What is the EGR Valve

[Mrfun2fly]

Ok, I'm new to the Diesel thing. I have an 04 6lit w/30k miles on it. I continue to see folks talk about delighting the EGR Valve. What is the EGR valve and what do people mean by delightin it? Thanks, Lee

[olfordsnstone]

It's a little wart that EPA started requiring on diesel engines beginning in 2003 to meet smog requirements. Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve. Pretty much self explanatory as it recirculates exhaust back into the intake of the engine. It was one of the reasons that gasoline engines were having so many problems back in the 1980's. That is when EGRs first made there debut into the automotive world, plaguing American's with American made vehicles that had poor reputations for being unreliable. Kinda like what is happening now with new generation diesels.

If you look on top of your engine, next to your fuel and oil filters, you will see the top of the wart with a plug and wire into the top of it. One of the plug and wires anyway.

[Mrfun2fly]

Thanks for the def of the EGR Valve, now what's the big deal about removing it?

Cheers,
Lee

[olfordsnstone]

Sorry, I added more to my post which might explain that question. Must have been editing while you were asking this last one. Anyhoo, from what I have been reading, the cooler for the EGR can cause costly damage to the engine. And you have to have the cooler to run the EGR, as it cools the exhaust prior to inducting it back into the intake. Another problem with the EGR is that they tend to get gunked up and stick open, which will result in a loss of boost and poor performance. They can be taken out and cleaned to help avoid this problem.

It is illegal to remove any of the smog equipment on your engine and if they ever start checking vehicles for smog compliance, you might end up with a big fine if caught with it removed. But that is another subject.

Mine is stock, with the EGR still in place. I am not having any problems with it yet, however I am also using fuel additive to keep things burning as clean as possible. Don't know if this helps but it would make sense that it would. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the EGR Cooler however.

There are some pretty fart smellers on these boards who can expand greatly on this subject. I see that you are new to the boards. Welcome to FTE. Be careful who you listen to. "Cheezit" is a member who has a lot of knowledge on these engines. Believe him! ! ! There are some others too. You'll be able to sort them out as you learn who is who. Be careful believing some folks who talk like they know it all. Some are very good. Others, not so knowledgeable.

Good Luck. Enjoy your truck. I am still loving mine. Seems that most all of the negative I hear about these engines is here at FTE. On the street I hear mostly good stuff, from owners that it. Dodge guys will take every shot they can at a Ford so watch them too.

Once again, enjoy your truck and welcome aboard.

Tim

[olfordsnstone]

Double post. Mods please remove

[Mrfun2fly]

Thanks for the update and your correct, I am new and trying to figure this stuff out.

To be honest, I'm not big on modifing at all so for now I plan on leaving it stock. Now I have to decide on what I'm going to do w/this Banks system that the prevous owner installed.

Cheers,
Lee

[olfordsnstone]

From what I've read, the banks is not so good with the 6.0.

The fuel additive I use is Diesel Kleen. White bottle in cold weather (winter) and gray bottle during summer months. Change your oil religiously with CI4+ rated or better oil. Dello 400 15w/40 is good stuff and I used it for quite a while. I just changed to synthetic Rotella 5w/40 oil this last drain and my truck seems to be running smoother. Lots of opinions on oil. I think Dello is plenty adequate though. Change it every 5000 miles. Clean oil is critical for these engines.

Change your fuel filters every 15000 miles. This is another thing that is critical.

There is lots of info on this site for other things like transmission flushes, coolant flushes, etc.. Tons of info. Do a search on these topics, and more, and become educated on the 6.0. Maintenance is key in insuring many trouble free years of service. Learn from those that know these engines well, especially the Ford Techs (like Cheezit). We are blessed to have their expertise here on FTE. Great resources for us Ford guys.

See ya, T

[olfordsnstone]

Double post. Mods please remove

[olfordsnstone]

Crap, I'm double posting. Moderators, please clean up my mess for me. Thanks!

[tex25025]

Alright here are a couple of things. Despite most people suggesting that you either delete or bypass the EGR valve, you can actually change your driving habits in order to help mitigate what issues you may have with the EGR valve itself.

1. After you let it get up to operating temp.(if you go by the stock ECT gauge in the cluster, give it about another 15-20 minutes after it reads normal depending on ambient temp) romp on the throttle. That helps clear out what carbon buildup is getting into the system due to the recycled exhaust.

2. Cut down on idling extensively(10 minutes or greater) unless you add a high idle circuit on the the truck. If you have the 4 aux. upfitter switchers it's easy enough to do and there is a write up of it in the tech folder of this forum. This is something that alot of people have a hard time with because they are under the impression that you should be able to idle a diesel forever if need be. This isn't the case with these newer diesels.

3. Babying the truck isn't always the best thing. After it gets up to operating temp(always wait til you hit operating temp, constantly doing this before operating temp will cause other issues) try to have some safe fun with it. Don't always drive for a mind toward fuel economy.

