oil cooler troubles

[webb06]

as some of you know my dad owns a diesel shop and i work there everyday. we work predominately on power stroke trucks and mostly on 6.0's. we replace oil coolers and install egr delete kits atleast once if not twice a week.

ive read of people flushing the cooling system before ever tearing the trucks down to replace the oil cooler. honestly we have never done this unless the oil cooler has ruptured and has sludge everywhere and until very recently we havent had any issues with the coolant and oil temps being within 2-3 degrees of each other while cruising on the interstate.

within the last few months there have been 2 or 3 trucks that after getting the truck back together and taking it for a drive the temps are anywhere from 8-20 degrees apart, after installing a new oem oil cooler.

so im not sure if its just the trucks? or maybe the sensors are biased? or if i need to start flushing them out.

to those who actually flush the cooling system prior to tearing the truck down, give me a detailed step by step of what you do. drain coolant and run straight water? use some kind of detergent? how many times? do you charge the customer for the extra time and detergent used?

looking for answers from people who have done this more than a couple times.

thanks fellas

 

[02POWERSTROKE7.3]

I used to do it the same way and never had any issues untill a couple months ago. I now flush every truck with ford vc9 coolant flush, and spend several hours flushing now before I tear one down.

 

[webb06]

I used to do it the same way and never had any issues untill a couple months ago. I now flush every truck with ford vc9 coolant flush, and spend several hours flushing now before I tear one down.

So you mix the vc9 with the water? And go drive it? Or let it set and run? How do you do it?

 

[02POWERSTROKE7.3]

I drain the coolant and remove thermostat, then fill with 2qts of vc9 and water. Run truck for 1-1.5 hrs combo of hi idle and driving. Then I flush with water 2-3 times. Change oil cooler and address egr if its still intact. Install new thermostat. Then fill 50/50 with new coolant and water.

 

[DEEZUZ]

Drain radiator. Pull left side block drain. Remover t stat. Mix the VC with water. Vacuum fill the cooling system with the 2 qts of vc and water. Run it down the road with rad blocked to get up to temp

 

[DEEZUZ]

Do this for an hour, drain it. LET IT COOL Down. Than refill with water several more times.

Spend the money and get a Fumoto drain valve. Put a hose on it so you can easily drain the block and not get douched

 

[webb06]

Drain radiator. Pull left side block drain. Remover t stat. Mix the VC with water. Vacuum fill the cooling system with the 2 qts of vc and water. Run it down the road with rad blocked to get up to temp

how do you block the radiator? also when removing the t stat do you have a blank one to go back in so you can hook the hose back up?

 

[DEEZUZ]

The last two flushes when repair is complete should be distilled water only.

 

[webb06]

Do this for an hour, drain it. LET IT COOL Down. Than refill with water several more times.

Spend the money and get a Fumoto drain valve. Put a hose on it so you can easily drain the block and not get douched

drive it around for an hour the first time? the fumoto valve will go in where the block drain is on the driver's side?

 

[DEEZUZ]

The t stat removes from the housing. Take one off and check it out..

With cardboard

 

[DEEZUZ]

Yes, the VC has to get hot in order to work. Pending your outside temps you may need to block radiator. But you want t stat out to have maximum flow and very violent waves to wash the system. Yes valve screws into drain

 

[webb06]

The t stat removes from the housing. Take one off and check it out..

With cardboard

hmmm new ones come with a new housing then? ive never tried to take it out of the housing.

 

[DEEZUZ]

You also want to disconnect the heater core hoses and back flush with water. Just garden hose til it's clear

 

[DEEZUZ]

Yes new t stats are housing and the t itself.

 

[webb06]

You also want to disconnect the heater core hoses and back flush with water. Just garden hose til it's clear

flows in from the pipe attached to the intake and out by the degas bottle? so i know which way to backflush

 

[POWER-STRUCK]

flush with water twice (up to operating temperature then drain)
then I run VC9 up to operating temp and allow to cool repeatedly the rest of the day.
at the end of the day flush with water twice.
drain the system for repairs the next day.

(get a designated shop vac for cleaning oil and coolant out of the oil cooler cavities)

be sure to take the plugs out of the sides of the block to ensure a full drain.( there will still be about a half gallon of water you can't get out so be sure to put at least a half gallon of straight coolant in the system when refilling

install a new cooler and coolant filter

sounds like a long process but it is worth it to prevent repeat failure.
if you have to do it a 2nd time for free then you didn't gain anything by shortening the process by a day. (the customer will thank you in the long run)

a coolant filter is also a necessity because of the small particles that you were not able to get out in the flush process.

do it like this and you will have a much higher success rate

 

[webb06]

how do you get the plug out thats behind the starter? or do you remove the starter?

we've also never installed a coolant filter on a customers truck haha ive got one on my 6.4 though

 

[DEEZUZ]

Its an easy sell...

 

[webb06]

Its an easy sell...

Which way does the heater core flow

 

[DEEZUZ]

Dont matter, flush it both ways to free up any gunk