Break in period

Foldbak · December 6, 2020

Hey guys, so I just bought a 2020 Denali Duramax to be my travel trailer tow vehicle. It will be parked most of the time and since I'm still working we don't go far. I would be surprised if it gets 3000 miles a year put on it over the next 3 years. I'm pretty sure I know the answer but thought I'd ask. Would it be recommended to drive it regularly for the break in period of 5000 miles and then park it?

CamGTP · December 6, 2020

Sure, drive it every chance you get for the first few miles. Or just take a 100 round trip loop a few times when you got an off day, that will rack up miles quick.

Or do what many do and not really care, break in periods are really never followed and it not going to cause a problem. I know I've said this before on here but I live near a couple large construction companies that get new vehicles in every few years. The trucks will be fresh off the transport truck and the next day it's hooked up to a goose neck trailer ready for work, 200,000 miles later it gets replaced. Needless to say they don't follow any sort of break in period.

Grumpy Bear · December 6, 2020

Here's an information link:

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1166&context=me_etds

The types of machining most who answer these sorts of post believe you are getting are along the lines of the work done on a NASCAR motor.

Most top racing teams build their own engines from scratch. The total cost of these engines, which take more than 100 hours to build, is anywhere between $45,000 and $80,000 [source: Martin, Hendrick Motorsports]. At Hendrick Motosports, a racing shop that supports four different Sprint Cup teams, a 95-person engine department cranks out more than 600 engines a year [source: Hendrick Motorsports].

That is not the motor you are getting. While what you do get is indeed a good deal more refined than motors built in the 60's by the OEM's it is still mass produced and no where near the level of a NASCAR Cup motor. No one at Detroit is spending 100 hours per motor nor finishing to the levels used in competition.

Truth is they fit and build these motors in the 100% parts interchange method. Any part in any motor in any order it comes to hand to the robot building it.

Fact is...it is true...you can ignore and abuse your equipment and still get 200K out of it....maybe; and maybe repeatedly. If that is the bar you are setting have at. But consider that the OEM suggest a particular break in get that equipment to the end of the warranty period with the deck stacked in his favor. Bet against the house if you like but ask yourself this; If they are unwilling to take that risk why should you?

CamGTP · December 6, 2020

I bet you 90% of people don't even read their owners manual anymore and I can assure you that anyone that doesn't know a damn thing about cars has no clue what a break in period is. Not even some sales people know it or even mention it to new customers. If break in periods were such a huge deal, we'd have cars in and out of the service bays because of failure to comply with said "break in period".

People are welcome to follow it but if you ask me it doesn't mean anything anymore.

Grumpy Bear · December 6, 2020

11 hours ago, CamGTP said:

I bet you 90% of people don't even read their owners manual anymore and I can assure you that anyone that doesn't know a damn thing about cars has no clue what a break in period is. Not even some sales people know it or even mention it to new customers. If break in periods were such a huge deal, we'd have cars in and out of the service bays because of failure to comply with said "break in period".

People are welcome to follow it but if you ask me it doesn't mean anything anymore.

I bet your right, and how sad is that crap.

Didn't I just say it will do 200K ignoring it? The L5P is one tough motor

You know how I feel about opinions, right?

Especially opinions from those that feel there is only one

Thiers

Look, everyone has a different bar they set.

IF the bar is 6K then you wouldn't even need to change oil.

If the bar is 600K I doubt it would go that long without an oil service.

Ditto break in's.

Is that simple enough yet?

WHERE IS THE BAR SET?

Act accordingly

:banghead:

Njmurvin · December 6, 2020

Break-in is 500 miles. I am in a similar situation in that I only drive 3-5K miles/year as this is my secondary vehicle and used primarily to tow our trailer. I got my truck with 146 miles on it. Dealer said it came from another dealership so those miles were probably freeway. Who knows how they drove it? The remainder of the break in miles were on me. I did a couple of short (100 mile-ish) trips and around town driving to crest 500 miles before my first pull with the trailer. The hardest part was keeping the speed down on the freeway. 55 was impossible to maintain. This truck wants to run. I hovered between 57-65 most of the time. My understanding is that the break in is more for the rear end than for the engine/trans.

Foldbak · December 9, 2020

I just talked to a service advisor that told me the Duramax is broke in on a dyno so no need to service until 6000 or 6 months. Does that mean they change the oil after the dyno? This goes against everything I know. First oil change at 500 miles to dump the metal shavings.

