Is Your Truck Bulletproof?

Today I want to talk to you about a word that gets thrown around in the diesel community – BulletProof. BulletProof is used in common vernacular to describe upgrades done to your truck. I have people call me all day long asking “Can you BulletProof my truck?” Well, I can “dealerproof” your truck, but “BulletProof” is another step. This video explains what dealerproofing is and how it is different from BulletProof.

BulletProofDiesel.com in Mesa, Arizona makes a series of products designed to upgrade your Powerstroke diesel truck to a higher level of reliability. The BulletProof Diesel people are a class act. They have absolutely top shelf products. For your truck to be “BulletProof”, it has to have a certain group of BulletProof Diesel products on it. If you have some old head studs or stock heads on your truck and you are calling your truck bulletproof, I am going to call you a liar today because that is not BulletProof. At Powerstroke Specialty, my brick and mortar business in Buford, GA, we offer a package called Dealerproof. Dealerproofing is where we install the BiggDogg cylinder heads with the O-rings, ARP studs and factory Ford gaskets. We use factory oil cooler, EGR cooler and water pump. We reuse your FICM (Fuel Injection Control Module) if it checks out. In order to call a truck BulletProof, you have to use the BulletProof Diesel water pump, BulletProof Diesel EGR cooler, BulletProof Diesel external oil cooler and BulletProof Diesel FICM.

The truck behind us is owned by Dennis Morida, a veteran of several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and part of our Train-a-Vet program. BulletProofDiesel.com has donated the parts so that we can give an overview of what it takes to install these products and what the differences are between them and the factory Ford parts.

We have several extremely well packaged boxes with some neat stuff from BulletProofDiesel.com:

• The Billet Water Pump with aluminum impeller is one of their signature parts that really put them on the map. Anybody who has ever had an impeller from a cheap Chinese water pump (especially the early model with the small impeller like this) come apart and get in their engine knows it is a really bad situation.
• A staple in the design of the BulletProof EGR Cooler are larger flues that don’t clog up. Very often the EGR Coolers in the 6.0L trucks will fail because of a clog in the oil cooler that doesn’t allow proper flow into the EGR Cooler. By beefing up this item with heavy duty flues inside, it becomes a much more dependable set-up.
• The FICM power supply has very explicit instructions to not open until you are sure it is the right item for your truck or they won’t give you your money back. Make sure you have the correct one.
• One of the premier parts that BulletProofDiesel.com sells is their external Engine Oil Cooler system. It is not an inexpensive piece. This replaces the actual oil cooler on the top of the engine. It has hoses that go out to the cooler that sits out front. An engine produces heat which is extracted in the factory system by transferring the oil heat into the coolant which is then cooled through the radiator. The BulletProof Diesel system, which is a superior system especially for someone who is towing real heavy, eliminates the oil heat being transferred into the coolant. Instead, it makes its own heat exchange (radiator) so your engine coolant stays a lot cooler. Remember, heat is a killer. This is an extremely significant part that you can install on your vehicle that will keep that heat out of the engine.

If your skill level is only changing the oil and putting air in the tires, you might want to take this to somebody who knows what they are doing. This isn’t a huge job but it is no small job either. This is a very complete kit so it comes with everything that you need.

First, you have to drain the coolant. Then the intake has to come off which means that the turbo has to come out to be able to get the intake out and get the EGR cooler and access the oil cooler. The correct way to evacuate the Freon is with a machine. Letting it out in the atmosphere is not a good idea. Take the Freon out, recycle it and put it back in.

An interesting thing about the BulletProofDielsel.com oil cooler setup is that the oil and coolant never touch each other. This system does not exchange the heat into the coolant, so your coolant temperatures never go up. Your oil is actually cooled by a radiator that sits out here in front of the actual coolant radiator. It is a far more efficient system. Yes it is complicated; yes it is involved; yes it is not inexpensive but it is an extremely effective system for getting the heat out of the oil without involving your coolant.

Another impressive feature of this kit is the use of Ford parts: Ford turbo hardware kit, Ford intake manifold gaskets and Ford oil cooler gasket. Using Ford gaskets is crucial. One of the biggest drawbacks to the aftermarket oil coolers is gasket failure.

One of the things we do at our shop is vacuum all the debris out from the area underneath here. This is the best and cleanest way to get the oil out of the valley. You don’t really want to use rags because the rags will get a bunch of dust and debris down there that will end up going back into the oil pump and nothing good will come from that.

