SCT X4/ running hot?

[Drkstar32]

2006 E350 6.0/ Fairly uneducated in automotive.

Two issues.
I have been having trouble with my vacuum pump. The original OEM pump died in Jan 2002. Replaced and it lasted until 3 weeks ago. Took it to EIS in Sherwood OR and that one lasted 10 minutes of driving. They replaced it and that one lasted two days. This time check engine light and battery light came on as well as losing power steering. Replaced again and I picked it up yesterday 10/7/22. Crossing my fingers. The same thing was happening to all the new ones including the first replacement in Jan. A round metal thing is being knocked off. I guess there is a piston in the pump and it is knocking it out somehow. So says my mechanic. So I got it from the mechanic on his first try 3 weeks ago. He also did a computer EGR delete. I was in a hurry and just gave him my card, got my receipt and went on my way. Well I noticed a charge for an SCT X4 which I found boxed up in the back of the van. I had no idea what it was. I called and asked and he said it was needed for the delete and tune. Fine. I figured it would be good to be able to see accurate reads for the gauges. Yesterday when driving home from vacuum pump #4 install, my dash temp gauge almost topped out. This morning I did some quick reading on the SCT. I plugged it in and went for a drive. I have no idea what it means other than the coolant temp and EOT. Reading on this forum it seems the safe average readings are around ECT190-205 and EOT a few degrees higher. I have included a pic of my SCT display. Is this reading dangerous to my engine? At 246 I pulled over and shut her down. Got her home and it is parked. I feel that if I would have continued driving it would have climbed. Outdoor temp was about 86 degrees and it was regular driving with about 10 minutes on the freeway. I would pay someone to teach me how to take advantage of this piece of equipment. Thanks for reading and I appreciate any input. This van is my home for a large part of the year.

 

[Twoxentrix]

246 on Coolant & Oil is a real concern when you have only been doing some light driving. Hard to say what's going on since it sounds like you haven't any type of monitoring system, so you don't really have a base line to work with.
My first question would be did they 'load' a tune for you ??? That could be your culprit - especially if it wasn't specifically designed for the Van. Which company did the Tune? Also, when is the last time you replaced the coolant cap on the degas bottle ?

Lot of Temp's have 'ranges' that are considered normal operating temps...all influenced by the amount of stress you are placing on the engine (Weight of the Van, grade height & duration, gearing, tire size, RPM's, ambient temp, etc). I would get concerned if any reached the high side of these:
Oil = 190 - 230
Coolant = 190 - 230
Trans = 170 - 220
EGT's = 600-1200 (can get higher for a very short period)

The Oil & Coolant deltas are considered ok if they are within 7 degrees sustained (you'll see larger variance's occasionally when you have a real load on the engine). Variances beyond the 7 degrees may indicate an oil cooler issue.
Did you ever install an auxiliary Coolant Filter?

EDIT: Look at this Thread - ShuttlePilot's post #7
https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/forums/f9/a-c-increases-oil-and-coolant-temps-5-degrees-21745.html

 

[Drkstar32]

Twoxentrix,
Thank you for the reply. I did not know they had sold me the SCT until later when I finally looked at the invoice. They have been working on the van for several years so I was not to concerned. I am not familiar with this piece of equipment. I will have to ask them Monday in regards to them loading a tune. The company that works on my van is Electronic Injection Services near Portland OR.

I have been traveling long distances (Mexico, East Coast etc.) for five years and what is going on now is not normal. The dash temp gauge is topping out. I know it is not an accurate reading but it has never done that before.

I have not had the degas bottle cap replaced in the five years I have owned it. Is it easy to access? The egr has a computer bypass and yes I had a coolant filter installed a couple of years ago.

 

[Twoxentrix]

Ask your Shop if the Tunes were specifically for a 6.0 van (Not the Truck). If they can't tell you for sure, I'll bet it was written for a Truck.

