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6an turbo coolant lines

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22K views 59 replies 21 participants last post by  galant805  
#1 · (Edited)
@Boatwaco feel free to move this to wherever you feel it should go.

This is for my gen 1 (2013)

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Turbo to back of head:
2x 6an full flow 90° back of head
Line length 15.25"
2x 6an full flow 45° turbo
4x M14x1.5 to 6an. The two that go in the turbo you need to make sure the threads are only 8.5mm in length.

Driver block to turbo:
1x M18x1.5 to 6an for the block.
1x 6an full flow 90° from block
Line length 3.4"
1x 6an full flow 60° from turbo
1x m14x1.5 to 6an for turbo. Make sure threads are only 8.5mm in length that thread into turbo

Passenger block to turbo:
1x m18x1.5 to 6an for the block
1x 6an female to male 90 elbow for behind AC compressor.
1x 6an straight off 90 elbow
Line length 3.65"
1x 6an full flow 90 turbo
1x m14x1.5 to 6an for turbo. Make sure threads are only 8.5mm in length that thread into turbo

Passenger side, attach line that comes from the block to the turbo first and the 90 to the block fitting. That leaves the straight connection to connect and you actually have room. After this is connected, then bolt the turbo to the manifold.

Driver's side there's actually more room, but wait to bolt the turbo to the manifold until after you attach this line.

The block to turbo lines are the biggest pain on both sides. They're also not straight shots, so make sure you get the angles close or your line length will be off

Make sure the turbo to back of head lines dont arch higher than the fitting on the head or you'll have a high spot that will have the potential for an air bubble.

6x m14x1.5 to 6an. 4 of them need 8.5mm of m14x1.5 thread length.

2x m18x1.5 to 6an

4x full flow 90 6an

2x full flow 45 6an

1x full flow 60 6an

1x 90 elbow male to female 6an

1x 6an straight

At least 5' of 6an line.

Proper size orings (whatever comes on the jiffy fittings). Sorry, I didn't measure sizes for this.

1x "custom" wrench

Pictures in no particular order.

Edit to add: The listed line lengths are the actual cut lengths.

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#2 ·
Now someone needs to get Toyota’s coolant pump from the Tundra and put the turbos on their own cooling loop with a second cooler. Maybe throw the oil cooler on it too.
 
#6 ·
That'd probably be easier than keeping the stock location. You could just plug the block and heads and run the an line wherever you needed it to go. Run an an8 or 10 to a T down low for the feed and to keep the an6 close to the same length. Then come off up high for the returns. You could probably run a decent size cooler to the left or right of the radiator in front of the air diverters. Just need to figure out a location for a tank and pump
 
#3 ·
@Boatwaco feel free to move this to wherever you feel it should go.
I think I’ll leave it right where it is, as a sticky.
Good stuff. Thanks.
 
#13 ·
The Dorman line was welded incorrectly. It wouldn't snap into the jiffy-tite fitting. I had to bend the support with the bolt hole to get it to snap into the fitting. When it did, the bolt hole didn't line up anymore. I had to Dremel off the barbed end which allowed me to use a washer and was able to bolt it to the block. But the jiffy-tite fitting is leaking.

I had to do the same thing on the passenger side, but that fitting isn't leaking.

Had I seen this post earlier, I probably would have used AN fittings.
 
#16 ·
There was a kid at the wrecker company that had a 2013 almost identical. He knew where it was going, and knew what it had. It'll likely be a great surprise for someone, unless the junkyard figures out what they've got.
 
#23 ·
Hey @Gord0, I have a 2013 boost like you did, I had a leak on passenger side block jiffy fitting, so I went with your AN hose build list (awesome write up, by the way). I had to modify my hose lengths a little bit, but not much (line going to back of head is lower than fitting as to keep from forming a potential air pocket, but the line from block to turbo may be 3/8 to 1/2 inch long). I got the hoses in, turbo mounted back up, filled back up with orange concentrate. I tried purging air, but I knew I didn't get it all when it got really warm on my initial test drive. It seemed to burp most of the air out on that drive, but I knew something still wasn't the same as before.

Before this modification, I installed an SPD 170F thermostat, and got 5* to write me a tune to activate high speed fans at 190F, which helped a lot towing, and I rarely heard the high speed fans driving unloaded.

Now, high speed fans come on almost any time I get into the boost, and it seems like it takes forever for the ECTs to come down out of the 190s at idle after driving. I pulled a boat through typical SC terrain, high speed fans were rolling, but didn't overheat at all.

My question is, is it possible that i have a flow restriction with that 6an hose from block to turbo with it being longer and not a complete straight shot, or should I start by doing something simple, like flushing coolant and/or thermostat?
 
