You don’t need to let it cool down, the most engine wear actually occurs during start/warm up. Pick her up and drive her home, follow break in procedures the first 500 miles and then let her eat.
I would regularly make 2400 mile trips straight shot in my 01 Ram and never shut my truck off and she was at 376k miles and strong
Agreed! Some folks have these long drawn out intricate break-ins with complete fluid changes every 387.258 miles, far as I can tell, are based on anecdotal stories, wives tales and other silly superstitions that probably date back to when castor oil used to be the main lubricant of choice!
. . . we're not breaking in an old small block Chevy we just built in the garage where the only thing the internals have seen is assembly lube!
These are new age high tech machines built with much better tolerances and technology!!
The main components you
*MUST* do ( for the first 500 miles) when breaking in a new vehicle is :
- No wide open throttle
- No hard deceleration
- No towing ( not mentioned on Page 18, but got from the DANA/SPICER phone call )
- No Cruise Control ( vary the RPMs through the full range from idle to max allowed as possible )
- Follow the "page 18" limits of RPMs and Speeds.
- Follow the Manufacturers fluid change intervals. ( sooner won't hurt, but IT IS NOT necessary )
. . . additionally, note that things open up for us at 500 miles, but there is yet another stage to the break-in!!! from 501 - 1500!!
(
my own personal schedule will be to change the oil at 1500 miles - but I will not be romping on it after 500 either. OK, maybe once.
That is sooner than the recommended 6000 miles of course, but I can't demand performance from something that still has break-in oil in it. That's just me )
A few months ago I was concerned about breaking in the drivetrain properly and concerned about heat cycling and general wear on the ring and pinion so I called engineers at DANA/SPICER ( which by the way - for those who do not know - they are the company that builds the axels in our trucks ) one day, and they told me the same thing I'm telling you - " . . . it won't hurt, but it's completely unnecessary." with today's technology and building processes.
Everyone do yourself a favor and just google "New vehicle break-in" and just take a peek what other manufacturers are recommending! Don't watch sources like YouTube idiots, but use different manufacturers of vehicles that have proven track records of lasting 250,000 miles+ like Volvo, BMW, or Subaru (for example). Maybe even look at Consumer Reports, See what they say. You may be surprised.
Bottom line, it's your truck, and your money, throw as much of it at it as you like. I'm not here to convince you or to change your mind, But let's also not scare some folks into thinking that this over-abundance of caution is actually necessary just because "fluids are cheap". It just simply isn't necessary. Now building a hemi in the garage this winter for next season? I'm with ya 100%!