I am new here so this may be short,
I have a 2004 F250 6.0 with 169,000 miles. I am considering getting it bulletproofed, I am wondering what an average cost would be? I have not had much trouble out of it, in 3 years I've replaced 1 injector and the egr valve and sensor. It blows whitish gray smoke 75% of the time, black if I haven't got on it good or drove it in a day or so. I will have the truck paid off this year and was considering refinancing to do this. I am wanting to keep it as a daily driver and to haul horses on the weekend. What are my options and estimates?

 

If you do all the work your self then you can have a bullet proof truck for around 2k, thats including a billet high pressure pump, if you have a shop do it then it might cost you around 8k and it probably won't be as good as if you did it yourself

 

I've been told egr delete for sure. Avoid the cold air intake temptation but if you are going to put one on make sure its a really good one, these engines like clean air and clean oil. With that said about oil, if you're gonna really work that thing change the oil at 5K and use synthetic. Those engines got a bad rap but really are quite good if you take care of em and do the updates. If you live in a colder climate and it is hard to start before jumping to conclusions have the ICM (Injection Control Module) checked before proceeeding directly to injectors. Pull off the intake to the turbo housing and check to see if you got oil making its way into the turbo form the crankcase ventillation tube if ya got one. Just route that pipe thats attached to it off towards the ground and block off the hole, there is no need to pump crankcase ventillation by products back into that turbo. Keep a close eye on the coolant level and if you wanna get real fancy and spend some serious cash install some ARP studs in the head. Big job tho, most of your money in these things is labour as working on these engines is awesome.......thats sarcasm. I have a few buddies that work at the dealership and any real engine work involves removing the cab. Just my two cents hopefully this gets ya going in some sort of direction

 

I already have a k&n air filter, I've heard that the egr delete is for off-road only. Bulletproof diesel makes a (better) egr to replace the factory egr, what all should I consider replacing? I'm looking for reliability, higher mpg, and added HP would be a plus

 

By deleting the EGR you're eliminating the possibility of coolant working into your combustion chambers. You can't compress a liquid so when that piston comes up if coolant has entered that combustion chamber something has to give and its usually the headgasket. However with that said maybe you can't legally do that where your're from, here in Alberta its very common as the Gov doesnt meddle in our affairs that way but hey if there is an aftermarket EGR put it on cuz the stock one will eventually give you greif. You're best bet is to get ahold of a Ford Dealer and ask a tech that works there on their suggestions. Those guys know what commonly fails and whats a waste of time to spend on. Research till your blue in the face, it'll be worth every second once the job is done.

 

What would be a list of things to change and to possibly change.

 

Delete the egr cooler, rebuild the oil cooler, install coolant filter/most important/ remove cat converter from exhaust-a good 4" exhaust helps power and mileage, a SCT programmer will help make you some power but keep it mild, if you want reliable 400hp then plan on putting some ARP studs in it, I am doing that now at 270k, I think I was one of the lucky ones as I had it tuned up for the past 170k before studs were needed. if you keep tires near max pressure you will also get better mileage, I keep my rears at 80psi and fronts at 70psi, even though Ford suggests 55 for the fronts.

 

I have been looking online at bulletproofdiesel.com they have kits with their egr and engine oil cooler (lifetime) is it better to rebuild the factory or buy one of these? I have a diablo sport tuner but I have never attempted to use it, wouldn't know where to start. Which would be better a 4"or 5" pipe

 

4" is plenty, the 5" sounds good too but if you ever put a gooseneck in it will hit and vibrate some, Bulletproof stuff is pricey but good, deleting the EGR/aka egr cooler/is the safest thing to do, a simple coolant flush then rebuild oil cooler with stock cooler then YOU MUST ADD A COOLANT FILTER to eliminate the oil cooler from getting clogged again. To save some money on Ford parts look up Tousley Ford parts online, by far the best prices I have found. Aside from programmers the leading cause of head gasket failures is do to clogged oil coolers causing the Egr cooler to clog and rupture. These motors are sand cast and some of that fine sand sticks to the inside water jackets and works free which cloggs the oil cooler, the coolant passes through the oil cooler then the egr cooler so when flow is reduced the coolant can steam in the egr cooler and cause it to rupture and coolant can enter the intake,cylinders causing the HGs to pop, also the steam entering the coolant chambers can cause them to pop.

 

What is the purpose of the egr ccooler? Where should the coolant filter be placed and what type of coolant should be used?