Some 6.0L Power Stroke problems deterred consumers, but those who stuck with the hefty diesel soon learned that the benefits outweighed the problems. You can get the problems under control and prevent others from happening with diligent maintenance and a few simple upgrades. While these upgrades are not needed to put the engine's power to use, they will help extend the life of the engine and avoid the emission system problems it was having.

1. Upgrade EGR Cooler

Aftermarket EGR Coolers are manufactured by quite a few aftermarket parts companies and easily replace the stock unit that comes on the diesel engine. This will enhance the heat transfer and avoid clogging, which was one of the problems experienced with the engine. Clogging can start a whole list of other problems. The 2004+ models should have this upgrade, even more so over the 2003 models.

2. Performance Head Studs

Aftermarket performance head studs are an option if you're having problem with the EGR cooler clogging. If you don't have a clogging problem, you can forgo this upgrade. What quality head studs do is increase the force of the clamp of the cylinder heads and avoid a head gasket failure.

3. Oil Cooler

You can upgrade your oil cooler with a high flowing aftermarket oil cooler designed for added protection. The stock oil cooler system has problems with clogging, causing failure of the system which results in oil contamination in the entire cooling system.

4. EGR Block Off

An EGR block off is not street legal, so before you consider this a method of upgrade or repair you need to check your state emission laws to see if your truck needs to be inspected. If it doesn't, you have the go ahead to block off the EGR block and completely seal the system. This will eliminate any problems you're experiencing from the poor design of the EGR system.

5. Oil Filter Bypass

You can help keep the engine clean of the tiny soot particulates with a bypass oil filter. This extends the life of many of your engine systems including the turbocharger, high pressure oil pump and HEUI injectors. A 6.0L Power Stroke is not the only engine that benefits from a bypass oil filter. Any diesel engine will reap the same rewards. If you're considering increasing the performance level of your 6.0L Power Stroke, make sure you complete this task and install performance head studs as well.

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