#24 ·
I would start with going back to stock tune for a little bit to see how it runs like that. I'd also be changing back to the stock 187° stat and have the fan temp bumped higher. My old truck wanted to run 190 with a 170 stat. I had an external oil cooler, Saudi raptor trans cooler, mishimoto rad. Unloaded, it would run 185-195 down the freeway, but on a long coast in cold weather it would drop below 160, which kicks on fuel enrichment mode. I put the 187 in there (new style with plastic) and it ran 180-195 down the freeway, and drop to 180 on a coast.

If anything, you might be flowing more coolant through there since the lines are larger id. That would dump more hot water from the turbos right at the temp sensor, making it think it's hotter. You may have been right at the limit with the old lines and now you're just over.
 
#25 ·
Ten four, I thought that may have been the case too, dropping more hot coolant in this tiny radiator Ford put in it and it can't handle it. I have the saudi trans cooler like yours had, and I have a 25 row mish external engine oil cooler but still running stock cooler. So what I am seeing isn't that unreasonable?

I'll go ahead and order that stock stat and get the old tune pre fan temp mod loaded up and see. Thanks for your help, and I hate your 13 got totaled, it was a heck of a rig.
 
#26 ·
Nope, what you're seeing isn't unreasonable at all. I had the same oil cooler and it was thermostatically controlled as well. The stat that comes in there is a 187. Your stat in the trans is a 190. Everything in there is trying to run it at 190 except your rad stat. I saw big temp swings with the 170 stat, and everything acted normal with the stock 187. When you're towing and everything has equalized, no matter what you run for a stat, it's wide open. Just a theory, but with the larger an lines to the turbo you might be pushing more coolant past them and cooling them with that which dumps that hotter coolant right in the back of the head just before the temp sensor creating a slightly more localized "hot spot". Where before they could have had more heat dumped into the oil which would exchange the heat on the front end of the system with the stock and added cooler.

Side note, someone could have a crossover machined out of billet and have an ports put on the back of it to rout the coolant there if using an lines and that would skip the temp sensors. I think that would cause you to see less spikes in coolant temp while towing. The problem is, I think Ford designed it to be there as a "fuse" to prevent meltdown of the turbos.

Yeah, it stinks it got totaled, but on the bright side it put me in a lower milage 2021, which has been a great truck so far!
 
#27 ·
That's great man, glad the 21 is running well for you. I know they are stout. Good looking trucks too.

All that makes much more sense now. Sounds way more likely than less flow, because datalogging today showed high temps at boost then cool quickly in low boost or coasting conditions. At idle, it was steady in low 190s after a pull. I'm seeing the same big swings with the 170 stat, from 180s coasting to 212 in high boost conditions unloaded. I guess I was getting myself worked up over something small. I'll get that thermostat and old tune in soon.


I'm glad I reached out to you before I went to tearing into that passenger side again. What a pain. Thanks for all the info, means a lot that you and other guys on here posting good advice on how to remedy these issues without taking them to the stealership to get a half a job done that may or may not fix it.
 
#28 ·
FYI - turbos do not spit out hot coolant while the engine is running. The difference between coolant temp in and coolant temp out is approximately 1.5 Fahrenheit

Water cooling for turbos is only functional when the engine is OFF and water pump stationary. Thermal siphoning (look it up) keeps the coolant moving through the turbo to prevent the red hot turbine wheels from heat soaking the bearings
 
#29 ·
That's an amazing fact that I have never heard before. Which is also amazing since I spend way too much effort reading every post posted.

So you can't be surprised if that little morsel of information immediately spurs a question or two? 😉

So the increase in coolant temps on the 3.5 Ecoboost that parallels with increase in boost...... since it's almost 0% the coolant exiting the turbo, what area in the coolant jacket/loop of the engine is coolant absorbing so much heat?
 
#30 ·
Cylinder temps/Head temperatures with direct injection and leaner running engines. I honestly think cylinder temps are through the roof on boost.
 
owns 2017 Ford F-150 Lariat
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#32 ·
Are the AR fitting sizes listed above the same through the year ranges?....getting ready to tackle my 2016 coolant lines and manifolds soon...thanks
I'm not sure if everything above would work for a 2016.
Has anybody figured this out?
Mine is a 2015 and would hate to go through all this to find out they're different.

Also, the 0-rings (that cone on the jiffy fittings are mentioned)... Do these go on the AN fittings just as if they are the jiffy fitting?
 
#33 ·
I couldn't tell you for sure, as I only did this to my 2013.

I believe I used the o rings that came on the outside of the jiffy fitting to go on the outside of the AN fitting, but it was a while ago and I also have a whole assortment of o rings at my disposal.