Hey Guys. A buddy of mine just picked up a 96 F350 7.3L. It looks like it needs an oil cooler rebuild/ replacement. He asked me if I could do it for him this weekend. It doest look too bad to do but i didnt know if there were any tricks. Just seeing if anyone out there had some info on doing the job?

 

If the water pump is something he can replace too it is easier if u have it off. For me it would be peace of mind while ur in there to do t stat and pump. My.02

sent from my rooted Evo cm7

 

Its just a mess to do. You will be wearing about 2-3 qts of oil and coolant.

Other then that its not bad at all.

 

This is what I have been told, which im not too worried about getting dirty. Pretty straight forward though? In through the drivers fender well, and everythings all right there?

 

Yup, three bolts around the oil filter area and two at the front cover. Gaskets at both ends. It can be a bear to get out of that spot depending on how the motor is sitting in the truck, some have to bar the motor to the side a little.

Otherwise its easy.

 

Thank you CSIPSD!! Thats great info. I've seen your posts in the powerstroke threads, and it definitely looks like you your way around these trucks. I was hoping you would chime in and give a hand Thanks again!

 

not too bad to do...drain the coolant first, take the drivers wheel and inner wheel well off for access. put a drain pan under the housing when you unbolt it.. it is messy but nowhere near what most people lead you to believe.. i did mine while the steering spindle was off for ball joints, but that shouldn't make a lot of difference..

 

I popped the clutch master off the bellhousing and there's enough room to sneak out the cooler.

Get a 99+ cooler. It has the relief valves retained properly by snap rings. My '95 was missing the valve behind the oil filter, and the one that faces into the block was popped out and hanging into the block.

 

did it on my previous OBS and had to jack the front of the motor up, its a pita but not to bad