EGR cooler bad?
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EGR cooler bad?
I recently replaced my oil cooler after puking grey coolant out of my degas.
I took the EGR cooler to the Ford Tech to be pressure tested. He told me I did not need to test it. He said that he has never seen a 2003 EGR cooler fail, only 2004-2007. He also told me that if it were bad, it would be clean inside due to the coolant leaking through it. Mine had soot in it. I was only loosing a small amount of coolant after a 400 mile trip. If the EGR cooler was bad, would I loose lots of coolant and blow white smoke from the exhaust? I hope that I don’t need to replace the EGR cooler, after getting everything back together. What do you think? The puking coolant had a strong smell of exhaust soot, and the intake manifold was caked with exhaust soot. Is that the normal smell of coolant when the oil cooler is clogged, or is this a sure sign of a a failed EGR cooler ? I want to make sure I did not miss anything.
2003 6.0 PSD 120,000 miles.
I took the EGR cooler to the Ford Tech to be pressure tested. He told me I did not need to test it. He said that he has never seen a 2003 EGR cooler fail, only 2004-2007. He also told me that if it were bad, it would be clean inside due to the coolant leaking through it. Mine had soot in it. I was only loosing a small amount of coolant after a 400 mile trip. If the EGR cooler was bad, would I loose lots of coolant and blow white smoke from the exhaust? I hope that I don’t need to replace the EGR cooler, after getting everything back together. What do you think? The puking coolant had a strong smell of exhaust soot, and the intake manifold was caked with exhaust soot. Is that the normal smell of coolant when the oil cooler is clogged, or is this a sure sign of a a failed EGR cooler ? I want to make sure I did not miss anything.
2003 6.0 PSD 120,000 miles.
Tuned
Joined: Aug 2008
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When I was replacing my oil cooler, I spoke to several tech's, dealerships, parts departments etc... regarding the 2003 EGR cooler. All of them told me that they had never seen a 2003 EGR cooler fail so I put mine back in too. Does this mean that they don't fail, of course not, but to me it sure sounds like the 2003 EGR coolers are a far safer bet then the other years. I don't have the answer to your question, just wanted to share what I had researched.
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I just pulled the EGR valve to look at the inside of the mainfold. I cleaned the inside of the intake manifold when I replaced the oil cooler due to thick caked soot in the manifold. I have around 100 miles on the truck after doing the oil cooler. When I looked inside the intake manifold there was a light dusting of black soot over the entire inside surface of the intake manifold. Is it normal to have black soot on the inside of the manifold after 100 miles? Would this reflect a failed EGR cooler with the history of the smell of exhaust in the coolant prior to doing the oil cooler?
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
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If you did a through cleaning of the entire intake plenum, and the exhaust tap, some carbon buildup is OK.
Mine was apparently plugged nearly closed --- but I just had the EGR valve cleaned and see how it goes.
I do get occasional issues that I put down to loose carbon jamming anything from EGR to Turbo to intake / exhaust valves...
Mine was apparently plugged nearly closed --- but I just had the EGR valve cleaned and see how it goes.
I do get occasional issues that I put down to loose carbon jamming anything from EGR to Turbo to intake / exhaust valves...
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Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Middle Tn.
Dry soot is normal, wet or damp soot is bad egr cooler. Rule of thumb is to replace both at the same time since the labor over shadows the price of the part plus your down time.
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From: Lakewood, Ca.
I hope your cooling system (including that EGR cooler's coolant side) was properly cleaned after your oil cooler failure. That makes one heck of a gooey mess that will cause problems down the road if it isn't cleaned out.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: N. Fort Worth, tx
ya right there on this one maybe 3 failed is what I have seen.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
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Nevertheless, is it worth the trouble to put back the old one when a new one is not a lot of money?
Or do a delete at same time..
Or...
Fleet Owner
Joined: Nov 2003
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There have definitely been posts here of 2003 EGR cooler failures over the years. No doubt it is somewhat uncommon. IMO, I would put the bulletproofdiesel EGR cooler in, if I already had the OEM one removed. I have been "holding off" on my opinion on that cooler so that enough time would pass to get a reasonable "picture" of how it works and if it is reliable. Now, I think enough time has passsed and I have never read anything bad about it.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Nov 2008
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Just curious about which way to go, delete or BP.
Thanks for any input here.