 

[SheepShagger]

Since you have the tool, you should be able to see what SCT tune is in their, and download any of their other options. Just make sure to backup the OEM tune to a laptop or such, it should be in the tool you got, but gets easily deleted.
I’ve been running the SCT van tow tune for years, with really good results.
BTW yes you do need a tune if you do EGR delete, as the tune stops the MIL light coming on since it ignores and EGR valve errors (since the valve is no longer plugged in).

 

[Drkstar32]

Thanks so much SheepShagger. I just downloaded the most recent updates onto my SCT. I will mess with it this afternoon. Love hate relationship with the van right now.

 

[ShuttlePilot]

Any updates darkstar66? Being a shade tree 6.0 mechanic I have so, so many questions about your first post. Maybe an update would answer most of them.

-Eric

 

[JoeH-SMB]

Depending on what tune is on the SCT tuner you certainly don't want to download updates to the SCT tuner if you have an EGR delete. The stock tunes on the tuner are for the trucks so you don't want those either. The fueling tables and engine timing are different.

 

[Drkstar32]

Yes JoeH. I found that out. My mechanic was able to return it to the tune provided by Gearhead. This learning curve is a long one.

 

[Twoxentrix]

Curious darkstar66, if I’m reading into you comment correctly that’s a tune you originally had (gearhead) - does this mean all your temps when back to normal now?

 

[JoeH-SMB]

Yes JoeH. I found that out. My mechanic was able to return it to the tune provided by Gearhead. This learning curve is a long one.

Generally, the custom tunes turned the EGR valve off so you wouldn't get a engine check light if the EGR system was deleted.

Even if you have a custom tune on the SCT if you do a software update the tunes are over-written to not turn off the EGR valve. That could raise an issue if the EGR system was indeed deleted.

I tried Matt's tunes from Gearhead (SLR and tow tune) and even after a revision could not get them to work right. They ran hot and smoky and the shifting was never quite right.

 

[Drkstar32]

ShuttlePilot. Not sure what questions you might have from my first post. I did get may van back yesterday. They drove it to me! I believe they were feeling embarrassed about not digging into all the issues from the beginning. It turns out that coolant sensor and water pump relay had problems. I am still scratching my head about this but I let it go. I took the van out for an hour and it seems to be doing well. My ECT and OCT got up to about 215. This may be just fine or a little hot depending on who you talk to. I believe the target parameters are around 190-205 but that is just what I read online. I guess the readings can differ from van to van depending on weight etc. That hour was just city driving with no long inclines or freeway driving of over 65mph. I am going to give it a strenuous test drive today. Up to Mt. Hood with long stretches of incline. Crossing my fingers. If it passes this test I am finally going to be able to hit the road for a long fly fishing adventure. Right now I am focusing on learning the ins and outs of the SCT. It does me no good to own this equipment if I do not know how to read it. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Drkstar32]

JoeH. They did get it back to where it was. Supposedly it is the same tune that they did when they did the EGR delete. They told me that the update I supposedly downloaded did not finish. I can see that as I did fumble through it and was never quite sure if I had completed the update. During my test drive yesterday (see replay to ShuttlePilot) I did feel as if it was a little slow to shift. And the ECT and OCT got up to 215 with about an hour of city driving. What would you suggest as far as finding the right company to give me the right tune?

 

[Drkstar32]

If 215 for both ect and otc are normal then yes. But as I was saying to ShuttlePilot these readings were after an hour of city driving. I will push it harder today. I did feel like the tranny was slow to shift. The mech was able to find the overheating problem. Coolant sensor and water pump relay. So they say. JoeH had problems with the tunes Gearhead provided. I just do not know who/ where to go to get solid advice and tunes. Honestly I do not really understand how that process work.

