Paramedic Saves 6.0L

[Fishermedic]

I'm a paramedic not a mechanic. I've never owner a diesel and I've never even done an oil change. I'm about to attempt major surgery on a 6.0L diesel in my driveway and by myself. Is it possible???

Here's the story.... shortened up some.
I've been looking for an Excursion and finally found one close by (only 13 hours from home), it an '05 Eddie Bauer and is in very good shape for the money I paid. It does however have an oil cooler issue, my temps are 25*-30* apart on the highway. I factored in the cost of fixing the oil cooler issues and this truck is still a better deal than some of the "perfect" Ex's for sale right now so here we are.

Since we still have our van for another 3 weeks the Ex is our third vehicle so having it off the road won't hurt our family of 7 (soon to be 8) but once the Ex is the primary vehicle downtime will hurt. Because of this here is my plan for the next three weeks.

Bullet Proof oil cooler system with the cold weather package
Bullet Proof EGR, I've debated this in my head and I'm keeping it for now and if I tune then I can just turn it off.
Updated turbo oil drain tube
Updated turbo oil feed
Replace the STC fitting
Replace the IPR screen
Updated blue spring
Replace the thermostat
Flush the coolant and switch to CAT ELC
Oil will be Rotella T-6 5W-40

I hope this is all I'm going to need, it's 300km to the nearest city so if I can't find it here I loose a full day!


I plan on taking lots of pics, labeling and zip-tying/bagging everything and writing a lot of notes.

Hopefully I can update this thread as I go and use it for hints/tips and advice to help me get this project finished and the truck "Bullet Proofed".

I'll be taking my time on this and I'm sure I'll have some questions along the way but the .org has given me the confidence to attempt this.
If the rain stops soon enough I'll start today, if not tomorrow morning I'll start getting dirty!

[PowerSmoke07]

Depending how hard of a life it has ahead of it, ARP head studs would be a good idea since you will have the top-end apart for the EGR anyway, just a little more tearing down for the heads

[colo_dually]

That is a huge delta in temps, have you checked for signs that the headgaskets have blown? That would be my only other concern for ya, is that you may have a potential Head job on your hands as well.

[Evil Eye]

SWEET! Looks like you everything organized to be successful! Hopefully you have someone else that will be around to take pictures and perform documentation since (as I and several others have found out) it is a huge pain to keep washing your hands to take pics or write things down and then jump back into it. Best of luck and please post up your results!!!

[PGreenSVT]

Sounds like you have a good plan going. Let us know how it works out for you.

[Fishermedic]

Originally Posted by colo_dually

That is a huge delta in temps, have you checked for signs that the headgaskets have blown? That would be my only other concern for ya, is that you may have a potential Head job on your hands as well.

This was a big concern for me, and I don't have ANY prior diesel (or gas for that matter) knowledge. I've done more reading on this in the past two months than most people would do in a lifetime to try to learn the symptoms I would be watching for when buying this truck. I don't know if I got them right but the truck runs absolutely perfect. There aren't any oil leaks, it starts great hot or cold, there is no smoke, it idles great, acceleration is smooth and strong at any speed and any throttle position. I couldn't think of anything else to look for. If it wasn't for the Insight I would think the truck is perfect!

I only got a few hours in today, drained some fluids, half the air intake and removed the batteries. I'll get more done tomorrow and hopefully some pics.

[NYC F-350]

You are gonna need another gallon of the rotella T6 5W40. The BPD system will take close to 5 gallons, I only see 4

[Fishermedic]

Originally Posted by NYC F-350

You are gonna need another gallon of the rotella T6 5W40. The BPD system will take close to 5 gallons, I only see 4

The jugs say 5L each (I just ran to the garage in a panic to check even though I was sure of this ) so I have 20L, 5 gallons is 19L(ish). Will it take 5 gallons or 5 jugs?

I'd hate to have to make a trip to the city this early in the project but knowing before I get to that point is better than stopping because I don't have what I need.

[NYC F-350]

Hmmm, when I put my BPD system in (cold weather package as well) I used 5 jugs, which I thought was 5 gallons
And I only see three gallons of the ELC? You need 3.5 gallons for the fill.
I wouldn't make the special trip for that, you have some time before you finish. Just wait and see what else you might run into as you get through it. I just looked at how far from you that city is........ thats a long way to go for a gallon of oil and coolant.

[Evil Eye]

Yeah, when we refilled my truck, they used a pump to push the oil through the system, so I honestly don't recall how much oil we put back in. Oh and I don't have the cold weather kit because it doesn't really get all that cold here in Arizona.

BTW, Oil changes will be about 4 gallons once you get the BPD kit installed.