Hi everyone-
I just got the engine rebuilt in my 1983 Civic, and I am needing it to pass smog. It failed right after because the hydrocarbons at idle were too high, so I talked to my mechanic and they told me it needed to be driven to seat the pistons and burn off any excess build up from the rebuild. So we drove it a couple hundred miles and brought it back for testing, but the hydrocarbons were still too high. When I got it back again they told me they had leaned it out so that the engine would have to work harder, and that I needed to drive in more, at least 500 miles. I've driven it about another couple hundred miles but I'm starting to worry that the lean condition might actually cause damage. It does stall right after warming and start up, and every once in a while at a stop light, but that is to be expected from the lean condition. Any input or advice? I really need to get it to pass smog so I can finally register it, and I am of course extremely concerned about any potential damage this could cause. Thanks all!

(sorry if you saw this as a repost from another forum- just really trying to understand things asap!)

 

This is all you need to do to break in the engine, only takes a few minutes once warm, once done, your mechanic should retune to normal so you can pass smog.

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

Essentially a few hard rips and hard engine braking seats the rings.