Well, the car is back and running well. I have put about 1000 miles
on the new engine, and had some questions about the break-in period.
I just changed the oil, and everything looks good. Burned about a
quart in the thousand miles I've put on it. The only thing that
puzzles me is that I'm still getting puffs of smoke when I start the
car in the morning for the first time. They were greyish and
oily-smelling, but that's subsided, and the smoke is darker and
smells like raw fuel. I haven't re-adjusted the mixture since I got
the car back, and I'm running rather cold, so I suspect I may have
the mixture too rich. Also, I just got to the point where I feel
comfortable with briefly using all of the "loud" pedal, and I've
noticed that when the engine hits about 4000 rpm under heavy
acceleration, it puts out a plume of black smoke. Could a rich
mixture account for this as well?
My gas mileage has improved, and it sounds much better with the new
cam, so overall I'm pretty happy. I'm still being pretty gentle with
the car, and haven't driven it for any distance at a constant speed
for fear of botching the break-in. When can I consider the engine
broken-in? I'm contemplating taking it up to Virginia on a
house-hunting trip in two or three weeks. Should have another 1000
miles on it by then.
Thanks much,
Scott
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