Lower Unit Break-in Question.

[joetheplumber]

Hi,

I purchased a SE116 Lower Unit and I am in the process of breaking it in. I put the first 5 hours on it not going above 75% throttle. Now it says for the next 5 hours to run full throttle for short periods.
My question is: What is considered a short period?- Seconds?- Minutes? or what?. Let me know.

Thank you,

[Tech Support]

I would say for a minute or less.

Tech Support

[DickB]

I understand the need to change oil after 10 hours break-in, as I would expect some metal to have been worn. But what is behind the requirement to limit power and RPMs during the break-in period? What good does this do, and what bad things can happen if this is not followed? BTW, I am not challenging the recommendations; just curious as to what is behind them.

[admin]

When a gear set is new, the pattern is not spread over the entire tooth. The break in period allows the pattern to spread out. If you go full throttle right away, you can actually break teeth off as the gear will not be able to handle full power with such a small initial pattern.

Tech Support