Basic Needs - Aluminum Primary Degas Tank R&D
This Aluminum Primary Degas Tank for the 2011-2019 Ford 6.7L Powerstroke is Available Now! Click here to Check it Out!
Cooling is one of the basic needs of any engine, and for a workhorse like the 2011-2019 Ford 6.7L Powerstroke, any failure in the cooling system can be disastrous.
The 6.7L Powerstroke's cooling system is divided into two parts. The primary cooling system cools the engine, engine oil, transmission, and EGR. It also supplies heat to the cabin via the heater core. The secondary cooling system focuses on performance, cooling the air-to-water intercooler and the fuel. Both systems have a common weak point, however: their respective degas tanks.
Like almost every manufacturer, Ford uses plastic for many of the under-hood components, including the two cooling systems degas tanks. While plastic is plenty strong from the factory, time and heat take their toll. After almost a decade of heat cycles, some of these plastic degas tanks are showing their age. Small cracks in the plastic can cause slow leaks that aren't obvious until it's too late. But even if your degas tank isn't cracked, the plastic's yellowing makes determining the coolant level difficult, and it makes your otherwise well-cared-for truck look old and dingy. We've developed aluminum degas tanks for the 2011-2019 Ford 6.7L Powerstroke to solve both of those issues. For this post, we'll be focusing on the primary cooling system degas tank.
Like the 6.4L degas tank that we tackled almost two years ago, the stock 2011-2019 6.7L primary degas tank and battery tray are molded as one piece from the factory. To get a better view of the degas tank and start designing our replacement, we took the cutoff wheel to the stock degas tank, separating it from the battery tray.
With the degas tank and battery tray divided, our engineer, Dan, used the stock tank's dimensions to create a 3D model of our aluminum replacement. That 3D model was then sent to our fabricator to build a prototype for test fitment.
With our prototype constructed from aluminum and 3D-printed parts, Dan dropped it into our 6.7L's engine bay. While our fabricator was building the prototype tank, he also made a plate to cover the cut line and make our aluminum tank cohesive with the battery tray. A sight glass and cold fill line on the front of the degas tank makes checking the coolant level easy.
Dan's design fit the 6.7L's engine bay perfectly, so it was time to move on to sampling. In this phase, we build a few degas tanks just as they would come off the production line. This process makes sure nothing is lost in translation between prototype and production and that the final product meets our exacting standards. In the case of the 6.7L primary degas tank, it also gave us a chance to show off one of the tank's more technical features.
The stock 6.7L primary degas tank contains several plates that separate it into multiple chambers. Those chambers help prevent coolant from sloshing away from the ports over rough roads or steep pitches, allowing air to enter the cooling system. Our design also incorporates baffles to keep your coolant where it belongs.
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Our production sample passed a visual inspection (inside and out), but there was one last step to check off before we could certify this aluminum primary degas tank for sale. Dan once again removed the yellowed stock degas tank and dropped in our tank, complete with cover plate and brackets.
The degas tank fit without a hitch, which meant it was time to release our 2011-2019 Ford 6.7L Aluminum Primary Degas Tank. Head over to our website for more details and to protect the basic needs of your 6.7L Powerstroke.
Thanks for reading,
-Steve
