GM Crate Motor Break-In Procedure – Let Karl Do It!

Breaking in your GM crate motor can be stressful. If you’re not experienced, or if you don’t have the right equipment, there are plenty of opportunities to make a mistake. Worst case, a mistake can result in a damaged motor. Best case, a mistake leads to frustration and wasted time.

Breaking in an engine sounds like a simple task, but it’s actually not. You need the right equipment and experience to avoid ruining the engine. We recommend leaving this task up to a professional. In this case, look no further than Karl Kustoms.

Let Karl Kustoms Break In Your Engine For You

At Karl Kustoms, we know crate engines inside and out. In fact, we build engines. Our shop has state-of-the-art equipment that will make breaking in a GM crate motor a breeze. We staff highly knowledgeable professionals who know how to break in GM crate engines.

In the rare occurrence that something goes wrong while breaking in a GM crate engine, we can get it warrantied. That’s something a lot of car owners will have trouble doing.

The bottom line? It’s smart and safe to have Karl Kustoms break in your GM crate engine instead of doing it yourself. You’re welcome to get in touch with us if you’re interested in having us break in your GM crate motor for you!

How Hard Is It To Break In A GM Crate Engine?

Wondering what it’s like to break in your own GM crate engine? Check out a quick overview of the DIY break-in process below! With the DIY method, you won’t need an engine dynamometer. But this means that you won’t know if your engine is producing it’s rated output. So, here’s the DIY process:

1. Prime the engine with motor oil. If you have a newer V8 or V6 engine, you will need a pressurized oil tank designed only for oil priming. If you have an older V8 engine, you will need an engine oil priming tool
2. Manually set the initial spark timing
3. Warm up the engine to 180 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Verify that you have the correct timing
5. Drive the engine at varying loads and conditions for the first 30 miles. The test drive should last more than one hour. Make sure there’s no wide open throttle (WOT) or sustained high RPM accelerations for the first 30 miles
6. Run 5-6 medium throttle accelerations to about 3000 RPM and back to idle in gear
7. Run 2-3 hard throttle (WOT 100%) accelerations to about 3000 RPM and back to idle in gear
8. Change the oil and the oil filter. Inspect the oil and filter for any foreign particles. If you find foreign particles like metal shavings, the engine isn’t functioning right
9. Keep a close eye on your oil and filter over the next 500 miles

While this is a good DIY process, it’s not foolproof. The best way to do a crate engine break-in correctly is with an engine dynamometer. It takes the guesswork out of the equation and ensures that your engine is running the way it should.

If you’re not sure if you could pull off such a job, we’re here to do it for you. We not only have skilled engine builders, but we also have engine dynamometers.

What Does Karl Kustoms Offer?

For about $600, one of our talented engine builders will:

1. Prime the engine with oil to prepare it for break-in
2. Put the engine on the engine dynamometer
3. Attach either a fuel injection system or a carburetor to the engine for the purpose of break-in
4. At no extra charge, tune your carburetor or fuel injection system to your engine. All you have to do is send us the carburetor or fuel injection system (or you can buy one from us and we’ll tune it)
5. Break in the engine using a computer controlled program
6. Dyno the engine to make sure it meets or exceeds GM specs
7. Drain all the oil, repackage the engine, and ship it to you ready to go

Once you get your engine back from us, all you have to do is to:

1. Install the engine in your vehicle
2. Add motor oil to the engine
3. Hit the road

With us breaking in your GM crate engine, you don’t have to stress out about making a mistake or spend hours trying to get everything tuned. We get the hardest part done for you. Contact us today!