A few noob questions

[rrambo]

Just purchased a 2005 F250 SD with 113K miles.. I've been reading a lot, googling a lot and lurking on here a good bit..

I got a copy of the Oasis report (thanks FordDieselDoctor) and have a question.

At 63K miles, the previous owner took it in for service because it was running hot. The tech stated that he followed TSB 090803, replaced EGR cooler and oil cooler service kit, flushed cooling system and changed oil and filter.

So I looked up TSB 090803 and it states:

The Oil Cooler Service Kit includes a serviceable heat exchanger, which is to be used to service a restricted oil cooler. Replacement of the entire Oil Cooler assembly due to flow restriction is no longer necessary.

I'm not having any problems so far, but is that basically just Ford fluff or is the serviceable heat exchanger somehow different (better) than what came on the trucks.

I'm just trying to get in my head what I need to do to keep this truck reliable.

2nd question, I'm a little low on coolant.. just below the Min line... is there something better than the Ford coolant (something that won't gum up) or should I stick with the Ford stuff.. also, do you add it full strength or is it diluted with distilled water.

I want to do an EGR delete, a turbo back exhaust, and a tuner.. but I actually got a 2 year warranty on it so I just want to take good care of it now.. I would do the EGR delete and tuner if I thought I could get away it if a warranty issue comes up.. What do you guys think?

[thomaslord84]

The TSB is correct. In the beginning they would replace the whole oil cooler assy, including the housing. They then started to replace just the oil cooler itself and reuse the housing. It is perfectly fine for them to do this and its a lot cheaper to do it that way also.

Any EC-1 rated ELC coolant is what you need to be running. If you want to change coolant you will need to flush all of the Gold out. Keep in mind that if you do flush it out with chemicals then you will have about 99% chance of clogging your current oil cooler. You will also have a good chance of clogging the next 2 or 3 in a very short period of time. Like in the next 10k - 15k miles.

If it was me and I wanted to change to an ELC coolant I would run a coolant filter for about 10k miles then I flush it with nothing more than distilled water. That will cut your chances of clogging your oil cooler, but you will still have a decent chance of it clogging. Or you can get the BPD oil cooler and never have to worry about the cooler clogging, and run whichever coolant you want.

Oh and if its a little below the min line leave it alone that it the new full line. That is where it should stay. If you fill it up to the full line then it will puke coolant until it gets it where it wants it. Yes I know it sounds a little weird.

[rrambo]

Thanks brother.. I really appreciate the info and advice..

I really need a monitoring solution.. what's everyones take on the SCT iTSX/TSX? seems like it would be a better buy since you can tune and monitor with it??

[WarChild]

It's junk haven't heard anyone say anything good about It yet. Get a cts.

Sent from my SPH-L710

[Lilpooh]

If your looking a "all in one package", the new SCT Livewire TS was just released. There are a couple threads about this new unit.

Lucky for you, you have choices depending on your wallet. Most members go with SCT X-3 then get a separate monitor. You can either buy a new SCT or used.

What to look for when buying used SCT for 6.0


Here is some info on monitoring. Most go with the Edge Insight CS/CTS. Another option is the DashBoss for iTouch/iPhone/iPad. And even cheaper is the ScangaugeII.

Write Up: Monitoring the 6.0L PSD.


If your looking for a one stop shopping. Quicktricks sells the Livewire TS with unlimited custom tunes for just above $500. Or you can get a X-3 and Edge Insight CS/CTS from Stealth Diesel as a package deal for $770-$900.

[rrambo]

Nice.. thanks for the info.. looks like for the price, the live wire would be a good bet.

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[Lilpooh]

Originally Posted by rrambo

Nice.. thanks for the info.. looks like for the price, the live wire would be a good bet.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using AutoGuide.Com Free App

Look for the Livewire TS threads. Two of the member that post a lot of new info for this unit is "portcity_gt and gearhead2012". These two guys are running the Livewire TS thru its paces.