Hi all:

My oil cooler failed in a pretty big way.
I got a coolant rated 90 degree fitting and used the factory clamps to connect the two radiator hose lines together. That's solved.

On the oil cooler side... not solved so well.
At midnight being threatened to get my van off property by a wacko I temporarily installed a used 3/4" (or 5/8"??) coolant hose to connect the two inlet / outlet ports on the (failed) oil cooler together.

This quickly swelled up with oil. All was still ok. For. about. a. month.
Then you all know what happened next - catastrophic failure of the used coolant line. Yep, not rated for oil and higher pressures.

I got a new 5/8" coolant line a foot long for $1.79 and put that in for the time being to get me back home.

Is there any oil rated type of cap I could block off those oil cooler outlets with? Like a plumbing style 'jim cap' that is oil rated I could crank a hose clamp over?

OR what about for now completely removing the failed oil cooler?
As I understand it's a 14mm hex / allen bit to remove it.
I assume that oil stud that goes through the cooler in to the block is too long if the oil cooler is removed to put an oil filter back on? What about a longer one - like the Ford FL1A filter - something like that? Or would I need to get a shorter factory stud for the oil filter to bolt directly under the block - it's hard to find these details on microfiche / online.

Anyone remove / delete theirs?
I plan to reinstall one - I think. I will never tow with my e250 van. So not sure if it's really needed.

I would like to have something more solid to get me by - planning to buy a parts van soon to do the CNG to Gasoline fuel swap.

Thanks!

- Pic included. You can see my cooler lines connected with 90 and that's holding just fine. That's the new coolant rated only 1' hose connecting the oil cooler input / output together. I know it won't last.

 

I cant answer most of your questions but,,, if there is a hydraulic shop near you, you could buy a piece of 5/8 hose from them.. 3 to 5000 psi should your oil pressure!
NAPA used to carry some hydraulic hose.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.
When my van blew the tired old coolant line Autozone recommended something like that.
The only one sort of close by (I was on foot now) was a hydraulic line maker but they only had a premade specific line that was something like 4' long for $48 pre tax.
Had been hoping for something a little less pricey - I guess that's a cheaper coolant hose that will blow after about 200 miles (?)

 

8286 (KM-4601) Radiator Coolant Hose, 5.4L; Used with oil cooler fittings that point forward $132.91 from Ford Parts website. I can get you one at employee price (15% off), and I can ship it to you for free.

 

Thanks for the offer.
But, I am not in need of the coolant lines / hoses.
That's a really easy bypass to do - just get an appropriately rated coolant elbow - cost was $5 at Napa.
It's the oil line / block off / bypass I'm inquiring about.
I saw that you can special order from Napa and have it shipped free to any store oil / hydraulic internal stainless braided reinforced and oil resistant hose for $12 a foot.
Also Oreilly auto has the same for $10 / ft. "Gates - C5E - High-Temp Flexline Hose":
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...2439&ppt=C0222
The only slight thing about that is the fittings. I don't think a typical screw clamp ring would do it - it looks to be crimp style needs.
I have been wondering about using PEX 3/4" copper crush rings as I have plenty of them and the crimping tool as well.

EDIT: Well, what I have won't work here. The I.D. on the Gates hose is 5/8" or .625" and the O.D. is 1"
My PEX stuff is either 1/2" or 3/4" only. Might try crushing it on with clamps. I'm not running through 3000 psi hydraulic fluid after all.

Details on the Gates C5E hose:
Recommended For: Air brake hose, power steering (CAUTION: Intended for heavy-duty commercial vehicle use only), fuel filter, engine and transmission coolant lines, and hot (+300°F) lube oil lines. Tube: Black, oil and heat resistant, synthetic rubber (Nitrile - Type C).

Reinforcement: One braid of high-tensile steel wire over one braid of polyester. Cover: Black, oil and heat resistant, textile braid impregnated with synthetic rubber. Green stripe for easy identification. Temperature Range: -40°F to +300°F (-40°C to +149°C). Air +250°F (+121°C) maximum only. For water emulsions see Temperature Limits Table.
Coupling Recommendation (See Crimp Data Manual 35019 or E-crimp): C5E Field Attachable Couplings (Section P) DOT FMVSS 106 Type A1, SAE J1405 and SAE J1402 Type A1 (-4 to -12). - See more at: http://www.gates.com/products/automo....kt1NSvDn.dpuf

 

Auto zone carries the replacement oil cooler in a kit (with a few seemingly unnecessary parts) for $99. I have also found it on eBay as a single piece for $65 + $15 shipping.
Why not just replace the oil cooler?
The van should run between 180-210 degrees Fahrenheit at operating temp. My understanding is the oil gets 20-40 degrees hotter than that. The oil cooler keeps it down closer to operating temp. This is without towing. If you have the v10 you really should consider just replacing the part. It's a medium duty engine, it works pretty hard. If you're gonna take the fouled one off anyway, might as well put a new one on instead of trying to MacGyver some way around it lol

 

Reasonable point made. Thanks.
Thank you for posting the information on the AZ kit. I will also look into that.
I suppose I had wondered if people had gone Aftermarket / non OEM and how they liked it. I've read some that the Ford oil cooler is a weakness and a common fault point. I am not sure if that's accurate but I've read that several times.

 

I have also read it does occasionally foul on these vans more than other fords. My 02 excursion has one, a different style, but it's never given us any problem. And really, we've had 4 of these e350s (97, 00, 01, and 98) and this is the first time we've had this issue (on the 01).. and the van has 384,000 miles on it. We thought it was a blown head gasket, attempted a liquid fix before diving into yanking the engine out, and had the 'milky way old faithful' from the overfill issue like you did. Your post was what actually led me to look at the oil cooler! So, I dunno... we are of the school of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. The design seems to work well when the parts hold out lol
Just my 2c. Good luck! !

 

Thanks! That's good to hear. Was not sure how prone to failure the coolers are. Glad to hear they sound stronger than I feared. This is my first Ford ever, so learning the mechanicals on them.

 

Generally reading this forum along with the Modular Motors V10 & V8 sections this sort of failure is quite rare---thankfully.

Not all that comforting when it happens to you of course---over 4 different E250's with the 5.4 engines I've had no issues with this part.

 

This is great to hear.
I am SURE the prior owner beached this van for 5 years and didn't register or run it because he was told he had a blown head gasket and the Ford dealer was probably gonna charge him thousands for the job.
This is a much simpler problem to deal with, it's just alarming if someone like me had never heard of a engine oil cooler like this.

 

Well, I just snapped up an 'old New stock' Ford OEM oil cooler part F7UE-6A642-EB for $66.10 shipped
which is the part number currently in the van.

What a p.i.t.a. trying to look up the part on the web. But anyway, it's getting shipped to me so that will go in next and I will skip the oil line bypass effort.

 

Omg... I just picked up the one from Auto Zone... it's an aftermarket transmission cooler coil addition. The oil cooler that is included is soon much smaller than the one on the van. Did you get yours yet? How close is it? I used the part number off the original sticker to order this one ... and just... wow

 

No what I expected...

 

Yikes. That looks pretty tiny. I haven't gotten mine yet. I also shipped it to where the van is - currently 3000 miles away. But it's an exact older stock number that was in mine:
# F7UE-6A642-EB
I know that part # was updated to a new part number - maybe a different design / who knows? But that was the part # that was in my van and the one I found on fleabay.

I like your tie off at the cooler - looks familiar!
I am sure you are aware but I guess the thought is that style hose might hold in there for about 200 miles and then kaboom!