When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
The first 2 years of the EFI 460 and part of the third had an air to oil cooler. Prior to 1988 the cooler was apparently optional. It may have been that with the addition of the catalytic converter the engines ran a lot hotter under load.
Bill, did all of those 460's have that cooler? I thought it was only the E series that had them?
I pulled one off an F-350 Cab and Chassis dump truck, probably 88 or 89 because it had the frame mounted high pressure pump and the fuel lines went over the front of the left valve cover. In my "major rework on 1986 F-350" thread are some pictures of it.
Took me a while, but I found it. I think it was on page 25. I forgot how extensive that project was. It reminded me that I don't need to question you on any OBS topic!
I did this about 2 months ago. I ordered a new radiator, all new gates hoses, new belts and a 180* Tstat. I ordered a oil filter relocation adapter for the engine block and a remote filter mount. I planned to use custom hydraulic hoses to connect the two.
Problem #1 turned out to be that the straight out block adapter did not leave enough room to install JIC 45* adapters for the hoses.
So I ordered a 90* adapter and it allowed plenty of room.
I put in all the new parts. I found that the heater hoses were original Ford as well as the lower hoses that connected to the oil cooler! I went to the Parker hose store after some measuring and had my oil hoses made. I used really nice sheathed 2 wire hydraulic hose with JIC ends. I really recommend the Parker store over ordering hoses with the relocation adapters in a kit. You get the perfect length for your truck and much better quality. These hoses are rated at 3000 psi, 300*, are 34" long and should last the life of the truck. I mounted the filter on the right side of the chassis, it is up out of harms way but easy to get to for oil changes. I made a little bracket to keep the hoses safe and another little bracket to keep the block adapter from ever loosening on the block. It connects to a stud on the exhaust manifold and to the adapter as a safety precaution for my peace of mind.
No leaks, no issues and looks factory.
I am glad to see that the Ford 90* adapter works.
Problem #1 turned out to be that the straight out block adapter did not leave enough room to install JIC 45* adapters for the hoses. So I ordered a 90* adapter and it allowed plenty of room.
Did you use both of those parts or is the first one unnecessary with the second? I don't get how it attaches to the straight out fitting, or does it use the ford racing adapter?
Does the 90* adapter allow for the same amount of flow or is it necked down?
First one was not used, it did not allow enough clearance for the hose setup I wanted to use.
Second one allows plenty of room.
The adapter simply threads onto the block where an oil filter would go if there was room. The block insert has to be changed to a threaded one. The one in the truck with the oil cooler is not threaded. I used this one from ScramSpeed, he is on Ebay
Well, seeing as there has been a lot of interest in the Ford Racing adapter since the start of this thread (including myself), but no one has posted any evidence of it working; I thought I'd go ahead and be the guinea pig... Well, I let Betty be the guinea pig I guess.
I'm looking at doing this too with the Ford Racing adapter, do you think there would be room to put a 1" thick sandwich adapter between the block and 90* filter adapter to run an air/oil cooler? I tow with my truck and like the idea of having the oil being cooled, I'd likely run -10AN hose from the sandwich to the cooler if it would work out.
Well, seeing as there has been a lot of interest in the Ford Racing adapter since the start of this thread (including myself), but no one has posted any evidence of it working; I thought I'd go ahead and be the guinea pig... Well, I let Betty be the guinea pig I guess.
My water pump/timing cover started leaking a few weeks ago, and seeing as I had everything torn apart anyways, I figured why not ditch the factory oil cooler at the same time... Unfortunately I had procrastinated on ordering the Ford racing adapter months ago. Now that I needed one, I couldn't get it for about 7 days with shipping... And of course I needed the truck back on the road right away.
I got a Mr. Gasket remote oil filter kit just to get me by, and also ordered the Ford Racing Adpater.... and boy am I glad I did. That stupid remote filter did nothing but leak no matter how snug the fittings were (specs said do not torque more than 20 ft/lbs or the housing would crack, and I fully believe that. So I just lived with Betty marking her territory wherever she went. Biggest waste of $70, but I had no choice.
I just put the Ford Racing adapter on today and it works fine. Biggest hassle was getting the damn Mr Gasket adapter off the block... Nothing to grab onto easily, but a pair of Knipex (best tool purchase in a while) and much cursing and it came off.
