I just got my first 6.0L. I've had a 7.3 for years. The 6.0 has been "bulletproofed" but they put in a reman egr cooler instead of deleting... Question, should I do a delete on it or is it OK to just unplug the EGR on top of the motor and call it good? What ramifications does that have in the long run?

 

If the cooler is left intact you still have the possibility of it leaking and sending coolant through your intake. And of exhaust pressurizing your cooling system. I’d either have each end of the egr cooler welded shut, or do a delete. I prefer to delete it, but that’s me.

 

The term "bullet proofed" is kinda sketchy - it means different things to different techs. At minimum, I expect, it means they replaced the head bolts with studs. Kinda odd that someone going to that effort - probably because their EGR failed, clogged the oil cooler, and blew the head gaskets - and then put an EGR back in. I'd want to see the invoice from doing that work and confirm what else was done. For example, were the heads checked out? Is it running a hi-po tune? Gotta think the oil cooler was replaced - did they use a quality component? Just a little different, keeping the EGR, and makes me wonder. If they replaced gaskets because it blew, and did nothing but replace the gaskets and install studs, they could just be calling it bullet proof to get a higher price for a truck they're just dumping because they expect it'll blow again soon.

But, I'm just a skeptic who doesn't trust anyone.

 

Here's the invoices of what was done...

 

I was told to leave my egr valve plugged in for proper fan operation. You may have to also.

 

Fans seem to be working properly, but I just unplugged it about 100 miles ago. Figured I'd go without it plugged in to see how it operated, nothing is out of the ordinary, and it runs like a top.

 

I'm feeling like the truck is running nicer, less turbo lag and better fuel economy than it was with the EGR plugged in. My question is, am I causing harm to my motor by leaving the EGR unplugged, but not doing a full delete or even pulling the throttle plate? Don't want to create a problem when I don't have one to start with!

 

You’re not hurting the motor. But like I mentioned earlier by not doing a full delete you could still have issues caused by the egr cooler. I’d also get rid of the throttle plate.

As far as fan operation, my egr has been unplugged for almost 4 years, I did not notice any difference and I did data logs over the same route several times to see if I could find one. My friend’s truck has been the same experience. But both of ours are 05’s, ymmv.

 

What they're referring to is leaving the EGR valve plugged in for proper fan operation. It can sit in the manifold and not cause a problem especially if your truck is deleted. Bottom line: there's no need for the EGR block off plates.

If I were you, I'd delete the EGR and clean the intake manifold. I've done this for several trucks that have come in and the 6.0 LOVES a clean, soot-free intake manifold.

 

I plan to do a full delete next year when I'm financially able or possibly able to do it myself, will probably leave it as-is till then, I don't drive it much.
I haven't gone thru a whole tank since unplugging, but I got to 330 miles ish last tank with it plugged in (calculated ~13 mpg) but I was romping on it quite a bit, since it was new to me and I was having fun. This tank I'm taking it easy and I'm at 350 miles at 1/4 tank so far, interested to see what it calculates out to on this one. I've been hauling a bit, a tractor, loads of hay, firewood, horse trailer etc.

I've heard some people just welding the ends of the EGR cooler closed and keeping it stock otherwise, I know the general opinion around here of Bill Hewitt at powerstrokehelp but that's what he recommends even over the sinister diesel kit and other big name performance diesel product companies.
I'll clean the intake, would you recommend just a rag or are there cleaners that are ok to use on it. The truck runs SO clean and nice, if I have soot in there I'll be interested to see how much better even it runs. So far, I'm liking the 6.0 a lot more than the 7.3. Way more power and quieter, tho when my wife isn't with me I miss the 7.3's sound...

 

Welding the ends of the cooler gets rid of the worry of the cooler leaking coolant into your intake, but it’s less than optimal for exhaust flow to your turbo though the up pipes.

As for sound, put a straight pipe on it...no cat, no muffler. Then it’ll sound awesome

 

I think someone was playing 'buzz word bingo' in selling the truck.
Studding the head is a big plus, but there are still other issues common with the motor that need to be addressed for it to be "bulletproofed".

There are 5 issues that are common in the 6.0 and to fully "bulletproof" it, you need to take care of at least 4 of them.
Here's a link to an article on the BulletProof Diesel site that explains the issues and what's involved -> https://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/Articles.asp?ID=345

I have several friends that have had good luck with studding and the EGR delete, but I went down the road of starting to "bulletproof" when my EOT/ECT deltas started touching 15 degrees and I started getting occasional turbo error codes (I have a 2007 Type 3 box bodied ambulance with 211k miles). I had the remote oil to air cooler and a new helical core EGR cooler installed, along with a bypass coolant filter and a new turbo.

The "bulletproof" approach isn't cheap - my ambulance is based on an E-450 so everything on the engine is more expensive to install - I just put about $5k into it including parts and labor. With luck (and good routine maintenance), I may not have to ever "fully bulletproof" it (unless I want to make 100+ additional horsepower).

We ran it just over 1,100 miles last week, maintaining the flow of traffic (75-80) and both EOT and ECT stayed below 203 the entire time.

If you do keep the EGR cooler, look at BulletProof Diesel's helical core design - it's a much better design than stock.

 

Tony that was a much appreciated addition to the conversation here. Thank you! I'll be doing some reading on BPD's website. I can't decide if I should go with a delete or a BPD egr cooler now tho. Pros and cons on both sides.