first question

OEM oil cooler or ?

 

Yes
3C3Z-6A642-CA

 

Also, probably unrelated, when the oil temp reaches 135, the engine starts surging a bit and it stops at 140. This always happened and I’m just wondering if it’s a problem.

Just clarifying…
This has been happening since I got this truck, around 10,000 miles ago, before I had oil temp problems.

and,

about 400 miles ago

was a typo, I replaced it about 700 miles ago.

 

Where did you buy the oil cooler?

 

XDP

210 oil temp is not "overheating"

I agree that 210 oil temp really isn't high, but different engine's have different issues.

I know 210 isn’t that high. I don’t let it get “past” 210, it gets there within 10 miles and I see that it’s still going. After I replaced my oil cooler, it stayed consistently at 192, even uphill. At half throttle, it went up to maybe 196, then dropped right away when I let off.

With oil temps that high, I would expect to see elevated coolant temp as well

The coolant only starts rising when the oil gets to around 200. When the oil is at 210, the coolant is at 200. As soon as I let off the throttle, the coolant drops back down right away (faster than the oil).

 

210 oil temp is not "overheating"
i regularly see 230-240 in my 15 liter cummins pulling long hills.

 

I agree that 210 oil temp really isn't high, but different engine's have different issues.

230-240 oil temp would not be good on a 6.0L. High pressure oil systems and o-rings will last a lot longer at the lower oil temps (not to even THINK about lifter issues).

 

With oil temps that high, I would expect to see elevated coolant temp as well

 

I just went around 10 miles and did a few half throttle pulls. The coolant temp stayed at 192-194 and oil temp went up to 211.

 

When you opened your XDP package you are sure you had an OEM cooler in the box ?
I ask because it is not unheard of to spec a OEM cooler from retailers just to have them ship their own

 

When you opened your XDP package you are sure you had an OEM cooler in the box ?
I ask because it is not unheard of to spec a OEM cooler from retailers just to have them ship their own

Yes, it was sealed in a ford box.

 

Did you flush the piss out of the coolant system before replacing it? Also, I had the same issue with the surging like you specified, come to find out, the oil pressure gauge was shorting out.

 

No I didn’t flush the coolant, is it too late? Do I need a new cooler? I’d assume the cooler isn’t too plugged yet because I caught it right when it started, and it’s hard to keep the delta over 15°.
The surging is audible, the rpm’s go up and down, and it always happens at the exact temperatures. I don’t think it can be a gauge, I’ll try to send a video later.

 

Any recommendations on what coolant to use? Right now I’m using motorcraft gold.

 

Any coolant which is EC-1 rated should be fine as long as it's not one which says "low silicate". They're not supposed to have silicates but somehow at least one brand (can't remember which right now) managed to meet CAT's EC-1 spec and still have silicates. Silicates, btw, contribute to clogging the oil and EGR cooler. I use Rotella because it's readily available at walmart and NAPA. Just make sure you flush a LOT...and reverse flush that oil cooler. I was flushing for probably 8 hours on mine when I swapped from gold to EC-1.

 

I'm finally getting around to doing a back flush this weekend. I just wanted to post what I'm doing so someone can correct me if I'm doing something wrong or if I'm missing something.
1. back flush
2. engine block flush
3. drive around a little with water and soap
I'm planning on doing this about 3-4 times over a few days, depending on how long it takes to get all the debris out.

I'm planning on switching to Rotella ELC. Is there something better? If this is good, does it make a difference if I get regular or NF?

 

Either one will work

 

So, over the weekend, I did a back flush with air and got some sand and dirty water out. Then, I filled up the coolant with a garden hose and a quarter bottle of Dawn dish soap and drove it around for over a mile with hills. The temperatures went back to when I first installed the new oil cooler, with no more than a 2-degree delta. The coolant was at 194, EOT was 196. After the drive, I did another flush, and I got some more sand.

Should I do another flush or two with the dish soap and a drive just in case? Is there something else I can use instead of or better than dish soap, or should I just fill it up with coolant?

 

Low-sudsing dish soap is the best way to go. The numbers sound like you should be ok. How much sand did you actually get out in your last flush? Have a pic of it?

 

The first picture in the cup was the first flush. Some of the sand came out of the cup while I drained out the water but thats around how much came out. The picture in the pink bin that has a lot was after the drive and it was around same amount as the cup. The one with less was after I let it sit for a little then ran air and water through it again.

The reason I asked if I should go for another drive and flush, is because this doesn't look like a lot of sand, or at least enough to cause a 15 degree delta. I did see some dirty water coming out
and I don't think the previous owner ever did a backflush so maybe that partially caused it. IG I'll go again and see how much more I get out.

 

Wouldn't hurt to do another one, but it doesn't look TO ME like any more than that would be needed.

Anxious to see what others might say.

 

If that's what you're getting out when doing it right then I'd concur with Bismic. Maybe one more and should be fine.....just as long as you're using a filter from this point on. But are you doing it right? I can't say. Only you can...and I imagine there are 20 different ideas of what right is. lol I can only say when I did it I disconnected the heater and flushed it from both sides, flushed the oil cooler from both sides (reverse and then a normal), disconnected the radiator, and possibly the most important is I removed the two block drain plugs. Basically I made sure every drop of water possible was out of the block so I could be sure I had as much sand and other crud out. BTW, that radiator is a trap so be sure you're pulling that lower hose when you drain. I got a lot of sand out of there.

Finally, if you're not sure that you've flushed it enough, do it some more. It certainly can't hurt, and some of that sand gets lodged in the lower recesses of the block and doesn't come out to play very easily. That's what the filter is for, but if you can get as much out as possible you'll have done a good job.

 

TooManyToys has stated that to do a backflush well, you need to pull the water pump. Took me a while to get on that bandwagon, but he has a very good point.

 

Dawn dish soap WTH ?
Cascade liquid dishwasher detergent diluted dissolved before pouring into system is what I hope you used ?

 

That Dawn gonna make a lot of suds