What all is included in the Banks system? There might be some things that you can keep since they are already on there. If it's an air intake and/or some type of programmer then I would definitely get rid of it. If it's the exhaust then that wouldn't be so bad. Unless it's like 5" or more then that's actually cutting into low end power.

I would suggest highly installing a good set of gauges. That helps alot with preventing some issues from happening. Unless this is just a DD and you don't drive like a bat out of hell all the time, then you might actually not need them, but if you use your truck for some things, then I would suggest a good quality set.

Stick with the stock filters(oil, fuel, and air), I would suggest going with a synthetic oil 5W40(I use Mobil 1, I think most use Rotella, either one will serve you well) as that is better for the turbo and cool downs unless you want to either install an EGT gauge and shut the truck off when it hits ~450 degrees(pre-turbo), install a turbo timer to shut the truck off after so long, or just wait a couple of minutes and shut it down yourself. Switching to synthetic helps mitigate the need for worrying about when to shut the truck off. I would also suggest using the severe service interval when doing the oil changes and do the fuel filter changes every other oil change.

[Mrfun2fly]

Good info on the EGR valve thanks.

The way I drive it is just back and forth to work and on occasion some small off roading on the weekends. The big reasons I bought a a Diesel was I've always heard how they will last "forever" and my wife and I have a small boat to pull, and someday we will want to get a travel trailer (years down the road).
1. After I get to operating temp, how long do you suggest I "romp" on the throttle?
2. Fortunitly I dont let it itle too long, just at street lights. And the last half of my drive to work is on the freeway (about 10 minutes)
3. Wow, I have been babying it in thoughts of fuel economy. I'm getting about 14mpg now, and this was a shocker. Prior to buying my truck, I kept hearing people say they are getting 18mpg.
4. I'll have to dig up the paperwork on the Banks system but from what I remember, it is some sort of Banks 6gun system (whatever that means) and it has a knob 1-6 inside the cab. I'm told #1 is the factory setting and the higher the number the more power I get. This thing has plenty of power so I'm not too excited about getting more power.
5. The seller installed a larger exaust pipe and says this is a good thing, is it?

Thanks for letting me pick your brain,

Lee

[tex25025]

Originally Posted by Mrfun2fly

1. After I get to operating temp, how long do you suggest I "romp" on the throttle?

Oh not that long and just do it every now and then. If you are up to operating temp and you are going to get on the freeway, as long as it's clear, that's when I try to have a little fun with it, and it also helps get up to speed to make it somewhat easier to merge with freeway traffic. Just be mindful of the surrounding traffic before you do it.

Originally Posted by Mrfun2fly

2. Fortunitly I dont let it itle too long, just at street lights. And the last half of my drive to work is on the freeway (about 10 minutes)

This is mainly for those that let it idle to warmup on those cold mornings or while they are going into the store to get something. Things along those lines. Idling at the light is fine(atleast in my opinion it is).

Originally Posted by Mrfun2fly

3. Wow, I have been babying it in thoughts of fuel economy. I'm getting about 14mpg now, and this was a shocker. Prior to buying my truck, I kept hearing people say they are getting 18mpg.

I really don't put much stock in what people claim. MPGs for these trucks are all over the place and they are highly dependent on the individual circumstance.

Originally Posted by Mrfun2fly

4. I'll have to dig up the paperwork on the Banks system but from what I remember, it is some sort of Banks 6gun system (whatever that means) and it has a knob 1-6 inside the cab. I'm told #1 is the factory setting and the higher the number the more power I get. This thing has plenty of power so I'm not too excited about getting more power.

I would get rid of the tuner(knob with the 1-6 setting). The way that Banks makes it's power is not safe for the 6.0. It basically fools the trucks sensors in order to generate more power. Not safe for the stock bolts at all or the tranny if you have the TS.

Originally Posted by Mrfun2fly

5. The seller installed a larger exaust pipe and says this is a good thing, is it?

It depends on how big. If it's 4" that's good and that will help cool down EGTs. However, when you bump it up to 5" you actually have too much space and your aren't flowing enough fuel and air to quickly fill that space, so it takes more time for it to fill the exhaust before it expells the exhaust. That translates into a lose in low end power. Now you can compensate for that with a hotter custom tune, but there are other issues that go along with that. It would be far better to go to a 4" exhaust then to work around a bigger one.

[Mrfun2fly]

deleted the double post.

[Mrfun2fly]

I would get rid of the tuner(knob with the 1-6 setting). The way that Banks makes it's power is not safe for the 6.0. It basically fools the trucks sensors in order to generate more power. Not safe for the stock bolts at all or the tranny if you have the TS.

Is this something easy to just "unplug"

Thanks,

Lee

[69cj]

Install a coolant filter asap. It will clean your cooling system thus preventing, providing it's not too late, the oil cooler from plugging which in turn over heats the egr cooler causing it to fail. This is a very bad scenario easily prevented for a modest price.