[NMRAcer]

I'm about halfway through my build and figured I'd see if anyone has any tips or comments on my system as it is to date. I have no graphics and haven't had time to upload any pictures yet but I'll do my best to describe my system.

To begin with, I have a 100 gallon in-bed transfer tank which will store the bulk of my WVO. A hose will connect the transfer tank to a smaller 8 gallon tank beneath the bed (right next to the stock fuel tank) which is heated by engine coolant.

WVO from the small tank flows through braided -6 AN lines to a 10 micron pre-filter, a Raw Power pump, and a final 5 micron filter. From there it flows through a valve system which allows the oil to return to the small tank during purges or on to the engine.

Just prior to the engine the line splits and is directed to the rear ports on the heads using OEM banjo fittings. Check valves have been installed in all four ports to prevent mixing.

The system itself is controlled by an Arduino microprocessor. There are two switches in the cab, System On/Off and Purge Bypass On/Off, which control the overall operation.

In theory, the engine will start on diesel and warm up the WVO in the small tank. Upon reaching 160 degrees the WVO pump will turn on and circulate the oil in the lines for approximately 10 seconds. This allows the entire system to warm up as well as remove any air from the lines from filter changes. After the purge cycle, a solenoid will close preventing the oil from returning to the tank. Upon reaching 65 psi the diesel pump will shut off and the engine should begin running on WVO.

More or less the reverse for shutdown.

My biggest question mark for this project is in regards to plumbing into the coolant system. How have other people accomplished this feat? Are you re-directing the entire flow or just a portion?

 

[ridiculously_necessary]

good to see a DIY 6.0 guy.

here are a few thoughts, where do you live? if it gets cold where you are, you may expirience problems with that 10 micron pre-filter. it may cause too much vacuum, possibly blow the pump fuse. fwiw, that raw power pump should have a prescreen on the inlet. im in MO where the most i would personally put in is an xx micron prescreen.

clarification request.... i am not familair with how the fuel enters the 6.0, i know there is a banjo thats about it. when you say you have cv's in all four ports, your not blocking D2 flow into the vo line for the purge cycle are you?

as for coolant:
out of engine > nearest vo heat exchanger > filter > fuel line > tank then back up to the cab heater core.

thats one of many ways, you may wish to have cab heat first. either way, be sure the hottest coolant hits the vo closest to the heads first. tank should be last.

when i did my first convert i did > coolant from motor > filter > hih > tank > heater core. i did not have an fphe.

hope this helps! fwiw, there are a few guys on the BFT forums with 6.0 conversion. not to drive you away from here, this is a great site. just a heads up on where you might find more info.

 

[NMRAcer]

Duh! Between the heater core and engine! I didn't even think of that. I'm a moron.

Diesel enters the rail from the front of both heads and I have VO entering both heads from the rear. There is a check valve in each of the diesel banjos so no oil can enter the diesel lines and there is a check valve in each of the VO lines so no diesel can enter. Because of the circulating nature of this system I don't believe there will be much of an issue of cold oil. Couldn't be more than a few feet of unheated lines but it will be in the engine bay so should be nice and warm regardless.

I also have only the tank heated. I'm in Nashville and it probably won't get terribly chilly. Suppose this will be an issue?

 

[clcm87]

how are you going to get around the low fuel pressure code that will show up when you turn of the D2 pump? or have you had that problem?

 

[Fordnut74]

Sounds like you have at least put some time and thought into this, and then asking questions. That right there is a 90% of the battle. With that said, I hope you have aftermarket check valves installed in the Diesel lines. The Factory Banjo Bolt Check valves are not true check valves and will allow WVO back into your Diesel system.

Next thing is like Ridiculous said, You probably should have a heater in your primary tank. The 8gallon heat tank sounds good, and I see what you are saying about circulation heating up the big tank, but if you can't get the cold oil out of the big tank to begin with, not much circulation going to happen. Honestly, for the money spent on two tanks and the plumbing, you might have been better off ordering a basic heated tank from BFT.

However so long as it is warm out, you won't have too many problems, but I design towards worst case scenario. Weather is unpredictable these days, What if you move? What if you go on a road trip where it actually gets cold?

Coolant: Two schools of thought on this, I prefer to share myself. The 6.0 has a coolant shutoff valve, so if you plumb a series system, anytime you shut off your heater, you will lose coolant to everything. If you go Paralell(shared) you can easily bypass the valve so you still have coolant for the WVO system, even if the cab doesn't. But is this case you "may" need a coolant circulation pump for maximum effectiveness. For this you would tap into one heater hose on the passenger side between the shut off valve and the firewall, then the other hose would be tied in with the coolant return hose on the drivers side under the coolant reservoir.

Good luck!

 

[NMRAcer]

how are you going to get around the low fuel pressure code that will show up when you turn of the D2 pump? or have you had that problem?

I would assume that it would not show up so long as I have constant pressure in the injector rails (that is where the pressure is read, correct?). I don't expect this problem.

