is fine for your application. It's essentially a stock configuration 350 so you don't need to be overly concerned. Generally the engine rebuilder will supply literature detailing how the cam is broken in or if it even was already. Summit couldn't give you that data?

[philo_beddoe]

I called summit and they gave me a tech number to call, and then i was on hold forever, then lost signal. Oh well. Everybody has a different opinion on this forum, which messes me up!! I aint callin anybody wrong, but you know what i mean. Vile, i'll stick with your advice for the remainder of this engine swap...and thereafter, and then some. I got 5 qts. of the purple stuff.

[SomeTexan]

I called summit and they gave me a tech number to call, and then i was on hold forever, then lost signal. Oh well. Everybody has a different opinion on this forum, which messes me up!! I aint callin anybody wrong, but you know what i mean. Vile, i'll stick with your advice for the remainder of this engine swap...and thereafter, and then some. I got 5 qts. of the purple stuff.

Yea, Summit has gone downhill over the last 10 years. At one time, anyone that answered the phone knew what they were talking about.

I do have to disagree with Vile, stock flat tappet engines are the ones that need break in oil the most since all new oil is so low on zinc. It's not a big deal on roller lifters, but there are stories all over about crate engines losing cams because of not using break in oil. Even with the additive thrown in. Although I bet most people that use the additive just pour it in, rather than mixing it with the oil before pouring it in the engine. The reason I suggested the Joe Gibbs oil was because its way cheaper than royal purple, and I know a lot of people that swear by it. RP isn't cheap, and since you run it for 20min to break in the cam, then drain and replace with more break in oil for 2-500 miles before going to normal oil, it adds up.

[Greybeard]

Out of curiosity, what engine was in your GMC? On these ls engines you have to shim the oil pump when you install it. Not shimming the oil pump or running those junk "ported" oil pumps are the only ones I've seen fail.

It was the stock '78 engine, small block, 4 bolt, punched .30 over (too much I know).

[SomeTexan]

Out of curiosity, what engine was in your GMC? On these ls engines you have to shim the oil pump when you install it. Not shimming the oil pump or running those junk "ported" oil pumps are the only ones I've seen fail.

It was the stock '78 engine, small block, 4 bolt, punched .30 over (too much I know).

Ahh, the plastic sleeve on the oil pump drive rather than the steel one. Also, wasn't that the first year of the low tin blocks? .030 isn't bad, .060 is where some of them start having cylinder wall issues.

[LTZ C20]

Royal purple is good oil. I used it in my first engine. Expensive yes but worth it is think. Just please make sure you get the proper weight as recommended for the new engine. Also, it is full synthetic, even the break in oil.

[SomeTexan]

Royal purple is good oil. I used it in my first engine. Expensive yes but worth it is think. Just please make sure you get the proper weight as recommended for the new engine. Also, it is full synthetic, even the break in oil.

That's debatable. I've run it twice, both times I lost an engine the first pass after putting it in. Fresh engines both times, and both times the bearings showed a big lack of lubrication. Data logger showed normal oil pressure and temps all the way until they let go. Both times it was an RP rep trying to sponsor me, fresh oil from the cases in his truck. I refreshed both engines and went back to Castrol GTX and never had another problem. After running bypass filters on my diesels and getting oil analasis done on a regular basis, I don't trust synthetic oils.

[LTZ C20]

Royal purple is good oil. I used it in my first engine. Expensive yes but worth it is think. Just please make sure you get the proper weight as recommended for the new engine. Also, it is full synthetic, even the break in oil.

That's debatable. I've run it twice, both times I lost an engine the first pass after putting it in. Fresh engines both times, and both times the bearings showed a big lack of lubrication. Data logger showed normal oil pressure and temps all the way until they let go. Both times it was an RP rep trying to sponsor me, fresh oil from the cases in his truck. I refreshed both engines and went back to Castrol GTX and never had another problem. After running bypass filters on my diesels and getting oil analasis done on a regular basis, I don't trust synthetic oils.

Totally alright. I think it's good, but that's about it. Not great or amazing. It's "mid grade" synthetic if you will. I used it, didn't have an issue, but oddly enough, the engine I used it in, had a fuel pump push rod that was brand new and missed the hardening process. The drive lobe on the cam chewed .5 inches off of it in 250 miles, once I figured it out, I just changed the oil and few times in short succession and took a chance on it. I got 7K miles out of it before the push rod pieces that had run thru it before I found the issue destroyed the #1 rod bearing, chewed up the crank something special and it got a nice curb idle rod knock. I knew that push rod was the end of the engine but I just didn't know how long until it was gonna go so I just ran it till it started knocking. Got about a year out of it I think.

Now I would go to mobile 1 before I went back to RP.