Questions for the Pro's what to do to my truck.

[johndeeregn]

Guys last December I bought a nice 04 Ext Cab 4x4 Lariat, 145,000 miles.

Dealer ran an Oasis report and it is just minor stuff that has been done. Turbo Line repaired, computer updates etc.

My question is this, I have removed the exhaust and run a straight pipe, installed KN open air filter, done all filters, serviced tranny etc.

Just bought a FICM from Swamps (58V) because of rough idle etc and low readings on the origional one.

NOW... what do I do as far as making it not go into "melt down" mode

I plan on doing an EGR delete, would you do anything with the oil cooler?

Also I see a lot of write ups on Coolant flushes/changes etc.

I know I asked a lot but I do appreciate all the info and help you can give a newbie.....

Thanks in advance!

[PGreenSVT]

Get yourself a monitoring solution. I recommend an Edge Insight CS or CTS. See what your oil and coolant temp delta is. That's the only way to monitor the health of the oil cooler. With 145K on it I'd plan on replacing the oil cooler just so you know what you have. Flush it good and drain it, do the egr delete and oil cooler, then fill it back up with a Cat EC-1 rated ELC and that should have you in pretty good shape.

[cliffordbigred]

What should the oil temp be running at?

[FourFun]

Depends on what your truck is doing and how hard its being worked. I just got back from a 500 mile trip pulling our rockcrawler on a 18ft dovetail carhauler, approx 7-9k lbs loaded. My EOT ran around 195-205 and coolant temps were 190-195. My delta's never exceeded 12*. Unloaded deltas are usually 4-8 and temps are EOT 195-198 ECT around 188-195.

BTW - I'm no pro, but thought that might be helpful

[Lumberg]

If your cooling system is operating as it was designed, both your oil and coolant temps will be the same if measured through the OBDII port. This 0-degree split or delta is only valid when at normal steady-state coolant thermostat regulating temp – 192F +/- manufacturing tolerances. For me, I read 190F/190F in light traffic around town.

If your oil is hotter than your coolant after you’ve been at operating temp for several minutes, then that can be symptomatic of your oil cooler going bad. That isn’t a ‘for sure’ thing, just a symptom. The larger the magnitude of the split, the higher the likelihood of a failure. The maximum comfortable split between coolant and oil temp before you replace it depends on who chimes in on this thread. I personally would start to get nervous with a 10 deg delta. Others might say more, some less.

Monitoring will tell you the rest of the story though as each truck and engine has its own personality. Figure out where your rig likes to run and then look for repeated increases in oil/coolant temp split (hotter and hotter oil). I fell in love with the CTS but ended up with a ScanGauge II and I get what I NEED out of it (Rolling Stones).
Im no pro either, I wrench for Single Malt and Habanos. [The real funny part is that IM THE ONE that has to buy them….]

[bismic]

The hot fluid can never be as cold as the cold fluid in heat exchanger application (when everything is fully up to operating temps). You will always have a higher temperature for the oil than the coolant. It may only be a few degrees, but if your gauges say they are the same temperature, then you have a calibration error (may not be a large error, but it is inaccurate none-the-less).

Ford's rule of thumb of 15*F delta is exactly that - a rule of thumb. Nothing magical about the 15*F, it is just where Ford decided that it was a statistically valid point for being concerned. There are conditions that must be met for it to be valid also - one is that the coolant must be up to temperature (190).

[johndeeregn]

Thank you a bunch for the replies

[PGreenSVT]

Yep, at full operating temp your oil temp will always be higher than the coolant temp. The critical delta is 15* when fully warmed up and cruising unloaded at 65 mph. Running harder will cause a larger delta and towing an even larger delta. Typical around town delta seems to be 4*-5*.

If your delta starts approaching 15* get ready to replace the oil cooler before other bad stuff happens. Another rule of thumb is to do the oil cooler and egr cooler as a pair, not one or the other.

[FourFun]

Originally Posted by Lumberg

If your cooling system is operating as it was designed, both your oil and coolant temps will be the same if measured through the OBDII port. This 0-degree split or delta is only valid when at normal steady-state coolant thermostat regulating temp – 192F +/- manufacturing tolerances. For me, I read 190F/190F in light traffic around town.

If your oil is hotter than your coolant after you’ve been at operating temp for several minutes, then that can be symptomatic of your oil cooler going bad. That isn’t a ‘for sure’ thing, just a symptom. The larger the magnitude of the split, the higher the likelihood of a failure. The maximum comfortable split between coolant and oil temp before you replace it depends on who chimes in on this thread. I personally would start to get nervous with a 10 deg delta. Others might say more, some less.

Monitoring will tell you the rest of the story though as each truck and engine has its own personality. Figure out where your rig likes to run and then look for repeated increases in oil/coolant temp split (hotter and hotter oil). I fell in love with the CTS but ended up with a ScanGauge II and I get what I NEED out of it (Rolling Stones).
Im no pro either, I wrench for Single Malt and Habanos. [The real funny part is that IM THE ONE that has to buy them….]

That's pretty strange, that your truck will read 0* delta's while driving around town. As mentioned previously, my delta usually is 4-5 or so off when tooling around town but it makes perfect sense your oil has to be hotter than your coolant since its essentially doing "the work" and the coolant is trying to cool it. Who knows....

[Lumberg]

Originally Posted by PGreenSVT

...and cruising unloaded at 65 mph.

I did not know this parameter for the temp samples. Well… looks like I got that first part wrong. Noted and learned.
Im 60 miles north of Seattle and the roads frequently seem to be cold and wet. I wonder if that might have any effect on my pan temp? The calibration/tolerance could be a factor – still showing a zero delta today. I have an ‘a’ and ‘b’ option for the data processing that I can adjust so Ill test that. Ill still have to get ‘er out on the open road and see what readings I get.