In Feb '12 I had my egr & cooler replaced in my truck. Last week I had the truck in for fluids leaking from the front of the engine. When the dealer put the system under pressure to locate the leaks, they discovered I needed to replace my egr & cooler again. asap. I balked because I just don't have that kind of money, and it was just done a year and a half ago.

I'm hoping to go easy on it long enough to put a little something aside for the repair.

Is it unusual for an egr & cooler to go bad after a year and a half? Am I doing something wrong in my maintenance? Everything is done at the dealer on a regular schedule.

Also, its seems cheaper to delete the egr & cooler in the short run than replace the egr and add an upgraded cooler. The dealer quoted me $3800 for the parts replaced with labor, and couldn't promise me I wouldn't be the the same boat a year down the road. I think I can get the system delete for half of that. ....just trying to make a decision.....

I don't get a lot of smoke out of the tailpipe yet. I do get some at first but if I take it easy not so much. I'm on borrowed time though...

 

In Feb 2012, did they replace the oil cooler also?

 

The egr itself usually can be cleaned up and will operate fine. The egr cooler has to be replaced when it fails. They really are not bad to change out. Do you have any gauge setup to watch your temps in real time? One of the worries of running it with an leaking cooler if it leaks enough the coolant can fill one if the cylinders and hydro lock the engine. I you try to start it or it does start when the valves close for the compression stroke you destroy that cylinder possibly block, piston, piston rod, head. Yes I would get a bullet proof setup or delete but that is my preference. That to me is an outrageous price for that service. Of course I do my own work as well. The turbo, intake and egr cooler do have to be removed but that can be done in an hour and a half or less of course shops go by book time not actual. If you must have someone do it I can understand and would probably read reviews and buy my own parts for them to put in. I would recommend a coolant filter as well.

 

Yes, if they did not flush your cooling system thoroughly prior to installing the new oil cooler....it could be plugged up again. BUT, I don't see how a pressure check would determine the oil cooler needs replaced.

Wait....did they replace the EGR valve and EGR cooler in 2012? If they did not replace the oil cooler at that time, then yes that would cause the EGR cooler to fail again.

You probably have no idea what your engine oil temp and water temp are do you?

 

3X on the oil cooler causing your issue. The EGR cooler is daisy chained to the oil cooler. Coolent goes into the oil cooler then passes on to the EGR cooler. Of the oil cooler is plugged or restricted, the little bit of coolent that actually makes it to the EGR cooler isn't enough to cool, and it vaporizes. This is one of the reasons that you need to keep track of the engine's live running engine coolent temp as compared to your engine oil temp (delta). As that delta spreads, it is informing you that your oil cooler is getting restricted and it's time to get that resolved. Word on the street is that any delta of more than 15 degrees is you que to have the oil cooler replaced.

 

Do you mean egr cooler and oil cooler??

 

Oh man! The dealer told me although I had to replace the egr cooler asap, I could probably take it easy for a bit and watch the coolant level. I'm driving my wife's car at the moment. I think I'll be able to have it done in the next month. I spoke with "senior" at Bullet Proof Diesel this afternoon and learned that I should have been changing my coolant at least annually or 30k miles. The dealer told me the coolant was good for 100k (I've put 80k since flush). I'm hoping to find the bucks to install the bullet proof upgraded egr, egr cooler, remote oil cooler and add a coolant filter.

I don't want to take a chance to hydrolock the engine. I'll try to step up the repair schedule. I really appreciate all the help from you guys...I can do oil changes and some minor stuff...but I'm not comfortable doing a repair this big in my driveway.

 

I'm 99% sure that the oil cooler wasn't replaced in 2/12. Unfortunately, I don't have gauges yet. Its on the wish list....

 

I've been looking around and came across Bullet Proof Diesel. I called today and spoke with "senior" who gave me quite a bit of info...pretty much what you are saying in your post. I'm hoping to upgrade my truck with their egr, egr cooler, remote oil cooler, and possibly a coolant filter. My truck has 172k on it and I bought it at 79k at which time I had every fluid flushed twice and replaced with the best the dealer had. I was told that the coolant would last 100k miles, but I'm learning now that that might not be the case. I think I should be flushing the system around 30k miles (every 2 years for me). Money's tight, and although I'm still stinging from that huge expesne back in 2/12 (plus this past week), I absolutely love this truck and will do what I can to keep it going. BTW...I've also replaced the tubo within a couple of months of the egr...

