New E-350 Project: VANdiana Jones!

[jagular7]

I had a 05 F350 with the 6.0l for 2.5 yrs. I added the coolant by-pass filter. Never opened the filters, just swapped them. Make sure you look at doing a full flush on the 6.0l and switch to a better recommened EL (extended life) coolant. Suppose to be better for the 6.0l compared to the Ford coolant at the dealership. I also ran the oil by-pass filter system as well. After my 3rd by-pass filter, I extended my mileage interval by almost double. I had the FS2500 from my locale (http://fs2500.com/product.html). I just recently sold it (removed it prior to trading the truck in for a hemi mega).
I was presented with website http://www.dieseloilbypasskits.com/ for price comparison. I opted for the steel lines and the return line to the valve cover. Check them out.

I had to add the EGR delete kit as it broke on me 2 states south. When that was completed, I added custom tunes via the SCT tuner, didn't go big and heavy. Lastly, I removed the cat for a straight pipe and bigger downpipe. I was hoping all this would provide a better operating fuel efficient deisel. But nope. 12-13 around, 9 towing. My hemi gets 13-15 around and 10 towing with no upgrades.

[etcatmeat]

So, after owning my new-to-me van for less than a day, I now have its first mods on the way. I purchased a coolant filter kit from Sinister Diesel along with 3 extra filters. They recommend changing out the first filter at 500 miles, then again at 3000 miles, and again at the year mark. After that they recommend to change it once a year. I plan on cutting the filters open and taking pictures of what is caught inside. I will post a write-up when I install it. I also bought a used black grill for $25 on ebay. No chrome on this sucka!

Let me know what you figure out on how to install this...I had a local shop attempt installing this same kit and they couldn't get the proper fittings etc to make it work. They said something that the upper heater hose was curved and the fitting sinister included was straight. It has to be frame mounted, no room on e-series! I am ready to install one as soon as I work out the details.

[Sheep Shagger]

Let me know what you figure out on how to install this...I had a local shop attempt installing this same kit and they couldn't get the proper fittings etc to make it work. They said something that the upper heater hose was curved and the fitting sinister included was straight. It has to be frame mounted, no room on e-series! I am ready to install one as soon as I work out the details.

When I looked at that kit / picture I thought the same, it would be hard to fit. But I seem to remember that there is enough room to fit everything in the designed place (left side of the radiator), with a custom bracket. It's just that there is zero room to remove the filter without removing the housing as well.
I went with the dieselsite E-Series kit and made my own bracket to mount the coolant filter next to the oil filter on the frame. The e-series kit comes with longer tubes and no bracket.

[bknudtsen]

Thanks for the input guys. I will certainly post with my results. As with anything, when a vehicle model (like the E-350) gets little aftermarket support(besides UJoint, of course), some ingenuity goes a long way.

[bknudtsen]

I began the process of tearing the D60 down tonight. I had a slow start today due to my dog's post-op care. Finally started to work on the axle at around midnight. This was the first time I have worked on a D60. My only other experience is with a D30 on my old Cherokee. Funny, but they are surprisingly similar, albeit in totally different scales. I pried out the axles shafts and found tons of beach sand. And, when I removed the diff cover, water ran out. I am guessing that this has seen some saltwater... Oh well, makes for a more interesting story. I knocked the knuckles off and called it quits. I am going to need to come up with a dolly so that I can wheel this thing outside and give it a good pressure washing. Then I will pull the carrier and pinion and all the bearings. After that, I will hit it with a wire wheel and give it a nice new black paint job. Then it will be parts ordering time. The Sterling is of a lesser priority right now, but I will get to that maybe in a couple months. I will at least tear it down and clean it up in the meantime.
"Oh! it's so ugly!" "Yes, but it's mine."

[ujoint]

Oh what fun!!!!! Love tearing down those axles. Don't worry about cleaning the pass side knuckle, I'll be sending a new one with the steering kit. You can send that pass side knuckle whenever you want to avoid a core charge. Just emailed you on the parts list. Forgot to mention the upper u-bolt plates. They're available thru Ford (@80ea) but I sometimes have extra sets around. When you order your parts we'll see what I've got.

[bknudtsen]

Let me know what you figure out on how to install this...I had a local shop attempt installing this same kit and they couldn't get the proper fittings etc to make it work. They said something that the upper heater hose was curved and the fitting sinister included was straight. It has to be frame mounted, no room on e-series! I am ready to install one as soon as I work out the details.

Well, your shop was correct. No way this will fit as it is right now. There is simply no room under the hood. Getting to the heater hose is gonna be a real pain as well. The best time to do it will be when the turbo is out and the EGR cooler is out. Then it should be pretty easy to tap into and run down to the frame.

[Sheep Shagger]

Well, your shop was correct. No way this will fit as it is right now. There is simply no room under the hood. Getting to the heater hose is gonna be a real pain as well. The best time to do it will be when the turbo is out and the EGR cooler is out. Then it should be pretty easy to tap into and run down to the frame.

Be careful with the heater hose. There are two versions, the new style has a ally reducer in it to limit flow to the inside heater core, you can't cut that one easily, as you need to move the reducer before snipping the pipe, or cut round it. The older style has no ally reducer.

[bknudtsen]

Be careful with the heater hose. There are two versions, the new style has a ally reducer in it to limit flow to the inside heater core, you can't cut that one easily, as you need to move the reducer before snipping the pipe, or cut round it. The older style has no ally reducer.

I really appreciate the heads up. It appears that only one of the hoses has enough material to even cut and splice into. Just want to confirm that it's the one that runs back towards the doghouse, takes a turn to the driver's side and turns into a hard line near the intake pipe? I plan on keeping the kit and just making some hoses to extend the ones I have down to where I can mount it to the frame.

Brad

[Sheep Shagger]

I really appreciate the heads up. It appears that only one of the hoses has enough material to even cut and splice into. Just want to confirm that it's the one that runs back towards the doghouse, takes a turn to the driver's side and turns into a hard line near the intake pipe? I plan on keeping the kit and just making some hoses to extend the ones I have down to where I can mount it to the frame.

Brad

That sounds like the pipe. There isn't much room to cut and put T in, as it does a 180deg bend on the only rubber part.

I did mine a long time ago, but I seem to remember I just needed to remove 1 or 2 bolts from the hard AC pipe and move that out of the way with a bungie to get enough access to make the splice.