Thermostat check ball fix.

[trackspeeder]

So I did this little mod when the engine was down.
The brass piece is a 1/8 pipe compression nut, filed down shorter then hammered into a cleaned out hole where the ball goes, to hold the ball in, that little cork thing is a joke, gums up and when you clean it .lets the ball fall out.

the second pic is just too **** not to post.

Great idea. When I finally peel apart the 6.9, it will get this trick.

 

[dieselpower63]

thanks guys

This post sure saved a headache! I could be accused of not leaving well enough alone when I "cleaned" the "gunk" from that hole. What a great tip for rebuilding the check ball retainer. Thanks again.

 

[riotwarrior]

THIS SHOULD BE IN THE TECH SECTION FOR CERTAIN...!!!!

 

[6.9poweredscout]

i never noticed that on the scout when i did the engine. sould probably pull it off and take a look.

 

[Trying my best]

I'm 300 miles away at the moment getting started on my mom's Honey-Do list be back behind the wheel in a little over a week. Between driving to L.A. last week and up to Eureka today, it's Amateur Hour on the road...I think people have decided that the minimum safe following distance is best measured in millimeters now

Good to hear that these are "old" pics I was worried for a minute there...

Happy New Year!!

Ah Eureka, like winter in July. Welcome back, kiss the sun goodby.

 

[Nidenn]

So if one were to lose that ball is there a part number for a replacement?

 

[IDIBRONCO]

It doesn't seem to hurt anything to run without it. I have 3 or 4 thermostat housings and I don't think one still has that ball in it.

 

[Macrobb]

I always remove the stupid ball every time I pull that housing. Clean it out, make sure the passage allows water to freely travel through it.

The amount of water that bypasses the thermostat isn't enough to slow down the warmup times, but it makes a *huge* difference when you are filling the cooling system - it lets air past it *much* better, and you rarely have to worry about filling it, running, and then adding more as you didn't get it all in.

 

[typ4]

No the balls not necessary but I did that years ago cuz I thought if someone wanted to fix one correctly that's a good way to do it and never have to mess with it again it's just a quarter inch trans check ball is what I use.

 

[Fixnstuff]

Very nice repair, typ4 ! Nice to see that!

The ball on mine (1987) is considerably larger than the hole and it doesn't come out so I assume the casting eventually corrodes so the ball falls out. That would likely be caused from depleted anti-corrosion additives in a coolant that was not properly changed on time.

Technically I think it is better to have the check ball in place. After about 150 years of designing, manufacturing and testing diesel engines under all sorts of variables, scientists and engineers didn't put it there for no reason! It probably serves a very useful purpose under some conditions.

My preference would always be to repair such things rather than delete them. However, I do understand that sometimes it may become necessary to delete something as the only practical way to get the vehicle quickly up and running again.

 

[Garbage_Mechan]

I have found that having this ball missing or using a generic thermostat results in extended warm up time or never fully coming up to temp. You wouldn’t notice unless you have an accurate temp gauge installed.This engine needs only a very tiny amount of coolant to stay cool at idle.

 

[genscripter]

I removed my ball when I rebuilt my engine last year. As far as I could tell, there was no significant coolant temp difference while driving/hauling, regardless of when I drove it thru the winter or summer conditions.

As for coolant refill times, it is great. No more idling the beast for 38 minutes to get the damn t-stat to open. Fill it up, idle, fill it up more, and cap the radiator. a few minutes, tops.

 

[Fixnstuff]

I have found that having this ball missing or using a generic thermostat results in extended warm up time or never fully coming up to temp. You wouldn’t notice unless you have an accurate temp gauge installed.This engine needs only a very tiny amount of coolant to stay cool at idle.

EXCELLENT POINT and a very big concern in my situation. The guys with manual transmissions only have to deal with engine warm up but with automatic transmissions it's a very different situation.

In my case, I have an automatic transmission (C-6) with an over-sized plate and fin auxiliary transmission fluid cooler as I plan to be in some very hot climate zones in the future but I am in a cool climate zone now. Just from the fan pulling cold air across that aux. transmission cooler ESPECIALLY DURING COLD WEATHER, the extra larger cooler will slow the warming up of the transmission to normal and safe operating temperatures, not to mention the coolant in the radiator staying cold and further cooling the transm. fluid that goes through the internal heat exchanger in the bottom tank of the radiator.... UNTIL THE THERMOSTAT OPENS UP.

