If you could do a short vocal over the first 15 minutes and then just make it a how-to (with vocal) it would be publishable now! In my simplistic world, I understand bubbles (air) insulate, so not having those against a hot surface, is a good thing - move coolant across a hot area and don't let localized "bubbles" keep that from happening... Great work Jack! It needs to get out there...

OP - these are some of the best minds on FTE and particularly the 6.0 coming together. If I were in your spot and wanted a "best" (I won't use bulletproof) engine in my vehicle? I'd do this too - and hopefully you can show your mechanic the video (if it is out there) - start after 15 minutes, the reasons to do it are well explained prior to that...

 

It was up to a 45-minute video - because I always go deep in the weeds... What I posted was half that.

And from iMovie, here is what that video looks like now.





I have had over 2.5 TB of images and videos of work relating to this truck and engine, with less than 1 TB remaining. Some are slowly recoverable, most not so far. It's painstaking. It's within Apple's way of dealing with images and video, which is not at all as simple as with a PC.

 

Assembly of the top of the engine, the install of the engine......

 

Those head gaskets don't look as bad as many others.

 

So did you see the reduction in pressure in the cooling system? Or was that more of a characteristic of the Evans coolant?

The pocket you install the bypass in would definitely hold air, but what exactly is it causing? Its far enough away from the cylinders and exhaust that I would think that area is much cooler, is it just a matter of disrupting the flow? It appears to me that pocket woul be well away from the flow. Or is it just "It works, so do it"

 

This is the one reason I joined this forum, support it, advertise it, and cherish it!!! Thank you all for this deep dive into improving the cooling system of the 6.0. I have a lot to learn. And, I sincerely hope that others can also learn from all this discussion.

While I trust my mechanic to do the right things, I don't think he'd be inclined to do a custom job like this.

Thanks Jack. I'm praying that this was caught before it caused too much damage.

 

>>So, did you see the reduction in pressure in the cooling system? Or was that more of a characteristic of the Evans coolant?

The pocket you install the bypass in would definitely hold air, but what exactly is it causing? It's far enough away from the cylinders and exhaust that I would think that area is much cooler. Is it just a matter of disrupting the flow? It appears to me that the pocket would be well away from the flow. Or is it just "It works, so do it?"



I didn't do it to sway people into modifying their heads. However, on my YT channel and other conversations, I've been made aware that shops insist the aftermarket larger tubing be done on a rebuild. I'm not sure if this is from actual data or aftermarket hearsay.

Evans is a product I would not use without modifications to the base cooling system. Evans's specific heat is less than that of our typical coolant. So, to have the same heat rejection, the circulated volume must be increased. Other factors, such as the fluid's dynamic viscosity, must also be considered.

So, I think there is a real possibility that part of Akblackfoot's issue could be overheating at the combustion chamber and exhaust port walls. It is hard to say if Evans developed boiling, but his video demonstration of the bubble test may be inclined to say it is. The other situation is that Evans says to drill a hole in the pressure cap - Evans does not need the pressure to prevent typical boiling in common engine situations. But the hole is also there to let any remaining water evaporate.

So I don't look at his story as a confirmation that the back of the head modification has to be done; I look at it as an opening to lack of degas venting in the back of the heads.

Since putting the engine back in my truck, it's not been driven that much, and indeed, it is not where I thought it would show what I expected. Captured air expanding in the back of the heads may be partially or fully responsible for the excessive volume change this engine in this truck seems to have. Why there was so much error in calculating how much open air is necessary for the degas bottle doesn't make sense. Why are we expanding as much as we usually do under high load and high-temperature conditions?

 

Prakash,

Good to see you are dealing with potential issues. This will make for a very reliable vehicle. I am just throwing this out there but did you plan on replacing the lifters? I believe that they may be a weak point and you mentioned that you were at 180,000 miles when this was purchased on another thread. Hopefully other will chime in that have more evidence/opinions. I am not trying to steer you in the wrong direction at all or create extra work/costs, just don't want to see you do all this work and have an issue down the road.

You are correct, this is a very informative and helpful forum with a lot of great members who offer free advice.

Rob

 

Hi Rob,
The lifters are not in my list right now. As I mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread, the primary goal was to contain the very high EOT numbers. And some of these other parts are being replaced while the engine is open to prevent other potential issues. The engine is running pretty smooth otherwise, and I didn't see the need to replace other engine components at this time. Other than the gaskets, O-Rings, and other consumables, I will be bringing back all of the replaced parts home to keep as spares.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Prakash,

Totally understand not doing the lifters as to where do you draw the line if you have a totally good running engine, which parts do you replace.

Good to bring all of the replaced parts back home. This will help with future diagnostics.

Rob

 

The parts cost about $800 today for 16 OE lifters and the kit to replace the rear cover gasket and crank seal. That drops to ~$350 if you do Mahle lifters and rear kit.

I can understand that being a possible bridge too far. With the engine out, I'm cautious enough that I'd do it.

 

I stopped by the shop this evening. Heads have been sent to the machine shop to checked, resurfaced. That led to an inspection of the valves which confirmed that there are cracks on the seating face of some the valves. So, replacing them all. PFA/R.

 

I replaced all my valves, not due to cracks, but the exhaust valves had indentations from the seats. The intakes were fine, but, ya know, while you're there sets in.

 

Heads came back from machine shop yesterday. Reassembly has started. How do I confirm that EGR has been deleted?

 

That J looking pipe is the part that deletes the EGR. It routes the coolant from the oil cooler back the manifold and blocks the exhaust inlet on the intake. This pipe goes in place of the EGR cooler. The only thing left to check would be the up pipe on the passenger side. It would either be replaced with a straight pipe or the EGR cooler inlet would be welded or capped off.