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Audiation - the ability to listen to or play music in your head without physically hearing any of it.

Just by reading notes on a page of sheet music, talented musicians can hear the music in their minds. Truly gifted musicians can hear a relatively complex piece of music played once and then repeat it, perfectly, note for note, on their preferred instrument. That's talent. It's hard to teach that to just anyone. This is the concept of audiation.

I bring up this musical analogy to illustrate a point. These skills are engrained and conceptualized deep within their psyche and motor functions just as deep as breathing or walking. We, gearheads, have our own concepts that are as commonly used and seemingly simply as notes on a page. But how often do we think about what they really mean?

Mad Mike's Insane quad-rotor, twin turbocharged MX-5

What does this have to do with this twin-turbocharged, quad-rotary ND Miata piloted by professional drifter "Mad" Mike Whiddet? Anyone can look in this engine

Interested in purchasing this Coolant Filter Kit? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.0L Powerstroke Coolant Filter Kit

We are nearing completion of this awesome project! With our bracket and housing finalized, it was time to fill in the gaps for the rest of the necessary components. First up, the filter selection. As mentioned earlier, we were looking for an efficient filter that could easily be purchased at any parts store. We went with the WIX 24070. Of course, any brand that will cross-reference with this filter will also function with our kit.

Filter Selection

Filter

A look at this filter mounted, with the necessary hardware for the bracket.

Filter, filter housing, and mounting hardware

Valves

Our next key components are the valves for the housing and lines. We will use ball-style valves for easy, reliable operation. Check out a couple shots of our plans for this component.

Valve for coolant filtration housing

Coolant filtration housing valve installed

Interested in purchasing this Coolant Filter Kit? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.0L Powerstroke Coolant Filter Kit

Coolant Filter Housing Prototype

Time for some CNC-machined goodies! Last time we left you with a look at our 3D-printed prototype housing. After reviewing the design and making some minor adjustments, we were able to create a CNC-machined aluminum housing. Check out the results below!

3D prototype housing (right) and CNC-machined housing

And a few close-up shots!

CNC-machined coolant filter housing

CNC-machined coolant filter housing

So let's chat about some of the features you see on this housing. First, this component is constructed from billet aluminum and machined into the proper shape. The inlet and outlet ports are both machined and threaded to accept the valves that we will discuss soon. We then use a threaded filter adapter on the base, which accepts the filter we have selected to use for this project.

The top of this unit features

Interested in purchasing this Coolant Filter Kit? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.0L Powerstroke Coolant Filter Kit

Project Introduction

Factory 6.0L engine bay

The Ford/International 6.0L was launched in 2003 in an effort to compete with the high power output from the GM 6.6L Duramax, while still meeting new emissions standards. In factory form, the 6.0L Powerstroke is generally reliable and will perform a majority of the tasks demanded by truck owners. Unfortunately, as many have discovered, increasing the power output on the 6.0L produces increased stress on the cooling system, resulting in serious head gasket and other cooling system failures. The head bolts tend to stress with increased power, resulting in damage to the gasket. This knowledge is quite widespread, and the basic fix includes a head resurface, head gasket replacement, and the install of ARP (Automotive Racing Products) head studs. Once replaced, you are free to load the truck with power

Interested in purchasing our 6.7L Powerstroke radiator? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.7L Powerstroke Aluminum Radiator

Time to put some numbers behind the effort our team has put forth on this project! As mentioned in the last post, we would be collecting real-world driving data to analyze the effectiveness of our performance aluminum radiator against the factory unit. To prepare for this, we attached our temperature sensors to both the inlet and outlet of the radiator. This would allow us to analyze the efficiency of the radiator by comparing the reduction in temperature from inlet to outlet. Check out these sensors attached to the factory radiator.

Temperature sensors installed with factory radiator

Now that we had everything installed and the cooling system was bled of any air bubbles, we could begin to collect the necessary data. To keep things consistent, identical testing conditions were used to ensure that this was as close to apples-to-apples

Interested in purchasing our 6.7L Powerstroke radiator? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.7L Powerstroke Aluminum Radiator

Now that the prototype was complete and all dimensions checked out with our drawings, it was time to drop this into a truck to ensure that fitment was spot on with all engine bay components. To give you an idea of the scale, take a look at this unit next to one of our Subaru WRX aluminum radiators.

Mishimoto 6.7L Size comparison of Powerstroke prototype radiator (left) and Subaru WRX aluminum radiator

Mishimoto 6.7L Size comparison of Powerstroke prototype radiator (left) and Subaru WRX aluminum radiator

Now we can shoehorn this monster into the engine compartment to check fitment of the brackets, mounting points, and engine bay components. Below you can see the radiator mostly installed. We needed to remove numerous components before we could access the factory radiator.

Mishimoto 6.7L Powerstroke prototype radiator installation

The

Interested in purchasing our 6.7L Powerstroke radiator? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.7L Powerstroke Aluminum Radiator

Time to design a new radiator! Now that we had the factory radiator removed and the engine bay dimensions documented, we needed to determine the individual dimensions of the factory radiator. We set the radiator up on our Romer arm to begin drawing this component in 3D. Check it out!

6.7L Powerstroke factory radiator modeling

This tool allows our engineers to capture dimensions in a controlled environment. The radiator is secured to the table, while the arm is used to note the position of critical points. When complete, the engineers can use these points to develop a full model of the radiator.

Once we had the radiator prototype modeled, we developed a prototype unit to test fit into a truck. This would help us ensure that we reached our first goal, perfect fitment. Check out a few shots of our prototype unit!

Mishimoto 6.7L Powerstroke

Interested in purchasing our 6.7L Powerstroke radiator? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Ford 6.7L Powerstroke Aluminum Radiator

The Ford Powerstroke 6.4L has not had a fantastic reputation for radiator reliability. Radiator failures are nearly a guarantee, with many vehicle owners experiencing frequent failures in an extremely short time frame. Ford began tackling the problem with a variety of Technical Service Bulletins for coolant system upgrades to remedy the issues. To provide even more protection, the team at Mishimoto developed a very successful bolt-in radiator for the 6.4L that eliminates several common failure points in the factory unit: the plastic material used in the end tanks, and the crimp connection of the core to the tanks. We also investigated the reasoning for frequent failures in certain trucks, and we identified several factors that would have an impact on overall radiator longevity. These include coolant system components such as the degas