Thanks for all the information on this. I really appreciate the help.

 

If you can't afford gauges ($115 for a ScangaugeII at Advance Auto site w/ a promo code), then you should park the 6.0L until you get them.

In fact, if you suspect that the EGR cooler is leaking and the oil cooler is plugged, you should not drive it ...... period (mentioned by 05F250DSL above also). You risk doing more damage and significantly increasing the repair bill.

If money is tight, then the remote oil cooler is not justifiable. It is very nice, but it is very expensive. The OEM oil cooler can work just fine. You absolutely MUST identify if the oil cooler is plugged and how bad it is. Oh btw - GET GAUGES.

Personally, I would want to verify what the shop is telling you. You can get an idea by taking a test drive (I know I said don't drive it, but a test drive (and ONLY a test drive) is necessary. Get the engine to operating temperature (oh btw you need GAUGES for this since the factory panel gauges tell you nothing), then park on a downslope, and pull the EGR valve to look for wetness. A SMALL prybar from Home Depot will make pulling the EGR valve easier. Personally, I would also install a pressure gauge on the degas bottle. You can tee a hose into one if the small hoses at the top of the bottle and run the hose and gauge into the cab.

The Ford Gold can go 50k miles (the dealership should have told you this IMO), but certainly a dain and fill at 30k is better. Switching to a diesel rated ELC coolant (EC-1 is one rating to look for) can give you a coolant that takes less maintenance, but I wouldn't even go more than 100k miles on it.

Since this surprises a LOT of people - did you know you are supposed to flush the transmission and change the external filter every 30k miles? Instead of flushing it (because it requires a hot flush machine), you can do a series of drains and fills to "approximate" a flush.

Lastly, you mentioned an external "fluid" leak that needs to be fixed. EGR and Oil coolers do not leak to the outside. Did the shop say what was causing the external leak?

 

The dealer I usually use didn't have any experience with upgrades from Bullet Proof Diesel. So I started making calls to shops that have experience installing Bullet Proof Diesel upgrades and have narrowed it down to two. M.E. Tudor Equipment Service in Gainville, VA & Walsh's VIP Auto Service in Purseville, VA. I spoke with Mark from VIP today and they have a lot of experience with the upgrades. I can have the parts shipped to them and drop the truck off when they arrive.

I started looking at gauges as well. Do you like the edge insight gauge listed on the bullet proof site better than the ScanGauge? I came across someone who might unload his. Before I do anything I'll get the gauges.

When I asked the dealer why no one mentioned I should be changing my coolant more often I was told they had been keeping an eye on it.

I didn't know that about the trans fluids & filter. I'm going to have to learn to do that myself. I'm overdue on that as well.

I work nights and don't have my copy of the work order... I believe it was the fuel assembly housing or cover on the front of the engine....I won't get the chance to check it till this weekend.

Lots to do....

 

From what I've read it looks as if Scangauge is the way to go...thanks (unless the other one is much cheaper...)

 

While the ScanGauge seems to be the tool of choice around here (even I have one), if cash is tight enough to forego the expense, there is a cheaper option.

If you have a smartphone, you can buy a bluetooth OBD-port adapter (for $20-30) and an app called Torque. It will provide the same information.

However you get the information, you NEED the temperature numbers for the engine oil and engine coolant.

-blaine

 

I'm learning...lol...I should have some gauges in the works by this weekend. I may be able to snag an edge insight (slightly used) at the same price as the scan gauge. But, I'll get the gauges.

I'm going to run the truck this morning when I take the kid to school, just to see if anything is coming out of the pipe or my coolant level has dropped..

 

Look after reading all this , something is not right with what your dealer is telling you .

The EGR cooler will last longer than a year if you have a good flowing OIL cooler .
So if your dealer hasn't figured out your Oil cooler is maybe bad then you might want to try another dealer

And 3800 for a EGR cooler and whatever change sounds high .

And one last thing if you are going to own one of these you need one of two things .

Really deep pockets , which you don't have .
Or learn to do the work yourself .

Have a good day and good luck with your truck .