05 E450 Bulletproof question

[1988clee]

I've read quite a bit about issues with the 05 e450 6.0L issues and found people to be quite divided on if reliable after EGR correction. I'm looking at possibly getting a 05 e450 mini (short) bus and the current owner believes the engine to be "bulletproofed" but after looking at the documentation I see the a model number for what I believe to be the Bulletproof EGR cooler (NT-EGRC-1) but all other parts are OEM Ford parts. Is this good enough to be considered Bulletproof?




Parts:
5C3Z*9F452 ARM REMAN VALVE ASY - MODULATOR
6C2Z*6C640 EA CONNECTION - AIR INLET
3C3Z*6A642 CA KIT
NT-EGRC-1 EGR COOLER SQUARE
3C3Z*9439 AA GASKET - INTAKE MANIFOLD
3C3Z*9433 BJ KIT - GASKET
W300013 BOLT
W300051 NUT - LOCKING
W302725 HARDWARE - MISCELLANEOUS
3C3Z*9J469 AA GASKET
3C3Z*6731 OIL FILTER
5C3Z*9G804 C KIT - "O" RING
E69Z*18D434 A COUPLING ASY
E69Z*18D434 B COUPLING ASY
5C3Z*6K682 CCRM REMAN TURBOCHARGER ASY
2501107C1 CONNECTOR, ING CTRL REG
W300012 "O" RING
B7A*8287 BA CLAMP HOSE
6C3Z*6K786 CA CLAMP





From all of this it looks like Engine Gaskets swapped, Engine Oil Cooler replaced for another OEM, Bulletproof EGR Cooler Square and Turbo which is detailed in the process. Question, is this good enough to consider this 6.0L dependable?

[cadillackid]

it looks like they have done a lot to it... I dont see any oil cooler mentioned...

in my opinion the OM replacement oil coolers werent as good as Bulleproof brand (lots of other fly by nighters were made and many werent good).. however ive known people to replace their early 03/04 oil coolers years later with OEM and had no issues.. making sure to run ELC coolant...



head bolts were an issue .. but the guys with the most head gasket issues were the ones trying to run tunes.. im not sure what the van chasis ran for Horsepower compared to the International trucks. or ford pickups.. if your bus has a tuner, id want to make sure wverything is working good then not run any horsepower gain tunes... if its stock you likely wont have big issues..



that said anytime ive been involved in truly bulletproofing a 6.0 we went the whole way and studded it.. its a lot of work and not cheap but since we were already in as far as pulling the turbo, intake, etc to get to the oil cooler we figured may as well pull the heads too

[1988clee]

3C3Z*6A642 CA KIT


Seems to be listed as an OEM Ford Oil cooler kit. All the work was done seemingly while a school district owned the vehicle approx 30k ago, according to the current owner they only drove it for another 14k before decommissioning the bus. It is either at 150k or 158K. Surprising they put all that money into a bus that was shortly after decommissioned. I haven't really driven many vehicles this size but It didn't have any issue getting up to speed on the highway as well I had to slow down to almost 20 MPH on an incline and with pushing the accelerator pedal I would say less than 50% it was able to not only climb the steep hill but also gain speed. Again I'm new to buses but it felt comparable to a Dodge 3500 dually from what I recall... better steering than that boat. I was close to saying yes but reality quickly hit that if I sell my current dwelling and the bus has to go into the shop, I could be without a home for weeks possibly months.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by clee@swbell.net

3C3Z*6A642 CA KIT


Seems to be listed as an OEM Ford Oil cooler kit. All the work was done seemingly while a school district owned the vehicle approx 30k ago, according to the current owner they only drove it for another 14k before decommissioning the bus. It is either at 150k or 158K. Surprising they put all that money into a bus that was shortly after decommissioned. I haven't really driven many vehicles this size but It didn't have any issue getting up to speed on the highway as well I had to slow down to almost 20 MPH on an incline and with pushing the accelerator pedal I would say less than 50% it was able to not only climb the steep hill but also gain speed. Again I'm new to buses but it felt comparable to a Dodge 3500 dually from what I recall... better steering than that boat. I was close to saying yes but reality quickly hit that if I sell my current dwelling and the bus has to go into the shop, I could be without a home for weeks possibly months.

thats assuming you are full timing.. any vehicle even a brand new one can break down... I have 2 cars. one is 3 years old, the other is 2 and a half.. both of them have had a couple times each in their short lives where they spent a couple days in the shop waiting on parts... and they are brand new..

[1988clee]

Decided to hold off and keep looking. Thanks for the advice.

[AlphaHare]

The oil cooler is the problem of many cascading problems. Replacing it just delays the inevitable onset.

Bullet proof is not a final state and has no specific meaning. IMO here's the necessary changes:

Bullet Proof Diesel remote oil cooler. This replaces the OEM block (and the HPOP screen). Instead of cooling oil with the coolant, it cools oil with an air exchange radiator. Coolant goes directly to...

Bullet Proof Diesel EGR cooler. Larger passages.

It used to be a remote coolant filter was spec'd to avoid clogging the OEM oil cooler passages with fine sand and crap left over from the casting process. This was and is the standard mode of failure. Clogged oil cooler = hot oil, and less flow of coolant to the EGR cooler. Hot EGR leads to other and worse issues. No need for a coolant filter if the oil cooler is changed as described.

Head studs are only generally needed if you add power to the motor with a tune or turbo. No need for most mortals.

FICM: Replace when required.

Water Pump: Replace when required.

That's 98%+ of the 6.0 issues. If you find one with say less than 90K miles, you're probably ahead of the problems. Else if the oil cooler has been changed, maybe you're still ahead. It's not a bad engine - they made a ton of them. 05 is early (introduced in 03). Be cautious but not afraid. 7.3s are harder and harder to find, and on older (rustier) frames. Pick your poison.

[1988clee]

This was basically the conclusion I came to other than the head studs as it was not tuned. With all the work that had been done I don't know why they didn't go ahead but they didn't. I just came to the conclusion it is less likely to become clogged as quickly with the EGR cooler but its still most of the same parts that originally caused the issue and likely to reoccur at some point which meant that one was not for me.

Originally Posted by AlphaHare

The oil cooler is the problem of many cascading problems. Replacing it just delays the inevitable onset.

Bullet proof is not a final state and has no specific meaning. IMO here's the necessary changes:

Bullet Proof Diesel remote oil cooler. This replaces the OEM block (and the HPOP screen). Instead of cooling oil with the coolant, it cools oil with an air exchange radiator. Coolant goes directly to...

Bullet Proof Diesel EGR cooler. Larger passages.

It used to be a remote coolant filter was spec'd to avoid clogging the OEM oil cooler passages with fine sand and crap left over from the casting process. This was and is the standard mode of failure. Clogged oil cooler = hot oil, and less flow of coolant to the EGR cooler. Hot EGR leads to other and worse issues. No need for a coolant filter if the oil cooler is changed as described.

Head studs are only generally needed if you add power to the motor with a tune or turbo. No need for most mortals.

FICM: Replace when required.

Water Pump: Replace when required.

That's 98%+ of the 6.0 issues. If you find one with say less than 90K miles, you're probably ahead of the problems. Else if the oil cooler has been changed, maybe you're still ahead. It's not a bad engine - they made a ton of them. 05 is early (introduced in 03). Be cautious but not afraid. 7.3s are harder and harder to find, and on older (rustier) frames. Pick your poison.