A trick we have been using for years is to make sure when installing the oil cooler gasket on the bottom of the plate that you get it down in the grove. We use a roller wheel, but you can use the edge of smooth screw driver or wooden screw driver. Make sure that they are down in there nice and tight or you will pinch them and they will leak.

In the ’03s and some of the early ’04s you see this type of hose line that goes to the top of the turbo charger. The late model type hose is the only one that will work with the BulletProof Diesel setup. So you have to source one. The older system just doesn’t work; you have to go with a new one. And of course, Ford will sell you one.

Before you install the oil block, you have to fill it up with oil. We are running the Amsoil heavy duty, so it is getting filled. This prevents the high pressure oil system from get starved of oil. We have the intake all ready to go in with the new BulletProof EGR Cooler installed.

90% of the time when there is a power supply failure and why you would change the FICM or half shell on the older version is loss of contact between the surface mount resistors and the board. This is a heat issue and not a very good connection. Ford has improved, but BulletProof Diesel has restructured the whole thing. This looks like a much more robust designed. They are both four phase with each transformer producing a part of the wave form combined for a total of 48 volt output DC. I can’t tell you how many logic boards or driver boards have been destroyed by not putting this seal back properly. This module is pretty much waterproof, but not unless you have that seal. You have to have all your o-rings right and all of your surfaces need to be clean to go back together. If you don’t do that, the first time water gets under the hood of this vehicle…

At this point we can see the old cooler radiator going in. This bracket system (“Air-to-Oil Cooler Mounting Bracket for Non-Traditional Condensers”) by BulletProof Diesel is worth every nickel, whether you have that condenser or not because it is going to hold that heavy thing up there with no trouble. I am impressed; it is very simple to install and very effective. Routing the hoses can be a particularly fun experience. It is takes a little trial and error to try to find the right way, but getting the bumper and headlights out of the way help tremendously.

You see the new AC condenser going in. You have the hoses run up to the top of the old block and still have to get the turbo in there. This is our bypass filtration line that comes from the actual radiator. These lines are not included, we had to have these custom made over at our local hydraulic shop but it was necessary for the AC to run a lot better.

Make sure if you have any leaks or issues that you find them and get them clean with brake cleaner. Make sure that all these fittings are not leaking. The last thing you want to do is run your truck out of oil and tear the motor up. Get it nice and clean in here where the lines come in to make sure that there are no issues is absolutely crucial.

Now that the BulletProofDeisel.com parts are in, it definitely runs a lot cooler. The temperature was always colder than the oil hovering around 220 and it would get a little hotter than that. Now, I have seen the oil is actually cooler than the coolant.

Now that you are retired from the Army, what are you planning on doing at 41? I have always loved animals and that is an actual therapy all by itself being around animals. I have a good buddy I was in Iraq with who is a dog trainer. Scott taught me a lot about dog training and dogs themselves and that is the route I will be going to now. The VA and GI bill are going to send me to a dog training school. I would love to get into that to get rid of the stress. That will be therapy all by itself.

Train-A-Vet is going to donate a dog from the same breeder as Sasha here. Sasha has done a lot to help people. These dogs are very sensitive to the needs and very good companionship for soldiers coming back dealing with issues of coming back into the civilian world. It is about giving back and I really appreciate your dedication. I am happy that Train-A-Vet can support you in this.

This started out as part of a fun project with Gene and Ken Neal of BulletProofDiesel.com to showcase their products and help Powerstroke owners understand what BulletProofing really is. I really want to thank the BulletProofDiesel.com family for donating the parts to Dennis. Dennis is a hero and we need to take care of our people. I don’t think the American people have done a particularly good job of looking after the vets that are coming home and that is really what Train-A-Vet is all about is to help these guys fit back into civilian society in whatever way shape or form. If it is through diesel trucks or dog training or whatever it is to find that way. I am going to do everything I can to help folks like Dennis fit back in civilian society.

I would like to thank BulletProofDiesel.com for donating the parts and Powerstrokehelp for putting the pieces together and making a fine product and end result; also, Train-A-Vet for giving me the opportunity to stand right here. I like having the confidence with the Dealerproof in the truck along with the BulletProof Diesel products to have a dependable, reliable truck to be able to stand up to whatever I throw at it and not be stuck on the side of the road.

That is what it is all about. We fix trucks but we sell confidence. This is a beautiful example of what is available out there that we can do to keep this man on the road doing the things he needs to do with his dog school and his show cars. He has a pension now and is retired and I hope that he can live the rest of his life in peace and doing the things he wants to do when he wants to do them because he has earned that right. ~Bill Hewitt