Drive home wondering about the break in advice

Hmmmm... or for us retired LEO's... Drive into the PD... "Hey Im here to do a patch swap....er...btw...mind if I leave this in the lot overnight while im in town?
Lmao aye fifty you finally getting your truck !!!! Congrats and lol this is the least of my things I wanna do for now lol we’ll see, they’ll probably tow it
 
2-day here as well. well, kinda'

. . . to be quite frank, I will likely end up just napping in the truck for a few hours somewhere in the middle of it all.

One - I'll be so wound up and excited, not sure how I would sleep anyway. And two - I'll be so paranoid with no security measures installed so sleeping in it sounds reasonable. They're super comfy I hear!!! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Good luck with that sleeping in the truck 🤣
 
I can’t tell if you are joking or not…but a very real part of me is thinking…that actually is a great idea haha. I wonder if they would go for that.
Oh, no… I was serious. A thief would have to have some huge cahonas to steal from a police parking lot.
 
. . . guess you missed those laughy-face emoji thingies eh? :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: just sayin'
 
. . . guess you missed those laughy-face emoji thingies eh? :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: just sayin'
Wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. Just a general observation.
 
I was planning on stopping for 2 days to cool down the engine in between the trip down.
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
 
You should stop to cool down the diffs during their initial run-in. Not for 2 days though.

 
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. :sneaky: 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%! ✌️


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My truck just arrived at Granger and is ready for pickup. Contemplating to do the drive to Socal 1600 miles trip. Still not sure if I will or just have it shipped for $1800..
 
My truck just arrived at Granger and is ready for pickup. Contemplating to do the drive to Socal 1600 miles trip. Still not sure if I will or just have it shipped for $1800..
Probably close to the same cost but what is your time worth?
 
You would be incorrect.
If you dont follow the break in, RAM can deny your powertrain warranty claims!
Case history, my 2019 Hellcat Redeye.
I followed the break in to a T.......including documenting the oil changes all the way up to 2500 miles. Decided to trade it in on a 2022 TRX. Dealer sold my RE the same day. New owner took it to the track, ran the piss out of it, overheated it and seized the engine. New owner calls the dealership and says the car just "quit running". After tearing into the engine they find the seized pistons. They look at the computer, which tells them the miles when damage occurred, speeds, RPMs, temps, etc. The new owner TRIES to blame me, saying the first owner abused it and its his fault. Dealership says NOPE, we have the computer record (Performance Pages) that tells us exactly WHEN and WHO did the damage. WARRANTY VOIDED and car VIN flagged in the system !

PP also tells us that the first owner broke the car in properly and did not abuse it. PP tells us that from 2500 miles on the car was run hard, overheated and abused by the second owner.

Just when you think no one is looking...........they are!
Please show me in writing that they will void my warranty. Understand there is a difference between getting in the truck and driving normal, no WOT, no full RPM range etc in the first 500 miles and from the first start racing, WOT pulls, launches etc. The latter could be noted as abuse. You're spreading FALSE information based on one experience that ONE RE owner abused the shit out of the car on the track which it states it'll void the warranty.
 
You should stop to cool down the diffs during their initial run-in. Not for 2 days though.

Replaced a failed diff on my LC100 and used my infrared thermometer to monitor the temps during break in. Might be an idea for the ride home to stop and do some temp checks. Hard to know what normal is on a brand new truck, but might highlight some issues before getting stranded. I suspect that my drive home in February will be plenty cold.
 
Do we know if we should take some oil just incase we need see the oil low? to top it off ? lol and some fluids from the dealer just incase?
And yes I am over processing the drive, its my first purchase like this from a dealer from afar and also never had a truck or had to do this drive before with a new car. I will be following the break in procedures and hoping the best but hopefully the dealer can tell me something today!! so i can buy my ticket to get there, as of now its been in transit since the 9th... CANT WAIT !!!but I got to wait. lol Thanks all tho for your recommendations too !
 
Do we know if we should take some oil just incase we need see the oil low? to top it off ? lol and some fluids from the dealer just incase?
And yes I am over processing the drive, its my first purchase like this from a dealer from afar and also never had a truck or had to do this drive before with a new car. I will be following the break in procedures and hoping the best but hopefully the dealer can tell me something today!! so i can buy my ticket to get there, as of now its been in transit since the 9th... CANT WAIT !!!but I got to wait. lol Thanks all tho for your recommendations too !
Never hurts to be prepared but I am 1000 miles in and haven't burnt any oil. I am changing it this weekend when Amsoil ships me the oil/filter.
 
Do we know if we should take some oil just incase we need see the oil low? to top it off ? lol and some fluids from the dealer just incase?
And yes I am over processing the drive, its my first purchase like this from a dealer from afar and also never had a truck or had to do this drive before with a new car.
The likelihood of your needing fluids is pretty low. Plus, I'm sure there are more than a few auto parts stores on your drive home. Pretty much everything between Virginia and Florida is populated.
 
I’ve never seen PUP 0w40 anywhere around here locally. Some have the Euro 0w40 but that’s not the same blend.

You probably won’t need it on the trip, but the odds are good at some point you’ll need make up oil before the first oil change…unless you’re gonna change it early, like as soon as you get home.

Buy a quart at the dealer when you pick it up, just to have. If you never need it, great. Then you just buy another case of 6 on Amazon, and you have your 7 for an oil change.
 
Exactly! I'd grab a quart or two from the dealer before the drive back. ( I'm going to! )
I too have yet to see the PUP 0w40 in any auto stores here either.

Better to have and not need, than need and not have.
 
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