SO, I need the coolant mix in the block to heat up fast so the thermostat will open as soon as possible to allow hot coolant into the radiator where it can flow down to the internal heat exchanger in the lower tank and reduce the amount of heat removed from the transmission fluid = so the transmission will warm up quicker. With the check ball in place and functioning, the thermostat should open a lot faster with the engine warm up being faster and be ready to drive, saving warm up time and fuel consumption. At that point I can start out easy and the transmission will come up to temperature quickly. If the thermostat doesn't open quickly I'm concerned about even the slightest damage to my transmission. I want it to last a very long time, the same with all of the work and parts I put into my truck. I will have to depend upon this truck with no breakdowns over some long hauls over mountain ranges and in some remote areas pulling a trailer with valuable belongings in the truck and trailer and I don't want to have ANY kind of breakdown. Or, I might have to leave the truck and trailer unattended to go into a town to try to get the parts I need. Plus I don't want to be on the side of the road having to do any work to it.

I think this transmission warm up is MORE important for the E4OD so DON'T delete that heater hose that goes from a Tee (T) in a heater core hose and the other end goes to the fitting on the lower passenger side tank of your radiator. Surprisingly, a LOT of hot coolant flows through that little hole and it WILL help to warm up your E4OD in all kinds climate conditions. THAT is why the engineers put it there so don't delete it! Unless of course you have a manual transmission with a radiator for an E4OD, then simply plug it with a short piece of heater hose, a 5/8 bolt for a plug, with a long enough smooth shank after cutting the threaded section off and a hose clamp the hose over it.

I have a later style replacement copper radiator in my truck that came from a truck with an E4OD so that's how I know about that fitting and how much hot coolant can flow through it. I also have very good technical perception and understanding of liquid flowing through pipes, pressures, negative pressures, cavitation and heat exchangers and I agree with and trust the engineers who put that fitting there more than I will trust back yard mechanics who have argued that it is of no use and can be deleted!

The right solution for my situation is to have a thermostat to cut off the flow of transmission fluid to that auxiliary cooler, to bypass it until fluid temperature conditions are up enough to open it. I didn't think of that when I installed the larger transmission cooler and I really can't afford to do it now, too many priority things on my truck to fix that cost significant amounts of money and I have a very low Soc. Sec. income. So when cold weather comes again I will either have to install a manual valve or block off the plates and fins so cold air doesn't flow directly through them. The manual valve would be the simpler and better temporary solution.

There is one more important thing that I will put into a reply to genscripter

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I think this transmission warm up is MORE important for the E4OD so DON'T delete that heater hose that goes from a Tee (T) in a heater core hose and the other end goes to the fitting on the lower passenger side tank of your radiator.

I've seen a lot of trucks with the E4OD transmission and most didn't have this fitting in the radiator. For some reason, I can only remember seeing them in 1990 model year trucks. Now I could be wrong about that. The one that sticks out in my mind the most was one that needed the heater hose with the T in replaced. I tried all of the parts stores in town and even the Ford dealership. No one had a replacement hose with the T. The parts guy at Ford couldn't even find it listed in his computer. Maybe he wasn't all there or maybe it really didn't show. I ended up plugging the hole in the radiator and putting regular heater hose in place of the special one. This has been my experience with this one particular item.

 

[genscripter]

SO, I need the coolant mix in the block to heat up fast so the thermostat will open as soon as possible to allow hot coolant into the radiator where it can flow down to the internal heat exchanger in the lower tank and reduce the amount of heat removed from the transmission fluid = so the transmission will warm up quicker. With the check ball in place and functioning, the thermostat should open a lot faster with the engine warm up being faster and be ready to drive, saving warm up time and fuel consumption. At that point I can start out easy and the transmission will come up to temperature quickly. If the thermostat doesn't open quickly I'm concerned about even the slightest damage to my transmission. I

I'm not really following you. Warm coolant is flowing thru the hole previously blocked by the ball bearing. If your intention is to have warmer coolant flowing passed your tranny cooler in the radiator, wouldn't removing the ball be a faster solution to warming your tranny fluid?

When I had the ball installed, my top radiator hose was cold until the t-stat opened, which usually took many minutes. Now without the ball, it is warm rather quickly, and hot (to the touch) within a minute or so. So this would suggest that my radiator is warming much faster than stock. In fact, I distinctly remember touching the bottom of my radiator in the past, and it was cold for a very long time, even after the t-stat would open. So, if the goal is to warm the tranny fluid via the lower tank heat exchanger, then I'm not really sure how the tranny fluid absorbs any heat gain from coolant in a system that takes 20-some minutes to fully warm up.

There is one more important thing that I will put into a reply to genscripter

What's up?