scott_intx
Member
I realize that when car manufacturers design vehicles, they have no idea if said vehicle is going to be in South Texas towing things or up in Canada chilling in a parking lot in the snow. They have to take that into consideration when deciding what the "normal" operating temperature is. Compromises must be made in order to make sure it functions correctly in every climate. That being said, excessive heat kills things. The summer months in South Texas rewards us with temperatures regularly in the high 90's to 100. Driving around the city in was normal for my truck to have oil temps around 225°. Towing an 7500lb trailer I would see 250-260°. I decided to address this in a couple of areas. Please note, I spend all of my time in the south and it rarely ever gets to freezing temps, so those of you Northerners, this might not be for you. Please note, this will not be a full walk through, most things I have done can be found on the forum or youtube. I will however include part numbers and pictures (all at the bottom of the post), along with my results.
I started by tossing out the 203° thermostat and replaced it with a 180° from Stant
P/N 48798 ($14.83 on Amazon w/Prime)
I then deleted the Active Grill Shutters. Not the whole unit, just the shutters. It seemed like a pretty nice bezel that seems to do a good job of funneling air into the radiator, so why not? This was pretty easy, take out the bezel, remove the shutters and the motor. Then drill 1/8" hole and install a 1.5 x 1/8" bolt with an extra nut and some washers as a spacer into the motor to fool the truck into thinking everything is still functioning correctly. Then put the motor back into the bezel. (Less than $2 at Home Depot)
Next I installed a Derale 15405 Engine Oil Cooler Kit ($113.99 on Amazon w/Prime). This kit comes with pretty good instructions and claims it can reduce engine temps by 50° and is good for something like 40,000 BTU worth of cooling. I chose to fab a custom bracket using flat aluminum bar stock bent to mount the radiator using 3 factory mounting points and a few other self tapping screws. See pictures below.
Total install time took about 4 hours including fab time and waiting for the paint to semi-dry. I did an oil change at the same time with Mobil 1 full synthetic (factory weight) and a Napa Platinum oil filter. It took about 1qt above the factory 7qts.
Results were amazing. Oil and coolant never top 186° driving around town. I am seeing right at a 39° decrease in operating temps. Zero check engine lights after almost 400 miles. Truck runs flawlessly. I have yet to tow, however I am confident results will be on par with what I am already experiencing. I'll update after the 4th with actual results.
I started by tossing out the 203° thermostat and replaced it with a 180° from Stant
P/N 48798 ($14.83 on Amazon w/Prime)
I then deleted the Active Grill Shutters. Not the whole unit, just the shutters. It seemed like a pretty nice bezel that seems to do a good job of funneling air into the radiator, so why not? This was pretty easy, take out the bezel, remove the shutters and the motor. Then drill 1/8" hole and install a 1.5 x 1/8" bolt with an extra nut and some washers as a spacer into the motor to fool the truck into thinking everything is still functioning correctly. Then put the motor back into the bezel. (Less than $2 at Home Depot)
Next I installed a Derale 15405 Engine Oil Cooler Kit ($113.99 on Amazon w/Prime). This kit comes with pretty good instructions and claims it can reduce engine temps by 50° and is good for something like 40,000 BTU worth of cooling. I chose to fab a custom bracket using flat aluminum bar stock bent to mount the radiator using 3 factory mounting points and a few other self tapping screws. See pictures below.
Total install time took about 4 hours including fab time and waiting for the paint to semi-dry. I did an oil change at the same time with Mobil 1 full synthetic (factory weight) and a Napa Platinum oil filter. It took about 1qt above the factory 7qts.
Results were amazing. Oil and coolant never top 186° driving around town. I am seeing right at a 39° decrease in operating temps. Zero check engine lights after almost 400 miles. Truck runs flawlessly. I have yet to tow, however I am confident results will be on par with what I am already experiencing. I'll update after the 4th with actual results.
