Back from Mexico (1 Viewer)

[landandsea]

Made it back with no meltdowns. Thanks to all who helped talk me down from the high coolant temp anxiety attacks.

Intake air readings hit a whopping 179 degrees on the way back. There was an amazing amount of carnage along I8 on the mountain passes...18 wheelers, buses, cars, vans...all overheated. We certainly would have also been roadkill without the OBDII scanner.

Becuase of the 3 day holiday, all that I could accomplish before heading back was an oil change.

I was surprised to find 93 octane unleaded at every gas station - even in the really small towns. However, the check engine light came on. Catalyst was operating below minimum efficiency. When I got back to the US I filled up, reset the light and it never came back on. The Mexican gas apparently doesn't burn as clean.

As for the high operating temps....No doubt that a snorkle would help. A while back, someone posted about a hot-rod 80 in Saudi Arabia or someplace like that. It had louvres in the hood. I think that being able to evacuate the hot air under the hood would be extremely helpful.

An external oil cooler would probably help also. The increased capacity plus the outside cooling air would have to make a difference.

Has anyone tried hood louvres and/or external oil cooler?

Ed

 

[BigMac]

Ed:
I recently installed an external oil cooler - picked up about another quart of oil capacity. Last week I did 1900 miles from SoCal to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon & Zion. Even at 115 OAT, temp needle never went above horizontal - but I don't have OBD II monitoring (yet) so I don't have definitive data. When I can find the time and figure out how to post photos, I hope to do a Beonese quality thread on the cooler install. BigMac

 

[alaskacruiser]

BigMac- could you post details on your choice of oil cooler? How was the install?

Oh and what's the consensus on this group as far is oil coolers go? Necessary? Any real benefit? Any cons?

 

[semlin]

Ed,
Welcome back. I hope your temp flux experience didn’t dampen your vacation.

I am curious to know how your truck does on running and intake temperature wise now on regular driving with the OBD II hooked up to generally understand what they run at. Although I have never moved the temp gauge on mine on any hill (and we have hills here), I’ve noticed that the engine compartment gives off more heat after a sustained drive than any vehicle I’ve ever driven. I’m not ready for a snorkle but I think your suggestions about other measures to cool things down in there make sense. BTW the louvres in the Saudi 80 were from an escort cosworth if I recall and it also had a scoop from a mitsubishi. I suppose you could cut and paste anything in there is you wanted.

Semlin, who suddenly sees the limitation of the paperclip OBD

 

[BigMac]

Alaska - below is the brief write-up I posted earlier (apologies to all for the repeat). I have a few digital photos, but they are too big to post. Even the heroic efforts of my 19yr old son, who is much more computer literate than I, failed. I will be happy to send them via private email if desired. Bottom line is that there is plenty of room up front for a substantial Oil Cooler and no real issues with hose routing. I have now tested mine in very hot desert travel and am pleased. One of these days I would like to add an Accusump to the lubrication system, but I don't even have a hint of start-up rattle, so that is probaly overkill (though I'm kinda surprised that nobody has tried it for that problem yet). I also think I can improve flow through the cooler by changing the hose fittings to ones with a longer radius, but that is getting pretty far down in the weeds and I am always pressed for wrench time. Original post:

I used a "Self Regulating Oil Cooler Kit" from Ford Racing - on sale for $115 - same oil filter footprint & threads as ours. Turns out it uses an M7B Tru-Cool cooler (8x11x1.5") made by Long (Canada) and available elsewhere, too. Mounted it on the PS in front of the radiator, as a mirror of the transmission cooler installation. I had to make 3 aluminum arms to hang it on - fourth corner went directly to an unused bracket. A sandwich plate with 3/8" NPT female threads goes between the block and filter. The kit came with crappy brass hose barbs & clamps; I substituted AN -10 push-on fittings. I also had to buy an additional 4 or 5 ' of hose. Routing was easy, straight down from the sandwich plate, forward under the pan, through the holes in the front cross member, then straight up to the cooler. I put 90 deg hose ends on the cooler, with its fittings at the 3 o'clock position (facing the grill). Probably increased total oil capacity by about one quart. No fan on the cooler. The "Self-Regulating" feature provides a crude (or elegantly simple, depending on your viewpoint) thermostat function. The top two layers in the cooler are larger, and thus an easier path for thicker, cooler oil - that's their story. I would have preferred to use a remote oil filter mount and take the oil hoses straight off the block - one less 90 bend, but I couldn't find a good location to mount one. I may get around to plumbing in a 2QT Accusump if I can mount one above the brake booster, but I don't have time now. Hope this helps. BigMac

 

[ParadiseCruiser]

Ed -

I get the sense that you are pleased with your selection of an OBD-II scanner. If you mentioned what brand/model you ended up with, I missed it in the confusion. I'm looking to replace my OBD reader...

Thanks, Ron -

 

[landandsea]

Semlin and Ron,

Sorry for the late replies - I've been away.

Since I returned from mexico I haven't driven the 80 very much but we have 2 driving trips planned. Next weekend from Long Beach to Palm Springs and the following week from Long Beach to Seattle. Neither trip will be a towing trip so I will hook up the scanner and get normal readings during both trips. I'll be able to compare hot desert driving with cooler coastal driving.

I wqas on the road when the need for a scanner developed, so one morning in Yuma, AZ, I started calling auto supply stores listed in the phone book and bought the first (and only) one I found. Its made by AutoXray and the model is EZ Link Scanner. Their web site is www.autoxray.com. It is a self contained hand held unit with a lot of functions. At first I was hoping for a software based product to use with a laptop but found that this is really easy to use AND an optional cable and software package is available to use with a laptop. The cost was $259 and the laptop hook up is $89.

I don't have anything to compare this unit with but I really like how easy it is to use. Really plug and play.

Ed