I'm not sure what they're called, but most of the aftermarket companies sell a gadget that keeps your diesel running for a while, even if the key is removed, then shuts it down. I have a E-350 with 6.0 (2006) and should I be using one of these? I live in Hawaii (Kauai). We have no freeways or highways here to speak of, most driving is probably more like city driving, rarely go 50-55 mph for more than 20 minutes, and the temps here avg. about 70's---80's. I also run the Delo 400 in it; given these conditions (the van has almost 10K on it), is the Delo 400 good to use, and should I get one of those deals that keep the truck running for a while (I presume this is for turbo cool down?)
P.S. This is our company work truck; it has aluminum glass racks both sides and it loaded with tools & misc. stuff for work, so it works a little.
Any idea what these vans should be getting for mpg?
Thanks,
Jim

 

glass, the purpose of the cooldown is for the oil in the turbo to come down to around 400 degrees. It will lengthen the life of your turbo. It isn't for the engine per se.

 

I often wondered this also, it seems silly to make a trip into town to get something and then sit there for 4 minutes or whatever to let the turbo cool down, I just cant see myself everytime I stop somewhere sitting and waiting for the turbo to cool down.
It just seems that ford would have known that not everybody was going to be towing something with this truck 7 days a week 10 hrs a day. That there were going to be alot of people driving them also for a daily ride. Not everybody is gonna wanna wait.
Me im practically jumping out of my current truck (non-diesel) before its even in park.
Is that the norm..if it doesnt hit 400 degress dont worry about it.. just shut it off.
So how do you know what the temp of the turbo is?
Will running it 3 miles into town to go pick something up raise the temp to over 400 degrees?.. is it that easy to hit 400 degrees?

 

Actually it is easy to hit 400 degrees, even going 25-30 miles an hour. Egt's are how you(or atleast I do) monitor temperature. The turbo cool down products are actually best if your going from going 75-80, pull off the interstate real quick and shut it down or shut it down after hauling a big load. Typically they are for the turbocharged vehicles, so as far as sdtruckman, what you do really wouldn't hurt anything at all in your case since you said it was not diesel and i'm betting it isn't supercharged(or turbocharged, I know they make turbos for cars, don't know if they do for gas trucks or not). Glasstruck, I would actually get an egt gauge(installed pre-turbo so you know exactly what temps are going into your turbo) and then watch it til it gets to ~400 degrees, which won't take 4 minutes, most of the time you won't be far off 400 degrees getting off the interstate doing 70 and driving to the local gas station unless you have the pedal to the floor to the station. The turbo coolers are mainly for the hard worked and driven trucks though.

 

tex..

My current ride is gas (nonturbo-nonsupercharged). Looking at going diesel (my first), but the cool down period that everyone always talked about had me concerned as like i said, im practically jumping out of the truck before its even in park. Somedays I do alot of start and stop driving.
Thus the questions since Im looking at a diesel and will I still need to be concerned?

 

You can get diesel that is non-turbo but that is a special order as most new ones are turbo(atleast you could get the 6.0 non-turbo, I don't know about the 6.4 and that has two on there). That is a concern though particularly for you and that is one of the diesel shortcomings, stop and go driving and multiply shut offs during that driving. It just depends on how necessary it is for you to fly out of the truck when you get to your destination, it doesn't take much to let it get to about 400, but it does take longer then barely having it in park and shuttin it off. In all honestly it might be better to find a non-turbo diesel(rather new, if you can, or used) as it is really a concern for the turbo itself. You have to understand that this and other factors make driving a diesel a different animal then a gas engine and you will need to alter to a degree your driving habits if you want to obtain max. benefits(longevity and economy) from the truck. Like a said you could get by with a pre-turbo egt and depending the driving that you have done i.e. just local driving it would take you less time to reach a good cool down temp. then had you just come off a 10 1/2 hr interstate bonanza going 75, and just watch that gauge til it reachs 400 give or take(the gauge is where I have more experiance then the electronic device, plus with the gauge you already have it if you want to do more performance stuff or just monitor your engine to make sure it's acting good, the gauge fits multiple purposes where is the timer only has one) a few degrees. It will effect your fuel economy rather or not you have a turbo, but the timer is for the turbo's benefit.

