I think I may have been screwed.NEED HELP!

[keithburns]

Hello. I just had my Cobra engine rebuilt from a reputable dealer in Houston. It was rebuilt with a Stroker kit and a cam.
The car also has a Procharger. When I got the car, the new engine had about 100 miles on it. The tech said that it was ok
to dog it out. I have since put about 350 miles on it and and floored it several times and been to speeds of about 110. Today my engine overheated to almost the redline and I shut it off before it hit that mark. I bought a repair manual to trouble shoot and came up with a faulty waterpump. So while flipping through the book it says that a breakin period is 2000 miles in which case you are not supposed to dog it. So- I am I in deep **** from the overheating and the break in????? Thank you for any advice!

 

[Uncle Meat]

I don't think the "dogging" of the car is that detrimental to longevity. There are different schools of thought on how a motor should be broke in.

You could have damaged the car from running it while it was too hot though. Does is start now? Do you hear a strange knocking or ticking sound? Smoke from the exhaust?

U.M.

 

[Benny]

Most builders in my area suggest not going over 4KRPMs for the first 500 miles But as U.M. stated there are so my schools of though on engine break in. Why not bring it back to the engine builder, no warranty???

 

[Firme]

If you ask the most reputable engine builders in the Houston area, (Houston Performance, Slaters, Traingle Speed Shop) what they do right after they finish rebuilding an engine and poping it back in the car. The most common answer will be "we throw it up on the dyno and run it hard".

Here, read this article and it will put your mind at ease.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I used this method on my car, along with many others. Also the highest Bone Stock dynoing 03/04 I saw used this article to a T for break in.

The key is just to make sure the engine is up to normal operating temps before beating on it.

Also, with your overheating issue, the most notorious cause for overheating on Cobras is air in the coolant system. You might want to make sure your coolant system has been properly burped by using the burp plug on the crossover line on the fornt of the engine. Especially after a rebuild when the coolant has been completely drained, the culprit can definitely be air in the system.