7.3 Godzilla Oil Cooler: Delete, Relocate, or Leave It Alone

The factory oil cooler on a 7.3L Godzilla is a big assembly bolted to the side of the block, and it sits exactly where headers, chassis rails and swap mounts want to be. It is one of the first things people run into when they put this engine somewhere Ford never put it.

There are three ways to deal with it. Which one is right depends on what you're building, and the cheapest option is not automatically the correct one.

First question: do you actually need the oil cooler?

This is the part most write-ups skip, so here is our answer straight out.

If the vehicle is a drag car, or a street-driven truck or swap that isn't seeing sustained load, you don't really need the oil cooler. A pass down the track and a drive home don't put enough heat into the oil for long enough to justify keeping a large assembly in a place where it's causing you clearance problems.

If you're lapping — road course, open track days, anything where the engine is under load for minutes at a time rather than seconds — keep the oil cooling. That is sustained heat, and that is exactly what an oil cooler is for. In that case you want route 2 below, not route 1.

Everything that follows is downstream of that one decision.

Route 1 — Delete it

Our oil cooler delete, part number EN028, replaces the factory cooler with a bypass housing that is one inch tall in total. That is the whole point of the part: it gives you back the space the factory assembly was occupying so headers and engine placement stop fighting you.

CNC machined from 6061-T6, hard black anodized. The kit includes stainless mounting hardware, a high quality O-ring so you are not chasing sealant, and a size 8 AN plug.

Be clear about what this part is. It is a packaging solution, and deleting the cooler takes it out of the oil system entirely — that is what "delete" means. For a drag car or a street build that is fine. For a car that laps, it isn't.

If you delete, you also need the coolant block-off

The factory cooler is plumbed into the cooling system, so removing it leaves an open coolant passage on the driver side of the block, above where the cooler sat. That has to be closed.

Part number EN031 fills it. Billet 6061-T6, hard anodized, stainless hardware, high temp O-ring.

This catches people out often enough that we sell the two together as a kit, EN028-pkg. If you're deleting, order both — not one, and then the other three days later with the engine hanging.

Route 2 — Relocate it

If you want the clearance and you need to keep oil cooling — which, per the section above, means you're lapping the car — relocate rather than delete.

Our relocation adapter is EN040. Low profile so it still buys you room in a tight bay, CNC machined 6061-T6, hard anodized, stainless hardware and O-ring included.

• -12 ORB inlet and outlet
• Includes two Low-Pro ORB fittings, and you choose the size: -12, -10 or -8 AN

Pick the fitting size to match the lines you're already running, not the largest one available.

Route 3 — Leave it alone

If the engine is staying in a truck and the headers clear, there is nothing wrong with the factory cooler. Not every build needs this decision made. The parts above exist because swaps and race packaging create a clearance problem, not because the factory part is bad.

While the side of the block is apart

Most people doing this are doing it as part of a larger job. A few other things live in the same area and are much easier to deal with now than later.

Mechanical water pump delete — EN029. A plate that lets you run an electric water pump. Black anodized, stainless hardware, and it reuses the factory O-ring.

Coolant fitting, block — EN035. Replaces the factory heater core fitting with one that accepts -12 ORB, at the top of the block on the passenger side. One important caveat: it will not clear the factory intake. This is intended for Hi-Ram style intake manifolds. If you're staying with the stock manifold, this is not your part.

Oil squirter block-offs — EN046. Squirters often come out on a built engine because they interfere with aftermarket rods. These install and seal like the factory parts, button head bolts for clearance, sold in packs of eight for one block.

Engine lift plate — EN027. If the engine is coming out or going in, you want one of these rather than a chain around something you'll regret.

Quick reference

All of it is in Billet Pro Shop Godzilla parts.

Which one do you actually need

Short version:

• Drag car, or a street build that doesn't lap — delete, and take the coolant block-off with it. You aren't giving up cooling you were using.
• You lap the car, and clearance is still a problem — relocate. Keep the oil cooling and buy back the space.
• Nothing is in the way — leave it alone.

If you're not sure which side of that line your build sits on, call the shop. We machine all of this in house in Napierville, Quebec, and we would rather spend ten minutes on the phone than have you order the wrong one.