6.0L Aftermarket EGR Cooler

[Jim Warman]

Aww, c'mon Dwayne... I needed to drag this out of you. Anyway, don't worry, they're gonna be rubber bullets

 

While the 6.0 was built to replace the 7.3, it was designed to a whole different criteria... one we weren't accustomed to and one we are still having troubles getting accustomed to.

 

I think we've talked about the number of head bolts in the past... But can we imagine how big and heavy7 this package is going to be if they tried squeezing 8 more full sized head bolts into the same area? More full sized head bolts would be ideal... but it can't happen and keep the package useable for it's intention (i.e. - will it fit between the wheels, can we close the hood and will a usable portion of the vehicle weight be on the rear wheels?).

 

I don't think the 6.0 headbolts are all that bed per se... but it would be nice if there were more of them - I think we mentioned that part already. If they were grossly remiss, it is because they neglected to include a position sensor for the VGT. Every time we overstress a headbolt, it becomes easier to overstress it. If they had included a VGT position sensor, they could have mapped a torque limiter strategy of some sort... defuel, open the EGR, something/anything to reduce the boost.... unfortunately, I'll bet this would make the engine a bigger piece of shit in most peoples eyes... Don't get me wrong - this would be a good summation. Nobody wants a motor that will deliver random instances of power loss... Wait a minute... even without the VGT position sensor we have random instances of no power.... Holeeee Sheeit!!!

 

So, to increase power, we needed to flow more air... and that necessitated 4 valves per cylinder... not much real estate left for injectors... especially for injector coils... injector coils operating at half the voltage of a 7.3. Stiction? In retrospect, I'm not surprised - but, we've seen that we don't have enough room for more head bolts... we chewed up what we had for room with more valves and now the rocker arms just about hit the injector coils - which are just small enough to be too weak to handle some spools.. especially those that are well planished to the ends of the bores. Oil cooler? Let's compare cutaways before we brag up the 6.4.

 

I can't vouch for parts interchageability between the 6.0 and the 6.4.... but pretty much all of the design elements are there. Valve train driven off the back of the crank (anyone realize that this reduces timing variation due to crankshaft torsional flexing?), main bearing girdle (what you guys call a bedplate)... connecting rods, pistons and such - all of them cut from the same cloth and borne of the same manufacturing technology from all appearances. Rocker arms? I have no doubts that the engineers dearly wish they'd come up with 6.4 design rockers in time to implement them into VT365 production - hind sight is 20-20.

 

One very important thing we are overlooking. The 7.3 was a PRODUCTION engine. Were it not for EPA, we'd still be working on them under warranty...

 

The 6.0 was designed with it's soul purpose as being a STOP-GAP engine. We were foolish enough to believe that this was the shape of things to come (face it, if Ford told customers to buy an engine that is predictably obsolete... how many would get sold?). But look at the situation. They knew pretty much exactly when the 6.0 was going to die - even before it was born.

 

From all appearances, the 6.4 stood a chance of being "ported over" to SRC technology in the Ford stable until big business got in the way. I see ITEC using the 6.4 for many years to come.

 

Fuel economy is something you didn't mention. 7.3s did better than 6.0s and they do better than 6.4s. But the idea is "acceptable" fuel economy with emissions that meet or exceed requirements. The criteria has to be met before we can worry about the "nice shit".

 

In the 80s and the 90s, we saw that the technology available lagged far behind the technology required when we discussed gasoline engines. We've been at that point in time with diesels for a while now... And I don't see that changing for a while. Field testing new stuff will never equal putting stuff in the field and waiting and watching.

 

Anyway... for my dime, I might opine that it would be nice if they could find a better way to do something... but for me to call something a piece of shit because of it's design indicates that I have a better way of doing it. I don't.

 

I can say "Let's revert to the 7.3" - but that is a giant leap backwards. Yes, the 7.3 was dependable and trouble free. But it was also "dirty"... (ever wonder what happened to the air cooled Beetle engine? The 351C... 351M/400? and on and on?).

 

You wouldn't believe the heartaches we had through the 70s.. tetra-ethyl lead was banned from gasolines.... the technology for unleaded gasolines was in it's infancy - and it was BAD... EGR valves were introduced - we'd never seen them before and, for a while, the only thing we could figure out to do was to disconnect them. Engines with bundles of vacuum hoses damned near as thick as your wrist... ported vacuum valves, vacuum delay valves, vacuum lines with orofices placed in them (ever notice nifty blue, green, red vacuum connectors instead of good old black?), vacuum amplifiers, ported vacuum, manifold vacuum, venturi vacuum...

 

Bad design? Probably... Pieces of shit? Nope - we didn't have anything else to replace it with... If you don't have anything better, how can the only stuff you have be shit?

 

FWIW.. I saw my first EcoBoost commercial last night... anyone want to start a pool?

 

Don't wrestle with a pig... you're both gonna get diry and he likes it.

[Bruce Amacker]

Are you typing all of this shit on the clock at work?

 

 

[DwayneGorniak]

LOL. Jim's on Hollidays. Holy shit Jim. I was expecting another long winded one from ya. But holy shit!

[Jim Warman]

Like the sign in the restroom.... we aim to please.... you aim, too - please

[Keith Browning]

I went camping for 4 days. Someone asked if I brought my laptop.

 

 

I didn't of course as it was family time. The campground had free wi-fi internet.

 

 

Good thing I left my laptop at home.

 

[LARRY BRUDZYNSKI]

Good thing I left my laptop at home.

 

 

 

I'd say.....Would that have meant the dog house for you, or would it have meant the out house????