My apologies, I meant 5" exhaust tip. 4" turbo back to 5" tip.

5" would actually help lower egt's ultimately giving you more power (In theory).

 

I don't really see what the big deal is about the EGTs. I know everyone says you have to keep the EGT down but my truck doesn't tell me what the temp is so why do I care?

My truck has 65K miles and is basically stock. I tow a 40 ft GN trailer loaded to my combined limit about 12-15 weekends per year. I have no complaints about the fuel mileage. The truck weighs 8500 lbs empty!

Should I be monitoring my EGT? I've considered some performance mods but have no urgency. I could use a bit more power when climbing hills with the trailer in tow but I don't have much confidence in the conflicting info that I read on the forums. Tuners, CAI systems, DPFD, downpipes, intercooler upgrades, etc???

 

What rear axle you runnig. I tow about the same weight and mine doesn't even down shift on most pulls. I am deleted with a very mild tune (I'd run it deleted in stock level if the tuner would let me). This truck is very powerful once the DPF is out of the way. I had all that other stuff on my 7.3L and it was not near as powerful as this truck. With the 4.30 rear axle it is awesome.

 

I have the 3.55 gears and 18" wheels. In order to get 3.73s on a SRW truck in 09 they forced you to get the 20" wheels/tires which cost an extra $2000. I was actually considering a gear swap with all the money I saved.

 

Well, the 3.55 is a trade off by Ford. Better fuel mileage less power. I tried to make that point a couple years back when the 09s were coming out with the higher gearing. People didn't want to believe the loss of power would be noticeable but I've heard from serval sources that it is. But, for most folks it's a good trade. Most of these trucks don't get used to tow loads that put them at the 26,000 lb load. And even if they do they don't encounter that many hard climbs. Mine was 25,7?? on the scale at Pilot and when I first got it I took it west over several passes in the Rockies and even stock it pulled great. Passed everything going up the passes except maybe some of the 400TD Motor homes.

 

Sustained high EGT temps can ruin or shorten the life of your turbos... Not a major concern for running stock, but should still be on your mind when towing heavy loads.

I think it's pretty unanimous that deleting the DPF can be a benefit for a healthy truck (Next to meticulous maintenance). A simple DPF delete (tuner) & pipes are sufficient. Many will recommend and aftermarket intake (CAI) to allow the engine to breather better. The rest is not a necessity, but I will say that they can and most likely will benefit. The one thing I would do before a CAC (Intercooler) is delete the EGR's.

Read read read. You will get mixed opinions on just about everything. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here and when it comes to generic questions regarding upgrades, modifications, etc, it has most likely been asked and answered several times.

 

I appreciate the responses.

Why do I want to get rid of the EGR system? What are the benefits and side effects?

I will see if I can get my scan gauge to display the EGT.

Is it a safe assumption that a gear swap would be a smart first performance mod given that I have the 3.55s?

 

A) EGR's in the 6.4 have a unacceptable failure rate.

B) EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculator. It recirculates exhaust gas back into the engine intake. That's pretty self explanatory that it can't be too good for engine longevity.

Benefits: less parts to fail, increased engine life, less weight, more room in the engine bay.

Side Effects: Happy Owner!

 

EGR is a pollution control device. It has the EGR coolers. It is a possible failure point.

If you really want to clean things up then it would be something to look into.

IMHO a gear change to help with heavy towing would be helpful. But if you are light towing it would be of no benefit.

I have 3.73's and I find them to be the best all around gears. But 4.30's would be better for the heavyist towing. I am only at 23.6K GCWVR whereas Stanley is over 26K.

 

The only reason to get rid of the EGR is because it can be a point of failure. It also, when working right puts a lot of soot into the turbo which can't possibly be helping the engine. I think a lot of the concern on EGR failures is a carry over from the 6.0L which had a lot of EGR failures. Based on almost 4 years on this forum I would say the 6.4L has a good record with the EGR coolers. You have a couple other options, the high dollar tuners or at least one of them (H&S I think) allows the EGR to be turned off. That prevents the soot from going back into the intake, but I assume it does nothing to prevent cooler failure. There is a company that makes Bullit Proof EGR coolers that are a lot more robust than stock. They by reputation will put an end to the worry about the EGR coolers failing and the truck can be returned to stock much easier if you want to trade or sell it or if you need to pass an annual inspection. Of course the Bullit proof coolers do not solve the problem of the soot into the intake. So if you combine an H&S tuner ($1000.00 more or less) and a set of Bullit Proof EGr coolers (another $1000 or so) you can solve the problem of the coolers, probably. In the world of diesel pickup trucks there is no free lunch. FOMOCO and the EPA have combined to make trucking very expensive.

 

Hmmmm. All good information.

I am familiar with EGR from the rest of the automotive world I just didn't realize they were such a problem on the 6.4. I've disabled it on my 96 Cobra (racecar). So, I'm guessing the EGR cooler plumbs warm coolant from the radiator to a heat exchanger and cools hot exhaust before pumping it back into the turbo/intake stream?

So, for ~$2000, I'm decreasing (or removing) the likelihood of that system failing. Sounds like expensive insurance. I think I'll start by buying some fuel additive and seafoam engine cleaner.

 

DO NOT put seafoam in your 6.4. It has alcohol which is an emulsifier. It will allow water to pass through your system.

 

I just read on another thread where everyone swears by it. I didn't see anyone speak out against it.

 

I know the EGR coolers can be problematic, but I have not seen a rash of failures like the 6.0's had. I wouldn't say it is a must to delete them, i have no plans to.....

 

In talking with my tech last week about the EGR coolers, the ones he's seen that have failed are the horizontal ones that are right above the left exhaust manifold. He said he has had only two of the upright to fail, but several of the horizontal ones.
As far as deleting these coolers now, are there kits out there that disperse the pressure on throttle lift? Is the pressure vented somewhere else with these kits? I know it was a big concern originally when the guys here started trying to do this. Which is the better kit out there and why?
I've deleted the PDF on my work truck but still haven't had the guts to do it to my F350 as I only have 18K miles on her. I know, I know- it would run better, pull better, last longer and better fuel mileage with them gone, but still hung up over the warranty thing as of now.