Well, I had the issue of my motor burning oil and the dealer replaced it a few weeks ago. On the first motor, I drove it like a pansy for 3,000-5,000 miles and never varied speed. On this new one, I vary my speed on the highway every few miles and drive it like I normally would. Now, I don't get on it or anything like that, but I put the motor under load at times and don't shy away from driving it regular. I did the first oil change at 600 miles, and am doing the second one at 1500 miles. Every 3,000 after that. I have 900 miles on this new motor, does this break in procedure sound fine? I want to make sure that I do what I can to keep the rings from failing on this motor, although the mechanic said he thinks my motor had the wrong sized pistons in it (not ring failure)

 

You're fine. You're beyond the break in mileage. I drive mine like a Porsche and have never had a single issue.

 

Experts always recommend short bursts of WOT (wide open throttle) under moderate load to help seat the rings during break-in, though not at higher RPMs (ie: nearing redline) at the beginning. Flooring it up a hill for a few seconds at a time will do. From what you've said you seem to have it figured out anyway (ie varying engine speeds and loads periodically) so you should be fine.

You probably also want to get the oil to operating temperature (this can take 20-30 minutes of running in cold weather) as the oil doesn't start lubricating properly and the detergents start removing engine deposits effectively until the oil is hot.