I have been reading posts of putting fins on the vp and it made sense to me but why not try a fuel cooler or has it already been done? I did a simple search and dana makes several models.

http://www.dana.com/Automotive_Syste...roverview.aspx
here is another one
Thoughts, http://www.ktm-kuehler.at/571206d734...4ac66c15d.html

obviously the flow would have to be appropiate for the fuel requirements of your perticular truck.

They say alot of the electrical problems stem from heat...... well

Jason

 

I've thought about it, every little thing helps.

I guess the question comes up as to putting it in the feed side or the return side.

I see the feed side position as being a potential problem with restriction issues. As well as being able to regulate it when it is not really needed, IE.......cold winter driving?

In the return postion, it wouldn't matter about cold weather conditions because the VP is making the heat and the fuel is being returned to the tank. All the cooler would be doing per say is regulating the "heat" entering the fuel tank.

I'm guessing the trick is to just remove heat from the fuel without getting to cool which would lead to a whole other series of problems I'm sure.

I agree with the heat issues causing some of the problems with the VP. I read somwhere that FedEx has a large number of failures in their VP equipped trucks and they ended up getting heat sink equipped electronics package for the VP and supposedly the failure rate fell off dramatically.

The way I look at it is that for the $2000 or so to replace my VP, maybe a few hundred bucks for a cooler and some fittings might save me. It might not save a replacement of the VP but I'm sure it would at least make it farther down the road time mileage/time wise before you had to put the money out for a new VP.

I plan on keeping my old girl for a bunch of years, everything helps to save down the road.

 

I was thinking more about this and the restriction problem doesn't scare me as I would ensure that it would flow the required amount of the lift pump or fass pump or whatever I run, but the post vp may be a good idea also. I am not a big fan of running under a 1/4 tank simply for the fuel heating issue, I can grasp a full tank helping keep things cool but if a guy gets to a half tank well.... The Fedex trucks use a fin mount of the electronic housing? I know HOHN had mentioned this also if so ther must be a compnay that makes these things as fedex owns ALOT of trucks. If a heat fin would work it would be alot easier to both install and use. I am also running my baby for ever so long term solutions are great especially when I have been running the 0216 code for 3-4 months,well actually it popped up three weeks after the calgary dyno. Which I may be adding to add to my excuse list for that day of dissapointment

Jason

 

I just noticed that the new Kenworth trucks have fuel coolers from the factory. The cooler they are using appears to be the same part that they have been using for trans coolers. This cooler is on the return line.
This particular cooler has 1/2 pipe threads and would handle quite a bit of volume. I believe they are in the $70 range from any truck dealer.
I have been considering putting one on my first gen. The VE pump is getting overworked on these first gens when you start cranking up the power.
Keeping any injection pump cool cannot hurt.

 

I can see the return line as being the most feasible. All the fuel in the tank, no matter what the level, is just going to act as a heat sink in a sense.

Am I wrong in thinking that the cooler the return fuel dumped into the tank would be the best?

Why cool the fuel before it will be heated and mostly returned to the tank, when you can cool the return fuel and thus supply the VP with relatively cooler fuel from the tank.
It's kind of a catch 22 thing I guess.

I think a return cooler would work the best because it doesn't have to be thermostat controlled to bypass in winter/cold conditions. Although a pre VP cooler would be simple to plumb because of all the -AN lines that most of us are running. Simply pick a spot and tap in.

I guess the trick would be to figure out what works best for the position you choose to mount it. Any reason a transmission cooler wouldn't work?

This is the cooler I have been looking at.........http://www.moroso.com/catalog/catego...?catcode=24301

I think because of it's finned aluminum cylinder type shape, it wouldn't be as much of a concern if mounted under the truck near the tank when it came to debris plugging it up like would happen to a regular radiator type finned cooler. I would dump the filter cartridge for sure and it is tapped for -An fittings to boot.

I don't know, maybe I'm just talking out loud.

 

I think you guys are on to something here... I'm noticing the tend to of the P0216 and complete VP44 failures are more common now. But I thinking it not all fuel pressure problems. I think your right its the electronics that are taking the beating under the hood. Think about some of the things we do with these trucks.