 

There is a 6.0 non-turbo? WOW---Never knew that.

 

When I was getting mine, and we were doing all the paperwork signing the guy he had to look up what the policy would be(this is for an extended one) for a turbo and he had to ask me to make sure if mine was turbo or not as they do differentiate between the two on the policy. I have seen more 7.3 that had not had the turbo, but I haven't seen that many that didn't on the 6.0.

 

Most of my driving is under 5 miles or so. I always try to let my EGT cool below 400f. A cold ait intake and a aftermarket exhaust greatly lowers EGT. Normally mine falls below 400f in under 30 seconds.

To install something that keeps your truck running after you turn off the key, will also have to dis-able the computer codes since this would be a error. Not that big a deal, but if something is going wrong with your truck, you will not get the CEL light.

Someone correct me if I am wrong about that. My tuner has this capability to run the truck after key is removed, but this is warning in the instructions.

 

Hey guys, are EGT gauges typically installed before (pre) turbo? I was thinking of getting a Accufab Power Elbow, and it has a port for mounting a boost gauge or something, someone mentioned air flow, and these power elbows boast a 40% in air flow; plus, with the van I have, it's so crammed under the hood, I think most modifications for intake & exhaust are geared more for the F series trucks.
Just out of curiosity, how come you want to see the EGT's before the turbo?
I'm not into big power increases, but since this our daily work van, I want it to run as cool and efficiently as possible. BTW, I often let the truck run while I run into the post office, store, etc.
Also, am I running the correct oil (Delo 400) for our climate and driving conditions? (Hawaii, mostly city type driving with 50-55 mph stretches for only 20 minutes or so).
Thanks guys; this forum is extremely helpful for novices (me)!
Jim

 

Glass, EGT gauges are typically installed on the exhaust manifold under the driver side.

The absolute cheapest way to not shut down all the time is get one of those key chains that push button apart in the middle. This is what I do when I run in the store for a sixer. Just leave it running, pull off the alam remote, lock the doors.

May waste gas,,, but who cares... BTW how much is a gal of Diesel on your very fine island?

 

EGT gauges can be installed pre or post turbo, but pre will give you more accurate temp readings then post turbo. Egt let you know how efficiently your running, the more heat that your truck gives off the more inefficient it is. The beaut of egt gauge is that you don't need to have power tuners(or the like) on the van and/or truck in order to use the gauge to monitor its vitals, just lets you know how your baby is doing. As for taking your remot with you, I have done that before and then I stopped doing that when the button sticks at times or the battery is dying out on it. I use the keypad when I just run a quick errand of course that isn't to say that they keypad won't fail on me as well.

 

ECA, I'm not sure what we're paying for diesel at the moment; we have an account with an automated fuel network; you pull up to the pump, use your special card, pay at the end of the month. I think we're around 3.50 at the regular gas stations, but don't hold me to that! BTW, a gallon of milk here typically goes for 5-6 bucks a gallon.
Costco opened up here less than a year ago; what a blessing!
Jim

 

Jim, I hear ya... Still whatever it costs.. when filling up, you got a view that none of us do... gotta love it. I have been there many times, and it is the best!!

Diesel here in Austin TX runs about 2.85 or so.. Milk is just a little more.... Funny, the people who complain about gas prices are the same who but 16 oz's of water for a $1.39 Does not make sense to me.

Aloha and Mahalo !!!!!

Eric

 

You're absolutely right, Eric! Sometimes I need a reminder to be thankful for where we live! It is beautiful here, whales were here all winter until about a week or so ago, they stayed pretty late this year.
Love the diesels; seems like everybody else does too! I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of big trucks sold were diesels.
Jim