to those that want to blame ford ..... please we at the "ford stealers" we love to see the paper work for some iron cleaner seeing that you have done everything. Nothing personal about that statement.

Debees you are on the right path. And yes I still have alot of unawnsered question about combustion chamber pressures as a result of some of the mods
Now on to somemore facts.... We almost nvere see the 03/04 style egr cooler fail. its very rare. they are the round shaped coolers that are welded vs the late style that is soldered together.
Now there is an aftermarket one around that is a moded later style egr cooler that has been coverted to the early welded design. I have not had one put in my hands to even look at but If I needed to buy one I would be looking at that setup and asking alot of questions.

 

what i am getting from this debate is egr delete or not you still have the antifreeze puking problem and proper coolant system maintenance is reqiured for that also doing egr delete on the 06 requires a tuner to redo the ecm to compensate for no egr valve does this sound right

 

Vloney, You mean the puking of anti-freeze out of the degas bottle (coolant recovery bottle) is a sign of blown head gaskets? I thought it was due to too much heat in the exhast that the EGR cooler could not deal with and simply boils the anti-freeze in the cooler.

If the problem is head gaskets then I do have bad news

 

yup hes pretty much on the money. I dont understand why it is that people think a puking degas bottle is normal.

the flashing of the coolant is what is causing the egr cooler to fail, also reduced flow on the coolant side of the oil cooler is a factor. This doesnt even get in to the high eot issue as that is the other side of the oil cooler.
The oil cooler is an oil to oil cooler and both sides must work correctly so if either side is screwed it wount be alone for long

 

I see your point, but the puking problem only occurs when towing my camper. (As a side note I got the rig weighed and I am pulling over 26K including the truck) The puking problem happens when pulling the load - stress.

When unloaded the truck does not puke at all. I am running tunes that shut off the EGR valve (Innovative deisel)

The puking of ant-freeze from the degas bottle came as a result of the new tunes.

 

ill give 26k is a big load.

check cooling fan operation, check fanss pid aginst engine rpm fanss should be about 2800 at 2500 rpm.
if you are getting a squeeling noise while under load you may have abelt slipping. check the water pump pully were the belt rides if it missing paint that means that the belt is slipping.
also if the truck is still under warranty you can question the dealer about replaceing the belt tensioner as that is a 5/100 part.

 

I hope you guys don't mind if I post a question in this thread.

Cheezit, I have a 2003 6.0L F350 with 45K miles. My EGR valve was somewhat damp when I took it out to clean. I asked on the forum and posted a picture in my album. A couple people said the cooler is likely bad. But then I just saw your post that said you almost never see 03 EGR coolers fail. Could I have seen condensation and moisture instead of real coolant leakage? Is that possible? There was some oily residue but no serious water. I am not losing coolant or blowing white smoke. I do plan to R&R oil cooler anyway as a preventative measure, but the urgency depends on if I have a live failure or not.

Can you comment so I know how fast i need to start printing dollar bills?

Thanks
Steve

 

if your going to be in there to do the oil cooler anyway why not just delete the EGR cooler to be safe???

 

the only way to know if you have a cooler failer is to pressure or vacuum test it. a wet valve can be from turbo not draining correctly, excesive condensation in the cac, fuel dilevery concern or a bad cooler.
egr coolers really cabt be almost bad its broke or not broke thing. odds are if you are not losing coolant then the cooler is fine.

 

I agree, the 03 coolers seldom go bad (we've had one). Remember, the root problem is the silicates in the coolant plugging the oil cooler causing the egr cooler to fail. Delete the cooler, the problem is still there.

 

Thank you vloney & cheezit for that insight. I guess the best plan is to open it up and pressure test the EGR cooler when I have it in my hands. I have the oil cooler replacement on it's way and I'm going to buy a block-off kit for the EGR. If the EGR cooler is still good it saves me $450 and I can block it off while I'm there. This will address the possible blocked oil cooler risk and at least mitigate the risk of future EGR cooler failure. Does this sound right? Oh, and yes I am putting in gauges also, just limited time and funds but I'm on the path. If you have not had many failures then maybe with good water flow and a block-off kit I'll be OK?

I also ordered the upgraded turbo tubes for oil feed and drain to address that issue. No other driveability issues, in fact it runs like one of the best diesels I have ever driven, really.

MistaBob2k7 -- MA Inspection. They specifically looked at the EGR cooler when they did mine last Dec. So, it needs to be there I guess, unfortunately. I would love to do the delete.

Thanks
Steve

 

I put a coolant filter system on my 03, hoping the rest won't break down.

 

I have seen may 2 failed leaking 03 coolers. I have one sitting in my stall that is carbon loaded to the top off a f650 6.0 but its not leaking either.

 

Again, delete the egr cooler, you haven't fixed anything, the problem is still there. Silicates can still plug the oil cooler, sandblast the water pump vanes, contribute to cavitation. Just install a coolant filter, and maintain your coolant, you'll have greatly reduced problems.

 

I forgot to mention I have installed the coolant filter already, about 3 mos ago right after I bought the truck. It was my first mod. I also flushed the system per the writeup on here and replaced with new Ford Gold. I have only driven a few k miles so far but will cut open the first filter soon to see what I captured so far. This is certainly a great mod. Thanks