Caution: Have a fire extinguisher handy when starting the engine for the first time.
After the engine is installed on the vehicle, check the oil and coolant levels.
After removing the spark plugs and turning off the ignition system, rotate the crankshaft until the gauge shows oil pressure or the light goes out.
Screw in the spark plugs, connect the wires to the spark plugs, and hook up the ignition system.
Turn on the engine. It may take a few moments for the fuel system to reach normal pressure, but in general the engine should start without much effort,
Caution: If the engine backfires through the throttle body, check the valve timing and ignition timing.
After the engine has started, it must be allowed to warm up to normal operating temperature. Do not let the engine accelerate to maximum idle speed.
While the engine is warming up, carefully check for fuel, oil, and coolant leaks. If a new camshaft and tappets were installed during the repair, the engine must run for 15 minutes at full idle speed so that the shaft and tappets «got used to» (at the same time, watch the temperature sensor, and do not let the engine warm up). Shut off the engine and check the oil and coolant levels again.
Drive the vehicle onto a road with minimal traffic, accelerate from 50 to 80 km/h, then allow the vehicle to decelerate to 50 km/h with the throttle closed. Repeat this 10-12 times. This will put a load on the piston rings, and they will take the correct position relative to the cylinder walls. Check again for oil and coolant leaks.
For the first 800 km, drive the car at a moderate speed and keep an eye on the oil level. During break-in, oil consumption can be high.
After about 900-1000 km of run, change the oil and filter.
Drive the car as usual for the next few hundred kilometers.
After 3500 km of run, change the oil and filter again and consider that the engine has been broken in.
Engine life
BMW engines are known for their durability. Yes, small «six» can pass 200 thousand km without much trouble. Once upon a time, these engines often cracked and failed the cylinder head, but today this is already in the past. A large six-cylinder engine, if not overloaded, often runs more than 250 thousand km, and without noticeable loss of power.
As a rule, whether the car will live to a ripe old age or go to another world prematurely depends on how the driver treats it. The temperature of the engine oil is of great importance. It must be remembered that if the coolant temperature gauge relatively quickly signals that operating temperature has been reached, then the engine oil needs at least another 10 minutes of driving before its lubricity begins to fully manifest itself.
Therefore, we do not recommend that after several weeks, during which the car has been driven only for short distances, suddenly apply full throttle. During long idling and while driving in the urban cycle, carbon deposits form in the combustion chambers and on the valves, which must be allowed to gradually burn out with increasing loads. To do this, you need to allow the oil to warm up to operating temperature and drive quickly, but avoid sudden acceleration.
About engine speed
An internal combustion engine develops the most power at a certain speed - the so-called rated engine speed. Although there is no increase in power at higher revs, shifting into higher gear is easier, which is important for the fastest possible acceleration. When driving quietly, keep the engine in the maximum torque range as far as possible. In this way, the best traction force can be obtained.
The engine has great speed. The fact is that the valves are driven by short rocker arms from the overhead camshaft. At the same time, the mass of parts that perform reciprocating motion is small, which makes it possible to achieve a high speed without fear for the valve drive.
However, you should not drive at maximum speed for a long time. To avoid overloading the engine, the allowable speed for continuous driving is set to 200 rpm below the limit. This reasonable limit significantly increases the life of the engine.