Keith_Schumaker · December 10, 2020

I just talked to a service advisor that told me the Duramax is broke in on a dyno so no need to service until 6000 or 6 months. Does that mean they change the oil after the dyno? This goes against everything I know. First oil change at 500 miles to dump the metal shavings.

I highly doubt they dyno thousands of motors before they toss them in trucks that roll off the assembly line by the thousands. I would bet that salesman's eyes turned brown after that comment.

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F7Rider · December 10, 2020

11 hours ago, Keith_Schumaker said:

I highly doubt they dyno thousands of motors before they toss them in trucks that roll off the assembly line by the thousands. I would bet that salesman's eyes turned brown after that comment.

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If you go to the website of the plant that builds them, it says on the site they test every single engine they build. Kind of crazy. I would have never guessed they would dyno every engine either.

https://www.dmaxengines.com/about-dmax/

Grumpy Bear · December 10, 2020

4 hours ago, F7Rider said:

If you go to the website of the plant that builds them, it says on the site they test every single engine they build. Kind of crazy. I would have never guessed they would dyno every engine either.

https://www.dmaxengines.com/about-dmax/

From your link:

Each engine cycled through hot test

Strict engine performance, diagnostics and function testing

eight minute test cycle

This is NOT a dyno break in sir. It's just a 8 minute warm up and function test.

It's not even connected to a dyno. Just a function test stand.

All gas motors get this too.

Eight (8) minute test cycle

Eight (8) minute test cycle

KARNUT · December 10, 2020

Sure, drive it every chance you get for the first few miles. Or just take a 100 round trip loop a few times when you got an off day, that will rack up miles quick.

Or do what many do and not really care, break in periods are really never followed and it not going to cause a problem. I know I've said this before on here but I live near a couple large construction companies that get new vehicles in every few years. The trucks will be fresh off the transport truck and the next day it's hooked up to a goose neck trailer ready for work, 200,000 miles later it gets replaced. Needless to say they don't follow any sort of break in period.

We bought trucks to work. Some trucks pulled equipment. They got loaded up and hit the highway. First oil change got Amsoil and 25K miles got oil changed. If they had automatic transmission. The cooling line was dropped oil drained Amsoil transmission fluid added. The Forman’s and owners trucks at 100K went to crews and ran until they hit 200K then traded. Most trucks ran all day so workers who did manual work could cool off. With the cylinder deactivation engines if I was forced to own one. I would change the oil more often if it idled all day. That worked for us since the 70s. Break downs were rare and usually a manufactured defect. The early GM diesel comes to mind. Otherwise no problem.

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MaverickZ71 · December 10, 2020

Drive it like you stole it from day one.

On my last 3 personal GM vehicles, I very carefully followed the break-in period instructions in the owner's manual. And I still had just as many or more powertrain and brake issues as our fleet vehicles, which typically get the "hammer down" treatment as soon as they leave the dealer lot.

Grumpy Bear · December 11, 2020

8 hours ago, MaverickZ71 said:

Drive it like you stole it from day one.

On my last 3 personal GM vehicles, I very carefully followed the break-in period instructions in the owner's manual. And I still had just as many or more powertrain and brake issues as our fleet vehicles, which typically get the "hammer down" treatment as soon as they leave the dealer lot.

And how often do you trade? (miles not years)

MaverickZ71 · December 11, 2020

I am not a lotto winner, don't have a trust fund, don't rob banks, and am not a Democratic cabinet secretary. In our household, we have to work for a living and our vehicles do the same. So we usually keep 'em in the family as work trucks or backup vehicles until there's not much left to trade in. Last 5 trades have averaged 14 years old. 6 current family vehicles average 18 years old, and that includes everything from a '79 Pontiac to an '18 GMC. We do all of our own maintenance where possible, using the OE recommended intervals. Our fleet vehicles at work get traded every 75K miles, which is about every 3-4 years.

Grumpy Bear · December 12, 2020

5 hours ago, MaverickZ71 said:

I am not a lotto winner, don't have a trust fund, don't rob banks, and am not a Democratic cabinet secretary. In our household, we have to work for a living and our vehicles do the same. So we usually keep 'em in the family as work trucks or backup vehicles until there's not much left to trade in. Last 5 trades have averaged 14 years old. 6 current family vehicles average 18 years old, and that includes everything from a '79 Pontiac to an '18 GMC. We do all of our own maintenance where possible, using the OE recommended intervals. Our fleet vehicles at work get traded every 75K miles, which is about every 3-4 years.

Okay so how many miles do these 'backup and work trucks' accumulate before you dig a hole for them. On average.