You probably should have a heater in your primary tank. ... if you can't get the cold oil out of the big tank to begin with, not much circulation going to happen.

Based on 15 mpg, I should be able to run over 100 miles with virtually no oil flowing into the smaller tank. That said, I don't see any period of time where the temperature will be low enough to raise the viscosity high enough to restrict the flow between tanks.

I went this route so I could retain my existing 100 gallon transfer tank with minimal fuss. Eventually, depending on how well it works and where I plan to use it, I might add a heater to the big tank as well. For now it is unnecessary though.

The 6.0 has a coolant shutoff valve, so if you plumb a series system, anytime you shut off your heater, you will lose coolant to everything.

I wondered about this! Darn Ford engineers anyway!

With any luck I'll have it running on oil this weekend. Keep you posted.

 

[NMRAcer]

The 6.0 has a coolant shutoff valve, so if you plumb a series system, anytime you shut off your heater, you will lose coolant to everything.

What are the side effects of removing this valve so the coolant flows continuously? It doesn't seem to affect the temperature of the air coming in the cab.

 

[Clay Henry]

What are the side effects of removing this valve so the coolant flows continuously? It doesn't seem to affect the temperature of the air coming in the cab.

Its a vacuum operated vavle, when you turn on the heater, it opens letting hot water into the heater core. Simply pull the vacuum line off. This will let coolant flow all the time.

 

[clcm87]

Is your build up and running?

 

[NMRAcer]

No, unfortunately I ran into some issues with my check valve bolts.

Unlike most systems, I am restricting the flow of both oil and diesel from exiting the heads on the opposite sides. I was finally able to get the time to tear the engine apart and install four check valves in each of the four banjo fittings but at least one of them is not working properly. Thankfully I decided to test drive the system on diesel prior to hooking up the oil because I had diesel pouring out of the oil injection lines.

So I now need to figure out some way to pressure test the oil side of my system and have to wait for new check valves to come in. The aggravating part will be tearing the engine apart again and then testing each check valve for proper operation.

 

[BeXtreme04]

As far as I know the 6.0l does not have a fuel pressure reading of any kind... There is no sensor and it is not monitored by the ECM so I don't think he will get any code from shutting off the pump.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

 

[NMRAcer]

I've been having some issues with the check valves I received so I've been doing some testing on other parts of the system in the meantime. One thing I discovered is that the engine will continue to run with the diesel pump turned OFF and there is no associated code with this low pressure. I don't think I would recommend anyone running without pressure and this was discovered by accident but there are the results for whoever desires them.

 

[Clay Henry]

I've been having some issues with the check valves I received so I've been doing some testing on other parts of the system in the meantime. One thing I discovered is that the engine will continue to run with the diesel pump turned OFF and there is no associated code with this low pressure. I don't think I would recommend anyone running without pressure and this was discovered by accident but there are the results for whoever desires them.

It will idle but wont have the power to pull itself...I found that out the hard way.

 

[five7driver]

Is your build up and running yet, NMRacer? I'm interested in how it goes since I'm getting ready to do a 6.0.

 

[NMRAcer]

Boy you'd certainly think it would be by now!

I've been having nothing but problems with this darned thing. Turns out that every one of the banjo check valves I got from WVO Designs leaked. They sent them all back to the manufacturer and I hope for their sake that they got everything worked out. It makes me wonder if Dino has the same problems since I'm fairly sure they obtain them from the same manufacturer. Has anyone ever tested those suckers before installing them? Certainly makes me nervous but I have never heard of any problems because of this so maybe it's not a big problem.

I'm not sure how much research you've put into this but plumbing the back side of your heads is a PAIN. The driver's side is relatively simple since you can get your hands up there fairly well but the passenger's side is a mother. I would recommend you unhook the exhaust pipe from the turbo as well as the up-pipes at the manifold. The tricky part is getting your fat fingers in there to put everything back together. If you remove the plastic wire hanger above the turbo you'll get much more room to work with. I even tried pulling out the plastic splash shield from the passenger fender well to get a better aim at the bolts. Probably not necessary but not that much extra time.

I've now got everything plumbed up and no leaks (though I still have no check valves on the diesel side) and am now in the process of wiring everything up. The biggest task remaining, I'm thinking, is to get my Arduino circuit board correctly programmed so it'll correctly run the whole operation.

Unfortunately for me I don't have a whole lot of extra time to work on this project so it goes in small spurts. One of these days I'll finish up.

 

[simone0414]

Keep us updated on your CV problem. Your the first I have heard of having any serious problems with WVO Designs or BFT's for that matters CV's. My CV's from Leon have worked great for 55k miles.

 

[Osider6.0]

WVO on a 6.0 from a 7.3

I see this is an old post but does anyone have a link or diagram of an actual 6.0 install?

I have the heated tank and a full 7.3 "kit" that I bought from a guy and I want to get this thing running in my 6.0

Any help would be greatly appreciated!