Looking for a "break in" oil

[mofosheee]

Hello Hobby Machinists forum

I have a zero time antique motorcycle engine that I'm getting ready to start. The builder specifies 20w or 30w non detergent oil.
What I have been finding is break-in oil listed on Amazon. The specs and reviews state that the oil has a lot of zinc added.
Unable to find what I'm looking for.

Amazon.com

What say my friends at hobby machinists forum please?
Thanks

Jerry

 

[Jake M]

If "antique" means more than 25 years old- The builders who wrote the original manual were basing that on what was available then. There is NO equivalent now. "Break In" oils are 7/8 a gimick these days, and 1/8 loaded up with zinc (ZDDP), which is a good, (but quickly consumable boundry layer protection additive. (And dirt cheap compared to modern solutions, that's why it got hyped so much).

Were that me, I'd make sure there was a quality assembly lube in everywhere the oil is "going" to be, (or just engine oil if it's gonna be started within a few days of assembly) and fill it up with whatever oil it's going to run on. The detergent thing is not really relevant to break in's any more, as it is not going to bother in any way with the "settling" of break in wear. Soot, carbon, and chemical "pollutants", sure, it's great at that. But it's not dish soap, it doesn't hold "chunks" in suspension any more.

 

[mofosheee]

If "antique" means more than 25 years old- The builders who wrote the original manual were basing that on what was available then. There is NO equivalent now. "Break In" oils are 7/8 a gimick these days, and 1/8 loaded up with zinc (ZDDP), which is a good, (but quickly consumable boundry layer protection additive. (And dirt cheap compared to modern solutions, that's why it got hyped so much).

Were that me, I'd make sure there was a quality assembly lube in everywhere the oil is "going" to be, (or just engine oil if it's gonna be started within a few days of assembly) and fill it up with whatever oil it's going to run on. The detergent thing is not really relevant to break in's any more, as it is not going to bother in any way with the "settling" of break in wear. Soot, carbon, and chemical "pollutants", sure, it's great at that. But it's not dish soap, it doesn't hold "chunks" in suspension any more.

Closest I can find is Joe Gibbs multiweight on Amazon.
The bike is 51 years young. Don't wanna "go there" (engine rebuild) again. It'll be ok..........I'm just obsessive about doing things once.
Yes, I slathered it up with assembly lube and I have a pump inplace to prime the system.
Where I used to work (refinery) .............we would circulate warm filtered oil sometimes for days before starting up a compressor/turbine.

 

[Jake M]

Closest I can find is Joe Gibbs multiweight on Amazon.

Given the history there, I'm not even looking that one up. I don't think I'd go there. It could be a perfectly fine "rebox" of something decent
In general though, with anything automotive, if it's got a famous name attached, you don't want it.

The bike is 51 years young. Don't wanna "go there" (engine rebuild) again. It'll be ok..........I'm just obsessive about doing things once.
Yes, I slathered it up with assembly lube and I have a pump inplace to prime the system.

The oil they were talking about back when the manual was written, as close as you'll get to that today is going to be a "circulating oil, ISO 100 or 150 (not a direct cross, somewhere between the two), Stuff has come a LONG way. Yeah, I won't do it either. (Although I do have ISO circulating oil in the air compressors, and thus far positive results over "compressor oil" when it comes to the "blown hose over the weekend", and "the three "car guys" are all changing rocker panels on the same day" abuse.
So I won't do that, I won't put circulating oil in an internal combustion engine (although if you keep up with the old maintenance practices and life expectancy, it'll be fine...), but the engines I've put together (worst one, over 200K value, most 25K to 45K value), straight up put together with the oil they're going to run on, and started within a few days of assembly. Zero issues, zero abnormal oil reports, zero evidence of any kind to indicate that there is any problem with the start up or run-in, and zero "unapproved additives" in a break in lube that is pure murder on the after treatments that modern diesels have.

Where I used to work (refinery) .............we would circulate warm filtered oil sometimes for days before starting up a compressor/turbine.

I bet that had more to do with bringing those massive pieces up to temperature uniformly than it did for lubrication. Once the oil is "there", it is "there". Except for the filter paper It doesn't soak in.


Question- Sorry, I'm not up to speed on old bikes, does that clutch live in engine oil or is that outside of the crankcase lube system?

 

[matthewsx]

I used to build modified racing kart engines and had to contend with a lot of customers that had been told what the “best” oil was. Often I couldn’t convince them to run our recommend oil, and I also had no idea what they would put in once they had the motor.

I learned that sometimes different oils could react badly with each other leading to spun bearings or worse. Eventually I settled on high quality conventional oil for my dyno runs (effectively the break-in since I’d push harder than they would ever run on the track).

VR1 Racing High Performance High Zinc Motor Oil - Valvoline™ Global

From drag strips to paved and dirt ovals, racing performance demands race-level protection. Which is why motorsport teams and enthusiasts depend on Valvoline VR1 Racing Motor Oil, America’s #1 racing oil. Our exclusive high zinc and phosphorus motor oil is engineered specifically for modern and...

www.valvolineglobal.com

I used Valvoline 50wt for this application which was generally air cooled OHV pushrod engines, essentially pressure washer motors modified to make up to 40hp on methanol.

Using whatever you plan on running afterwards isn’t a bad strategy for break-in unless it’s a synthetic. Definitely use a high quality assembly lube and push fairly hard after it comes to temp.

YMMV,

John

 

[Nutfarmer]

John Deere Dealers stock what they call break in oil to use with freshly rebuilt engines. I am not by any means an expert on oil. It was what I used on my last rebuilt engine. Don’t know what is in it , but it is supposed non detergent oil. May be worth looking at. It was the only non detergent oil I could find.