 

[JoeH-SMB]

JoeH. They did get it back to where it was. Supposedly it is the same tune that they did when they did the EGR delete. They told me that the update I supposedly downloaded did not finish. I can see that as I did fumble through it and was never quite sure if I had completed the update. During my test drive yesterday (see replay to ShuttlePilot) I did feel as if it was a little slow to shift. And the ECT and OCT got up to 215 with about an hour of city driving. What would you suggest as far as finding the right company to give me the right tune?

I had the best luck with the tunes from Power Hungry Performance. However, nobody will write a tune anymore that tells the EGR valve to remain closed as part of current emission standards. That ship has sailed and the real reason for doing a 'delete' per say was to remove the EGR cooler from the system, a common failure point. That largely became moot with new aftermarket EGR coolers and new understanding of the particulates in Ford Gold coolant that clogged the oil cooler thus restricting coolant flow to the EGR cooler. That led to headgaskets lifting and other issues. You might want to check whether the EGR cooler has been physically removed or more simply you have a tune that just turns of the EGR valve which stops the valve from dumping soot back into the engine.

With regard to Gearhead, the transmission shifts were way too hard for a daily driver and there was a delay going into gear. The apparent solution with Gearhead tunes was to (even after shifting the REV limiter to 4500 with the tuner).

Another reason to get tuning is if you run a bigger than stock turbo so you don't get too much lag. This is a decent write-up on the pros and cons. https://greengarageblog.org/13-6-0-...roke engine,overall efficiency of the vehicle.

 

[Twoxentrix]

... I just do not know who/ where to go to get solid advice and tunes. Honestly I do not really understand how that process work.

Seems your motivation (aside from the 246 degree spike you experienced) is to control your temps so they remain in the lower parameters of the 'acceptable' range. If that's the case, I can recommend 3 steps that have helped me accomplish the same goal:
1***Mishimoto Low temp thermostat (OEM Thermostat doesn't open fully until temps hit in the neighborhood of 216 - so even if your cooling system is able to operate at a lower temp, its being forced to run hotter than a thermostat which opens fully at a lower temp)
2***Mishimoto Aluminum radiator
3***5-Star tune (Just wanted a little boost, so I opted for a 40hp, 50hp, and 60hp), and each tune enables the fan to come on earlier than the OEM parameters produced. The fan spinning earlier comes in real handy when I'm climbing long steep grades, or when traveling slow (when air flow through the radiator is low) on steep grades or on sharp winding roads (and/or 4WD scenarios).

You could do the Ford fan-clutch blue wire mod, and control the fan yourself from your dash - I just like the fact the 5-Star tune does it automatically.

 

[JoeH-SMB]

Twoxentrix, Mishimoto makes an aluminum radiator that fits in vans with a 6.0?

 

[Drkstar32]

Twoxentrix,
Thanks so much for the info. I will order both Mishimoto products. I am hoping to R & R the radiator myself. Also hoping it is not to big of a project with our vans having such a cramped engine compartment. When you say 5-Star tune are you meaning a tune from the SCT. If so how would that affect the EGR bypass? It was not physically bypassed, it was done with a tune.

 

[Twoxentrix]

@JoeH ; Yes on the 6.0 radiator. They sell a lot of them for E-350 ambulance upgrades. They also have a trans cooler for the 6.0, but it requires a lot of fab work to make it fit (would be easier for vans with the updated front end - 2008+) because of the extra room… so we sent it back and went another route.

 

[Twoxentrix]

Twoxentrix,
Thanks so much for the info. I will order both Mishimoto products. I am hoping to R & R the radiator myself. Also hoping it is not to big of a project with our vans having such a cramped engine compartment. When you say 5-Star tune are you meaning a tune from the SCT. If so how would that affect the EGR bypass? It was not physically bypassed, it was done with a tune.

You would have to talk to 5-Star about your EGR bypass, I have no idea if they can (or do) incorporate that programming into their tunes.
5 STAR TUNING
843-536-1244

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Florence, SC 29501

Located just 1 mile from exit 164 via interstate I-95.

Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. (Eastern).

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