How to improve PB cooling???

[Samson16]

I tow a 5000 lb trailer at 75 MPH and haven't had any cooling issues at all. Sounds to me like something is malfunctioning in one of the cooling subsystems.

Preach on brother!

Sponsored

 

[Hullguy]

I’ve towed my 6500 lbs trailer about 10000 miles this summer. I’ve seen the engine temp go to 225. I figured the Ford engineers have factored this in. Doesn’t the stock radiator cap keep the pressure at 15psi thereby increasing the boiling point to 253 degrees Fahrenheit?

 

[Polo08816]

From the factory my 3.5 EcoBoost came with a 195°F (90.6°C) thermostat and the coolant/cylinder head temps have always been a little higher than I would like. I could easily get the cylinder head temps up to 230°F with short WOT pulls while merging onto the highway and I often saw my coolant temps hovering over 200°F.

I decided to look into the availability of lower temp thermostats for our trucks and I found that in more performance oriented applications like Mustangs, Ford typically installs a 180°F (82°C) thermostat while most non-performance vehicles get something in the 188-195°F range. Since our trucks use a thermostat that is dimensionally identical to the ones installed in 5.0L Mustangs, I decided to order one for a Mustang and swap mine out.

My truck is still on the stock tune and the cooling fans still turn on at the factory set points so I'm not taking full advantage of the new thermostat, but I still saw a 10°F drop in cylinder head temps after installing the new thermostat. I've had the 180°F thermostat installed for about 16 months now and I haven't had any P0128 codes or other issues thus far.

The parts I used were:
180°F Thermostat, BR3Z-8575-G (RT1258)
Water Outlet O-Ring, HL3Z-8255-A (RG640)
Pre-Diluted Yellow Coolant, VC-13DL-G

I have been running a Motorcraft 180* thermostat for the last 6 months. My tune has been adjusted for it

I think this would be my preferred "upgade" compared to adding more hardware in the engine bay.

 

[ValpoMike312]

From the factory my 3.5 EcoBoost came with a 195°F (90.6°C) thermostat and the coolant/cylinder head temps have always been a little higher than I would like. I could easily get the cylinder head temps up to 230°F with short WOT pulls while merging onto the highway and I often saw my coolant temps hovering over 200°F.

I decided to look into the availability of lower temp thermostats for our trucks and I found that in more performance oriented applications like Mustangs, Ford typically installs a 180°F (82°C) thermostat while most non-performance vehicles get something in the 188-195°F range. Since our trucks use a thermostat that is dimensionally identical to the ones installed in 5.0L Mustangs, I decided to order one for a Mustang and swap mine out.

My truck is still on the stock tune and the cooling fans still turn on at the factory set points so I'm not taking full advantage of the new thermostat, but I still saw a 10°F drop in cylinder head temps after installing the new thermostat. I've had the 180°F thermostat installed for about 16 months now and I haven't had any P0128 codes or other issues thus far.

The parts I used were:
180°F Thermostat, BR3Z-8575-G (RT1258)
Water Outlet O-Ring, HL3Z-8255-A (RG640)
Pre-Diluted Yellow Coolant, VC-13DL-G

I am looking to replace the 190 degree stat with one of these 180 ones but my concern is the fitment. The Ford parts site doesnt show this BR3Z-8575-G fitting the 3.5 V6 in my PB.
I just want to make sure this one will fit & work before ordering one.
Thanks,

 

[SALEEN961]

I am looking to replace the 190 degree stat with one of these 180 ones but my concern is the fitment. The Ford parts site doesnt show this BR3Z-8575-G fitting the 3.5 V6 in my PB.
I just want to make sure this one will fit & work before ordering one.
Thanks,

Ford doesn't list it as fitting the 3.5EB because it isn't used in that engine from the factory, it is used in certain Mustangs. If your truck uses the same ML3Z-8575-A (RT1250) thermostat that my 3.5EB used from the factory, the 180°F BR3Z-8575-G (RT1258) thermostat will fit your truck.

 

[nitrobass24]

I have been running a Motorcraft 180* thermostat for the last 6 months. My tune has been adjusted for it

Are you also running an aftermark intercooler?
What tune did you go with?

