What's the Best way to break in a new Truck?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

BAJASVT

FRF Addict
Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Posts
1,029
Reaction score
475
Location
SE Michigan
don't beat the **** out of it, tow or let the engine sit at sustained RPMs for long periods of time for 1k miles. i changed the oil and flushed a quart through around 3k and switched to synthetic.

I have a friend who purchased a 2013 last summer. He lives about 250 miles away from me and came to purchase it at a dealership near my house where a relative of mine is a salesman. The truck probably had about 50 miles on it when he made the 250 mile trip home. He started experiencing some chatter on startup and said it's been getting progressively worse... we assume it's a collapsed lifter or cam phaser noise. I'm not saying that the 250 mile trip at continuous speed/rpm during the "break in period" contributed to this issue, but I just thought I'd throw this info out there for you to factor in when deciding how to break in your own vehicle.

Also, he's religiously over the top about oil changes... Motorcraft Synthetic Blend 5W20 every 3,000 miles with a Motorcraft FL-820S filter.
 

BAJASVT

FRF Addict
Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Posts
1,029
Reaction score
475
Location
SE Michigan
how the F am i supposed to drive 500 miles home then? back roads?

Haha, I don't know. If your dealership is near me, you can leave the truck with me and I'll break it in properly for the first 1,000 miles at no charge. I have an old beater 1982 Ford ****** that you can borrow during that time. :)
 

pat247

FRF Addict
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Posts
1,960
Reaction score
4,800
Location
Oklahoma
how the F am i supposed to drive 500 miles home then? back roads?

No cruise, no WOT, and no towing for the first 1000 miles but everything in between is fair game, the important thing is to vary your speed. It wouldn't hurt to make an extra stop or two so the engine can heat cycle so the rings seat properly. I drove 350 miles home from where I purchased my Raptor driving between 60 and 90, mostly 65-75 though. I made one long stop of an hour and a half or so and a couple short stops of 15-30 minutes. A week and a half later the truck has just shy of 600 miles and runs great.
 

skyscraper

FRF Addict
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Posts
1,447
Reaction score
619
Before reading this I took my truck home 150 miles on cruise control. I'm at 5k miles now and haven't had any issues .
 

Wilson

FRF Addict
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Posts
26,211
Reaction score
10,314
Location
South Dakota
I use e-30 these trucks are tuff

---------- Post added at 06:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:22 PM ----------

Before reading this I took my truck home 150 miles on cruise control. I'm at 5k miles now and haven't had any issues .

What kinda mpg you get now?
 
Top