I know that going up a long mountain dirt road slow it will build a lot of EGT temps 800*F. This heat combined the coolant temps at slow speed is pilling up under the hood and all the electronics are getting cooked good!

I think if you hit a computer shop (CompUSA or Something like it) you'll find a big CPU cooler that might just do the trick. The mounting of the heat sink might become a small problem... Heck break out with the zip ties...

Someone else made a comment about piping in cool air for the VP44...

 

Lot's of people are thinking that more than just fuel pressure causes the VP failures. Mine was definately a dead LP, but now that I am fresh with both new I would like to see a cooler designed to help with that aspect.

 

Another fuel cooling help would be to go to a remote mount fuel filter and possibly an electric transfer pump to keep all fuel away from the engine till it gets to the injection pump. I believe the block mounted transfer pumps and filters preheat the fuel way before it gets to the injection pump.

 

The Dmaxs come with a fuel cooler from the factory.

 

I think it is safe to say you don't get a 0216 DTC from poor LP pressure.....we were blaming low LP pressure as the cause for the mechanical VP failures.....not the electronic failures. The electronic / 0216 failures seem to be much more common these days than the mechanical failures where the pumps were seizing without warning as the result of poor lubrication (low or no LP pressure) and improper pump tolerances - we don't here about those failures much anymore.

From what I can gather, cooling the fuel wasn't going to help the VP mounted ECU electronics stay cooler.......it will just keep the mechanical part of the pump cooler......this is why the FedEx trucks have the heat sink assembly mounted directly to the VP ECU - they aren't trying to cool the pump, just the ECU board that is mounted on top of it. Also, it appears vibration may be a cause for the 0216 DTC, too.

Any thoughts on this? I want to keep my truck for a long time too!!

 

I've watched the temps of the fuel in the VP on tractors.. inside the VP there is a fuel temp sender.. They do get high when the tank is low and outside temps are high... Next time I hook up the scanner I'll have to see if I can view the fuel temp in the truck..
If you are going to put your cooler on the return side.. don't forget about the return fuel coming from the injectors... Not alot of volume.. but the temps are high do to the temp of the head... Tractors run coolers.. some on the inlet.. some outlet..
Bryan

 

This might be a stupid one, but what about a simple inline Billet fin cooler? I had one for extra coolant cooling on a Banshee. Mine was like 7" long, but here's and example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WD1V
Is that a lame idea, or would it "cool" if placed by the frame rail outside the engine compartment? I can't see it clogging or slowing flow.

 

How about a small air conditioning condenser after the pump? Pressure no problem and flow should be more than adequite. If you want to get fancy, a small fan on it. Or even a transmission fluid cooler up front.

 

I recall Scotty taking temperatures on his tank on the 01 Great White unit. He was reporting temps of the fuel tank over 140°F just from the returned fuel heating the tank on long trips.

He had an idea (don't quote me) to use his secondary tank as his "return" tank to cool the fuel then re-fuel the main tank as required with the cooler fuel. Seemed logical to me to keep the fuel cool would help the lubrication and operation of the pump. Also the reports and talking of pump cavitation due to the lower head pressure to the pump could be reduced with cooler fuel. Once the fuel heats up, the possibility for cavitation is higher.

A fuel cooler to the tank would help out in the pre-heated tank problem and might be more benificial than trying to cool the "fresh" fuel feed. Dunno...

J

 

The whole reason I stumbled into this thought is the Jay Leno runs fuel coolers in his 1000 hp tornado and he uses the ac system to cool the fuel prior to injection. The thought about the fuel only cooling the mechanical part makes sense but the fuel could also pull heat from the pump body but it would depend on how hot the electronics are compared to how hot the fuel is. The heat sink is pretty cheap to try, if I remember correctly there was a aftermarket kit to help out the injector problems on the 6.5 diesels and it was only cooling the electronics and it greatly reduced the failures. I still have issues with the heat sink helping alot being the large apps sensor with all its plastic parts sits on top of the vp or at least close to it.Next time I think of it when I have the hood up and engine running I will check the airflow around the vp. I also think we use the lp as a scapegoat with these things.

J