3.0 Break In

TheDadMan · May 6, 2021

Hello fellow 3.0 members: I am new to this forum and club so please have some patience with my inexperience. I am buying a 2021 AT4 next week with the 3.0/10 speed powertrain. I have owned a 6.6 LBZ Duramax in the past so not a diesel newby. I am driving 250 miles to an out of state dealership to get this truck. My question is: what advice can you provide on the proper break in procedure for this powertrain? The first miles on this truck will be 250 miles of interstate driving from Pocatello ID to Butte MT. I plan to use the truck to tow my camper this summer so I need to get it broke in for trailer towing pretty quick. Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks

SavannahSilverado · May 16, 2021

I think the manual (not diesel supplement) has the procedures, but from memory it's probably something like no speeds over 55mph, don't drive at a constant speed, no towing for first 500 miles. To be honest, I've been a bit of a skeptic on engine break in for modern cars; I've had cars up over 100k mileage that I drove like a beast from day 1 and cars that had so many problems in the first 1000 miles while driving it like a baby (I'm looking at you Ford!).

tgivanoff · July 15, 2021

I agree with following the advise given above for break in but i have always felt that the oil is the center of care for the engine. It suspends all contaminants in the lubrication side of the engine. I always change oil earlier than recommended. I understand some engines have break in oil and i leave the oil in at new until i hit 3000 miles. At that point i change the oil and filter and install synthetic oil. By the way you need to use dexosD, yes dexosD oil in this engine. The reason for this early change is that a new engine has junk in it with sealants that fall off joints or metal shavings, or other lubricants that were installed with bearings or metal rust preventative to prevent new parts internal to the engine from rusting before they are installed into the engine. And let us not forget about dirt and dust. So after 3000 i want fresh oil in and contaminated oil out. I believe it is a safe thing to do and cheap even at the cost of this expensive oil.