 

[TheGoatman]

Are you also running an aftermark intercooler?
What tune did you go with?

Stock intercooler
Livernois

 

[Gros Ventre]

OK, higher capacty fan...

 

[Polo08816]

OK, higher capacty fan...

Is the fan supposed to be running when the truck is traveling at highway speeds?

 

[Gros Ventre]

Also, If you live in California check to see that changing a thermostat temp doesn't violate their emission rules.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Is the fan supposed to be running when the truck is traveling at highway speeds?

Would be dependent on load, road slope, etc. I had a Suburban that under load & climbing would run its fan. Never overheated, but yeah, sometimes on the road it'll kick in I believe. One hill I'd climb with a load on the Suburban was the I-64, 7 mile climb, in West Virginia. Fan always kicked in there in summertime.

 

[amschind]

The intercooler shouldn't help temperatures at all and could theoretically hurt them. The goal of an intercooler is to reduce charge air temperatures with the goal of increasing charge air density: you want more O2 molecules trapped inside the combustion chamber. Pressurizing air heats it, and thus a given volume (say one cylinder) at a given pressure (say max boost) will have fewer molecules of gas as temperature rises (pv=nRt). Cooling the charge air, all else held equal, will increase the number of gas molecules inside the combustion chamber. The issue is that the truck will automatically keep the mix slightly lean, so more O2 molecules per the MAF will cause the truck deliver more gasoline molecules which will in turn release more heat. I have a Livenois intercooler and it is a great mod, just not for cooling per se.

That said, I have another idea for improving cooling performance: exhaust heat shielding. The amount of heat radiated by the turbos, cats and exhaust near the transmission is non-negligible, and has to go somewhere. I don't know how much ends up in the transmission, but SOME certainly does. My thought is that turbo blankets a free flowing exhaust and exhaust wraps at least near the transmission will keep more heat in the pipe and less being radiated into the engine compartment. I bought a set of old rusty exhaust manifolds, and I'm gonna get PTP to custom make a set of manifold blankets as well as having already bought their turbo blankets. My big reservations are 1) that I need the exhaust exchanger gone before I raise the exhaust temps that it is exposed to, as that's a great way to kill it and 2) that the manifold blankets could cause more heat to go into the cylinder heads and thus damage them. To mitigate those issues, I'm waiting on the heat exchanger delete before doing any insulation on the exhaust AND I'll put a temp probe at the exhaust manifold/cylinder head junction and check temps before and after adding the blankets.

I like this route because the mods are mostly superficial AND I'm avoiding the limitations that the PB already has the biggest radiator in any F150 from the factory. I'm not sure how much performance is still on the table there.

 

[dafish]

Is the fan supposed to be running when the truck is traveling at highway speeds?

No, and if it is that's not great. At the minimum it tells you you're running hot enough the truck thinks it needs extra cooling. It's unlikely the fan did anything.

A not-well-known characteristic of cooling systems is that they get more effective as the coolant gets hotter relative to the ambient temps. It's likely you're getting by w/that effect. Unless that's a one-off high/hot/loaded/going-fast situation I'd be taking action.

 

[dafish]

Guys:

Running in the 2220f region is hot, and I'd react, but that's not impossible w/the engine as delivered. It's for sure hot, but....

A thermostat, lets say a 195f, begins to open at 195. It will not be fully open till 215f, and they react somewhat slowly. A hot engine, loaded while passing or merging, could easily see quite a bit more.

As per earlies post, you'll get more even heat dissipation from the heads w/a surfactant. Cheap, easy.

This is why 170f is such a good temp. A running warmed up engine will not be below that, typically above, and in my experience that's hot enough for the ECU to goto open loop maps. Of course now when situation means "hot" the thermostat is wide open at 190f, and that's pretty much what I prefer. YMMV of course, handle as you prefer.

Cab heats up a bit slower of course..

 

[dafish]

I think this would be my preferred "upgade" compared to adding more hardware in the engine bay.

Just remember that while will generally run cooler, lower thermostat does nothing to improve cooling capacity. Meaning anybody getting into prolonged 220f and up temps has a cooling capacity issue that a different temp thermostat cannot solve.

Sponsored