All,
I am looking for advise on my first 6.0. With the help of all of you I am armed with a San Guage II (loaded with all the x gauges from the tech folder), a print out of the "buying a 6.0" thread from this site, weeks worth of reading threads, and actions to take for a "new to you 6.0". Oh and a carfax account. Thanks to Bismic, maximum 4x4, texas tech and others for the information arming me for a smart purchase. FTE is the best!

On to the question. I found a 2005
F350 SRW with 49000 (carfax verified miles). It is 100% stock with no tuner signs and appears to have only bumper towed if at all. I will be test driving it next weekend w/ scan gauge. If EOT and ECT checkout and the other items from the buying guide.

From the collectetive experience how long will the egr and oil cooler likely last?

Thanks for the knowledge

 

As long as the oil cooler health is maintained and the coolant level is maintained at the proper level it will last a considerable time.

Yes, the square style can crack and leak with no other outside reason for it. Usually a symptom of the 2 reasons given and rarely just because.

Josh

 

Thanks for the info. Maintenance is king, at least that's what keeps my 73 CJ5 running on the original motor., why would this be any different. I Just was curious if there was a "standard" life expectancy, being new.

Scott

 

just delete so you don't have to worry about it.

 

I thought about the delete, but military takes me to places where emissions testing could be problematic. Have to keep intact for a few more years.

 

you can weld the ends shut if where you are going is only a visual inspection of the cooler.
wont look any different that stock.

 

Good to know, have Mig and love to have an excuse to weld. Think I read something on here about that... You still keep the EGR valve hooked up, right? Keeps the cooling fan working if memory serves.

 

yep, that is correct.

 

Any idea on the thickness of metal people are using who go this route?

Also, knowing my limitation for now, can you visually see the delete kit in the valley without disassembling the top of the motor? For now I want to ensure the EGR cooler is there and not the straight pipe.

Thanks for answering the new guy questions.

 

If you want to stay legal, A bulletproof EGR cooler would be an excellent option. They are a much more robust design over the stock one and I have yet to hear about any failures on them. I have one on my truck and have the EGR valve kept closed via custom tuning. It's the next best thing to being deleted. When it comes time to get it smogged, I simply return to the stock tune and pass emissions without issue.

 

Who are you using for the custom tune and what tuner? I like this option....

 

The tuner I am using is the SCT X4. I highly recommend it. SCT is pretty much universal when it comes to custom tuning. I like the gauge setup on it. It allows you to monitor 8 different gauges at once. I set mine for ECT, EOT, TFT, FICM voltage, Battery Voltage, VGT, and EGT (seperate kit needed for EGT).

The SCT TS Livewire is a step up from the X4, but the only real benefit I see with it is the bigger screen and ability to measure 0-60 times.

I got mine through MPT (morepowertuning.com) and they include 3 of their custom tunes with the purchase of the tuner through them. They have the EGR valve commanded shut in all of their custom tunes (as most custom tuners do). I mainly use their Perf-eco tune that gives way more power than stock, but nothing too crazy. My average fuel economy went from 12 city to 15-16 city and from 16hwy to 19-20hwy. I also like their towing tune.

Even the tunes that come pre-loaded on the SCT have the option to disable the EGR valve.

There are other options for the tuner and custom tunes. You can get the tuner a bit cheaper off amazon without custom tunes and order your custom tunes from your choice of custom tuner. The gearhead tunes are popular around here, but I haven't tried them.

 

Brandonrr,
Thanks! Great info. Is your truck studded or are the tunes safe for stock? I have been looking at the SCT x4 (I have a scan gauge II). Gearhead claims safe tunes for stock.

Once again thanks, this was exactly what I had hoped for from the initial post.

 

They claim their tunes are safe for non-studded trucks, with the exception of their bazooka+ tune. My truck is studded, but I don't see any reason you couldn't run their tunes without studs. Tunes or not, a little common sense goes a long way in preserving your head gaskets. Eliminating the added strain of re-breathing the exhaust, via EGR, alleviates a lot of head gasket risk.