Cooling system flush with CLR and distilled water (using Senior Master Tech's method)
Refill cooling system with Final Charge ELC and distilled water (50/50 mix)
DFuser coolant filter kit
Motorcraft updated de-gas bottle
Motorcraft updated de-gas bottle cap
Motorcraft thermostat assembly
Fumoto block drain valves
Motorcraft block drain plug o-rings for Fumoto drain valves
IPR Research Gen 2 EGR delete kit
Motorcraft updated oil cooler
Install ARP head studs with Motorcraft head gaskets

Optional:
BPD billet aluminum water pump
BPD billet aluminum radiator
IPPR coolant filtration setup (100% filtration, not bypass)

I chose CLR over VC-9 or Restore or Restore+ simply because it's more readily available, cheaper, and I keep bottles of it at home for different uses (plumbing stuff, clearing clogged heater cores, etc.). I chose Final Charge ELC because it's stocked at O'Reilly Auto Parts and is readily available as well. The DFuser coolant kit was my choice out of all the units out there due to price, including 3 filters, and being easily rebuildable if needed. Some of you may have the updated de-gas bottle and cap. Easy way to tell is if your bottle has a sticker for the levels instead of the markings on the plastic and if your cap has the white sticker compared to being all black. Thermostat is replaced during a flush as it has to be removed anyways. The Fumotos are super handy, but you may have issues with the block drains stripping out and you will need to use o-rings instead of the flat washers they come with. I chose to delete the EGR because we have no emissions testing, plus I like the idea of not needing to worry about the cooler and I chose the IPPR setup because it has a one-piece setup instead of the two-piece setup. We all know about the updated oil cooler, ARP head studs, and using OEM headgaskets, no need to go into that.

As far as the optional things - they are not things you should tear apart the engine just to install. More-so they are upgraded parts to replace parts that may eventually fail. The water pump and radiator are not known common failure items whereas everything else I listed is. If you do need to replace a water pump or radiator though these would be great items to install. I myself do not like the 100% filtration setup, but some do, so it's up to you if you want to do a by-pass filtration or inline. I will cover the oil cooler stuff more in my next thread.

I think that about covers what I've found. Chime in if you have any opinions to share!

 

im going with simple green for a cleaner and cat elc since i have a cat dealer pretty close. Also am going with the bpd water pump when i have to remove the front cover to do a reseal. Got the fumoto's and o rings, distilled water and ready to flush it. I have had the Dfuser on there already for 2k miles so the flush shouldn't be too bad.

 

Sounds like a good plan!

 

Bump for more opinions!

 

Bumping this up! Looking for more opinions on cooling system upgrades and maintenance before I tear into the truck!

 

Bumping this up again. Wanting to try and get some more opinions and thoughts on other maintenance and upgrades for the cooling system!

 

After doing my flush and adding the recommended amounts of cat elc and distilled water here is what i noticed.

I drained the rad, used the driver side fumoto valve only since i didn't really have time to drop the starter to get at the passenger side, dropped the lower rad hose....i got out appx 4.25 gallons(17 qts) and did a refill of straight cat elc of 2.75 gals concentrate and top with distilled. I think those numbers are right, but anyway i calculated the straight elc and distilled at 11.5 qts each since there was still water in the block/heater core, yada yada. The capacity i read was 27.5 qts. So with 11.5 qts of eachx2=23 qts plus the other 4.25 or so that remained in the block would equal the capacity. Im wondering where that other 1/2 qt is.

I did a ph test and im running in the alkaline side appx 7.8. ideal would be neutral at 7.0. So i drained some back out and added distilled, ran it up to OT, checked again after a cool off till the ph was 7.0.

I think adding the 3.5 gals of straight elc is too much from what i have read on here about the amount to start with. If i had to do it again, I would lower the amount of elc add more distilled, and tweak from there since elc is way more expensive than distilled water.

I did not use any chemicals either, only distilled water for 4 flushes till it came out clear. deltas did not warrant using chemicals

 

Regarding the re-fill amount of coolant... I like to go on the side of caution as I live where it gets to be -20 F. I'm fine with having a little more coolant than water in the truck. Obviously in AZ you don't have to worry about it nearly as much as you would want more water than coolant due to higher temperatures. I agree, if your deltas are fine and you just want to switch to ELC distilled water flush is perfectly fine, just make sure you install a coolant filter to catch all the crap you stir up during the flush procedure.

 

see post #2 above

 

Since you are asking, my 2 cents.

ELC is a great choice.
Only thing I would add to your list is the blue spring when you can.
I think the extra fumoto valves are overkill, but it does save on the number of rinses with distiller water you have to do. I did mine without the valves, my repeated rinses. Without replacing the thermostat.
Your ELC should be atleast 45%. Up north we do 50 or even 55% for the antifreeze protection. Down south in the summer you need this for the osmolality to increase your boiling point high enough to not boil over. If you run straight water, you boil the water at 220 F right. With 50% coolant mix, the boil over temp is approaching 250 f. When you are pulling heavy in the summer you need that coolant to run on occasion over 220. So, you should be checking your coolant after it's well mixed with a hydrometer for what percent freeze protection if only to make sure you are at optimum 45%.

 

Gotcha.

I've got the blue spring kit installed. The Fumoto drain plugs for the block are great for the people who try to make less of a mess or want a more complete flush, but they are not necessary. I tried to install them only to have the block drains strip out. I've tested my coolant and I'm good for -30 it seems.

On a side note, if anyone is looking for a new pair of Fumoto's with new OEM block drain plug o-rings message me. I'll let them go for a good price as they are brand new.

 

Rough calc your ELC at -30 C or -30 f? -30 f and your at pretty close to 50% which is about perfect. -30 c would be closer to 40% I think. I would love to do the EGR delete, new oil cooler, blue spring, ARPs and tuned FICM, beast of an alternator one day. It's hard to justify when you are not having any issues, but, when something dies on a trip, then you get stuck with what you can get too.

 

-30F.

Reason I want to do this stuff is because it's all done in one shot and will take care of almost all the issues the 6.0 diesel has, not to mention way more power, and better fuel economy. It's not super cheap to do, but it'll be money well spent. Mine isn't having any issues either, but I'd rather get it done before I do.

 

Anyone have any input on the EGR delete kits? I've been reading a lot of mixed reviews regarding deleting it or leaving it in lately. From what I can tell the IPR Gen 2 seems to be the best setup out there for deleting it. For the guys who delete it - do you remove it from the manifold and leave it plugged in or unplug it and use the SCT tuner to fully delete it?

 

I am going to install the Bullet proof diesel EGR cooler when the time comes. I prefer this to the delete so i can stay legal. We don't have inspections in FL but this way I'll never need to worry. I have not heard of any EGR failures with the BPD cooler. Preventing EGR failure is the only real improvement with a delete. Just my 2c