Oil cooler reseal

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Dieselcrawler

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how to reseal oil cooler on the 6.9, 7.3 and 7.3 powerstroke engine.

after draining coolant from radiator and block(if not drained from block u will make a mess when cooler is removed) remove the cooler from the engine. will need to unbolt the driverside motor mount and jack the engine up to get the cooler out. it is a tight squeeze but is possible. some oil and coolant will come out when cooler is removed, just dont have your mouth open when it does.


clean the oil cooler as best as possible in parts washer or the like. will look like this.
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now place in a vice and tap off the end caps with a rubber or plastic hammer. the end caps are aluminum and will crack if hit to hard. tap them off by hitting here
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now after taking the end caps off, remove the old orings. clean the core the best you can, making sure the oring lands are clean and burr free.
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now clean the end caps also, paying close attention to where the core slides in. you do not want any burrs here that can cut the oring.
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place the new orings on the core and put a coat of oil on them to help them slide into the end caps.
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now comes the fun part. since many of us do not have a press, which is the correct way to put the end caps on, use a floor jack and something heavy. i used my welding table. can use bumper of truck, tractor, whatever. press the end caps onto the core making sure the alignment tab is lined up with the slot on one end cap. do not worry about the other cap, it can be turned after fully pressed on.
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now rotate the other end cap and done! reinstall and enjoy your leak free cooler.
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orings can be had from ford or international. the block to cooler gaskets can be had from any parts store. u will get three gaskets, one will not be used. it is for the van oil coolers.
 

sassyrel

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tell yah a new one----i DIDNT remove the front header!!!!! just took out the back bolts[after draining the block and oil filter removal]and removed the cooler, and rear header!! yup!! easy peasy-----took a very fine scotch brite--and reached in to polish the front header...looked ot make sure it was clean--reached in and rubbed some crank oil in there,,then with the assembled cooler and rear header, lined it up straight--and was able to use a 2x4 of length,,and pry forward,,,,,,!!till the oring popped in,both of them!!
 

Dieselcrawler

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i had this one sitting here from the last motor i tore apart, figured i would rebuild it since the one on mine now is leaking. notice the light rust on oil filter threads? lol been sitting cleaned for 3-4 months. will probly get installed next week.
 

94turboidi

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I just did mine also I bought a second set of Orings and will rebuild the cooler I have from another motor and either sell or keep for backup. Probably sell. I used our hyd. log splitter w/ 2x4 blocks at the ends to press it together, had to have some help holding it all together and went really slow to press it together square.
 

hesutton

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I've never used a press to put the caps back on. And, I know that pressing them on is a popular way to recap the oil cooler core. But, the only time I've seen the o-rings get cut is when the caps are forced/pressed on the core. If you have to force the caps on, you need to clean the surfaces some more or you don't have enough lube on the caps/orings.

I've had great results with assembly lube on the o-rings and caps. I place the caps on the core and just use my hand to push down on the caps until they slide on. If they don't slide on with just using my hand, again, something isn't right.

Heath
 

icanfixall

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Using a quailty "lube" is very high on the priority list here.... friction is not what you want to feel...These parts need to glide together easily or things are going to break... Then its the Exon Valdize all over again... One spill and your life is ruined....:angel: Heath knows this first hand.....:D:sly
 

Agnem

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Good reference Corey, and good comments too. Off to the tech articles with you!


Editors note: BleedBlueOval reports the following:

I have found the sizes of these o-rings on www.fordparts.com. The two sizes are .305 dia x 2.59 ID and .210 dia x 2.60 ID. This should make it so we can possibly locate them from others besides just the stealerships.
 
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