Here you see the threaded insert that I had already installed in place of the original:
Ford Racing Adapter:
Mounted on the block:
Install a filter of your choice and you're ready to roll.... If your choice is anything but a Motorcraft, slap yourself upside the head repeatedly, then go get one...
All you need to do is follow the instructions listed elsewhere in this thread to remove the stock cooler. I used a lower Rad hose for a '90 F-250 with a 351W - Works perfect. Clearance is not bad, looks tight in the picture, but there is 1"+ to the rad hose and steering box. You can easily get your hand in over top of the rad hose to change the filter.
I feel much better now knowing there are no hoses to blow off, and no chance of my oil cooler failing taking out my engine. I don't work this truck hard at this time (Daily Driver) and I change my oil regularly, so I don't think the loss of cooling will be an issue. (there are tons of other hard working V8's out there with no coolers)
Hope this helps anyone who is deciding to go this Route!
I just found myself in this same predicament. Island'r, now that you've had this installed for almost a year, how is it holding up, any issues? On the adapter there looks to be a tang at about the 3 o'clock position, does this contact anything on the block?
I found my coolant looking like mud and coolant leaking out what seemed to be under the rear of the engine. Turns out that the incline I regularly park on was routing the coolant to the rear and was not a freeze plug like I feared. Today I spent the afternoon replacing the timing cover and water pump gaskets. Driverside water passage had sprung a leak on the timing cover. I checked my tranny fluid and engine oil, both seem to be free of coolant but my coolant is definitely contaminated. Now after some time on the computer I fear my oil cooler is the culprit. I am going to pull it tomorrow and see if I can pressure test it or see if I can visually find a defect.
It has held up just fine. I hant driven the truck much this year. I pulled her off the road for a while to repair a leaking passenger exhaust manifold... That turned into ditching the manifolds and going with some banks headers... and full new exhaust
Others have asked, and I feel my oil is fine without the cooler. I dont do any excessive towing and I change my oil every 5000Kms religiously and only use genuine Ford Motorcraft filters...
When I looked at the pros and cons, there was no reason to keep the cooler in my mind... However mine looked good inside. It didn't look like it would have failed... But looks can be deceiving
I'm in the middle of removing the oil cooler on my '97 F-250HD 460. Like Pappawheely a few pages back, I'm keeping the stock angle adapter between the block and the oil filter and adding a bypass pipe to keep the oil going where it belongs now that the cooler is gone. Unlike Pappawheely, I'm trying to keep the stock oil filter in the stock location. It seems like it ought to be similar to the Ford racing angle adapter, and it's free!
The problem I'm having is the lower radiator hose. I know the filter MIGHT get in the way, but I'm having bigger problems than that.
First I tried an '89 460. As others ran into, the diameter at the water pump end was too large, but also the hose was too long, or the wrong shape. If I hooked one end up the other would be well past the place it was supposed to connect (no pictures of that hose, sorry).
So then I tried a lower hose for a '90 F-250 with a 351 as several people here recommended. That has the right diameters, but it's still too long (see pic below). Also (for what it's worth) it doesn't have the spring in the ID that lower radiator hoses usually have, so I wasn't thrilled with that either.
And by the way, I started another thread about this here. I'm not really trying to have two threads going on this, but I thought I'd add the link to the other one here.
I figured out why the NAPA 7927 (sames as the Dayco 71040 from Autozone) for a '90 F-250 with a 351 didn't fit. It was because of the oil filter in the stock location. Most people who have used that hose had gone to a remote mount oil filter. A few used the Ford racing adapter. I can't say how it would work with those, but I know it doesn't work with the stock oil filter mount.
In the picture I posted above I have the hose in backward. That's the radiator end of it by the water pump. I took the oil filter off, turned the hose around and it fit fine. However it ran directly through where the oil filter would be, so they can't be used together.
I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do now. Short term I might put the cooler back on with the stock hoses. Thanks for everyone's help and I'll let you all know if I come up with a solution.
If you can find a 2 to 1.75" hose bushing, try a 1985-early 1990 lower hose, it has a kick up over the filter location. It is 1.75" ID at the radiator end, but 2" ID at the water pump end. I plan on using that setup on mine, since I want the later water pump.
03-09-2015, 08:54 PM
