1996 dodge v10 & Ford 1999 7.3

start with the easy stuff ,flush, new fluid, check belt tension,new fan. clean all the junk off the radiator.

Without knowing how he has maintained his trucks it's hard to say. It could be as simple as just needing a new thermostat and antifreeze to needing the whole cooling system gone through. I would start by taking the truck to a radiator shop and have the system flow tested to see if there are any issues. You guys can perform the repairs yourselves when you know what it needs. This would be cheaper in the long run as you would only be replacing what needed fixed.

Like Fred said the exhaust brake is not a DYI friendly job. When my Dad had a Jacobs EB added to his 91 Ram CTD they had to replace valve springs also. So unless you have some extensive diesel background I would leave that to the Pros.

Don

My dad used to replace every window that we broke with a baseball or whatever. It is a skill that he learned.

Installing a exhaust brake is fairly easy for a diesel mechanic, but complicated to someone who does not know the difference between a diesel gas pump and a gasoline one. . .

So I have no idea if you can install it yourself. I might be able to install it, and I have a friend who could install it for sure, and I helped him install a turbocharger for his dad's then nearly new 1986 F-250 with a 6.9L Diesel in it. I did not help much, and would not take on the project myself.

As for the fan - it is really easy to install a 30 amp "Fog lamp relay" from your local auto parts store, and energize it with a switch in the cab of the truck when you see a steep hill coming up (on a hot day). Then run a #10 wire from the battery to a 20 - 30 amp fuse, to this new relay, to the fan input 12 volt power. When you turn on the switch, it will bring on the high speed fan.

If you have changed the coolant recently, then there will be "Less" sludge in the engine and block. If you install a coolant water filter, it will clean up the coolant, the coolant could be used 10 years, and will keep the minerals out of the water, so they will not harm the water pump seals, or put a coating (that is not heat conductive) on the inside of all the metal parts of the radiator.

I put a coolant filter on my then brand new 1997 Fleetwood Bounder with 460" V8. After one summer, the coolant filter was plugged, so I changed it, and cut open the bad filter. It was full of sand looking substance, and probably helped extend the engine life a long time. I have changed it yearly since that time.

Filter part # is Napa 4070 with a kit to install it FIL 4019.

That reminds me, I need to look up cooling fans on JcWhitney.com.

Fred.