Hell everyone I have recently upgraded from a 97 F150 to an 03 F350. From what I have learned from mechanics I have the early 6.0. I have been learning how to work on 6.0's in general from some mechanics and most have recommended to get a EGR delete for the truck.

What are the pros and cons of having keeping the EGR as well as getting an EGR delete kit?

 

Congrats on your upgrade and welcome

First question is do you live where emissions are an issue? I have emissions laws so I cannot delete, however, I would if I could. I just have to maintain and perform preventive measures as much as possible so my EGR cooler does not fail.

Someone else will hopefully chime in to tell you what you could or could not do. Do be careful if you do delete because some deletes are not as good as others. Some welded type deletes have failed and caused problems and some have not.

Check out the Tech Folder at the top of the forum page and read, read, read. A ton of great info in there

 

Welcome to the 6.0 club & congrats on the upgrade!

If you're not required to do emissions tests where you live, delete the egr cooler. Every engines purpose is to get cool clean air in & out of the cylinders. Whether it's a Nascar engine or a 6.0 powerstroke. Adding hot exhaust gas to the cylinders is not good for performance & also keeps things hotter.

#1 thing to purchase is a scan tool of some sort to monitor engine sensors, pressures, etc. Whether android or ios, both offer cheap apps that can achieve this monitoring. Get a Bluetooth obd2 reader from amazon or ebay to connect to your phone. By far the cheapest way. There's also high end tuners that cost 300+ that can read PIDs if you are planning to tune the pcm down the road.

You'll then want to monitor your engine oil & coolant temp. If the temp difference between the two is over 15° driving 65mph at operating temps(around 190-200°) then your oil cooler is partially or fully plugged. If the oil cooler becomes plugged, it begins to starve coolant flow through the egr cooler, then the hot exhaust gas begins to flash boil the insufficient flow of coolant. If that happens, usually the egr cooler will crack internally & coolant will then begin pumping into the cylinders, which leads to blown head gaskets or worse.

2 ways to delete it...
1. Weld exhaust inlet & outlet shut on the egr cooler preventing exhaust gas flowing through it
2. Purchase a delete kit

If going with option 2, you may want to look into replacing the Y pipe since it will no longer be supported by the egr cooler. The missing mount support from the egr cooler can lead to the y pipe bellows cracking.

 

Currently I reside in Maxbass, ND but that is subject to change at a moments notice. Ii don't believe that ND has emissions testing.

 

Ok, so then my next question is where is it registered? Are you in the military? If so, then I know in California you would not need emissions if you kept it registered to your home state, which is how most military folks do it because they transfer often and it's legal here that way.

Military personnel are the only ones exempt from updating their registration to CA if using the vehicle here.

I would check to see if emissions are required wherever it is registered and be certain before deleting if you go that route.

Hope that helps and tap the little scales button in the upper right corner of Bumblebee's post to give him some reps for his advice! I would, but I have already done it recently and it won't let me.

 

I live in an emission state, never had an issue passing with an EGR delete....

 

Does your state require a visual inspection and do you know what they are specifically looking for? I'm just curious as I'm sure it varies state to state with what they are required to look for. Be interesting to find out the different smog requirements.

That's why I just offer what CA requires and for him to check where he is registered. Last thing I want is someone to tell him to just delete it and then he gets screwed by an emissions check. Can't tell you how many times I've heard, "But, I bought it this way" and then the guy has to pay to put it back stock after going to a state referee.

 

No, its not a visual.....

But, his state may not be either, so who knows....

All I know when you purchase a vehicle from out of state in CT it needs an emission test no matter what.

IF the CEL/SES light is on it will fail automatically not matter what.

So in CT as long as theres no CEL for EGR you're good to go

 

Gotcha...

CA requires a visual and some guys are doing the "stealth" EGR delete by plugging everything and leaving it installed. That way when they do the visual it passes. I've heard of problems if the plugs or welds leak if not done right or just crack over time being heated and cooled so many times.

Or...someone has a "go to" for smog inspections, which is a roll of the dice.

Same here with the CEL. If it is on, that's as far as they go aside from telling you what the codes are if they are decent enough to.

Anyway, hope all this info helps you out GhostSoldier.

 

I ran a "welded" EGR cooler, and the welds gave out, when I least wanted them to....

So I would do a stealth delete or just leave it if you're worried about emissions

 

Were they freeze plugs? I have read those rott out because it's too thin. I planned to weld mine shut with 1/8" 304 ss plate & flux cored 308 ss wire. Just gotta plasma cut a few pucks when I get egr cooler off. Figured if I ever upgrade exhaust i could do away with the egr cooler all together.

 

Yeah they were welded in freeze plugs. I bought the cooler off eBay. They started to leak about 2 hours from home, I assume they were taking blown coolers and welding freeze plugs in them

doing the egr delete really doesn't do anything with the exhaust.

Unless you use the kit with the actual up pipe piece in it as well. I just get the cap and block it off at the up pipe. Makes life much easier and serves the same purpose.

 

Not that I would ever recommend this to anyone but it seems to me that if you upgraded the up pipe so the exhaust isnt pounding the back of the egr cooler and then used freeze plugs on both ends of the cooler then it should be good to go. As far as durability. Those freeze plugs arent seeing anything more than what they would see on the block so I think that would be sufficient. Also, then visually the cooler would still be there. You could even strap on the v-band clamp in the back to show that its "still connected" Then get a tuner and fix the CEL and your done.

 

I'd have to disagree. The exhaust temps get WAY hotter than the block does. Most heat the freeze plugs in the block would probably see is about 250 degrees and they're also suspended in coolant all the time. A plug on the end of the egr cooler at the exhaust side will see quite a bit of moisture due to condensation throughout its life from heating and cooling. I doubt the freeze plug itself rots out, but probably the weld does. Hopefully I won't have this issue using stainless steel plate and welding wire. I'm just going by what I have read on the internet, so it has to be true..... right?

 

Well said. This is not an "untraveled road". The thermal cycles are severe, so materials and welds need to be VERY strong. The freeze plug concept has caused many problems for folks. I talked with the folks from BPD a long time ago and they said even on their shell/tube EGR coolers, the welds must be high quality. In this case success isn't measured in small numbers, you need many years and many, many miles out of this mod!