Hey guys,
I have a 2003 Ford F-250 with a 6.0 Litre Powerstroke Diesel engine. I was wanting to get some input. I had an awefull burnt antifreeze type smell coming from my engine (more so on the drivers side). My guess is that my engine is running hot, but the gauges are reading normal temps. I had to add 2 gallons of antifreeze so it is buring antifreeze from somewhere. I don't ever see puddles under the truck so I don't know where it is going. I took it into the shop and the guy told me it was possibly the EGR cooler and maybe even the oil cooler.
I just wanted to get some second opinions. Have any of you had this similar problem? I also read about a possible EGR Cooler delete or something like that. Is that a viable option, and if so, are there any drawbacks to the EGR cooler delete?
Thanks in advance for the info,
Joe

 

Joe,
Welcome to the 6.0L world. It could be any of the above. Easy way to diagnose the cooler is to raise the rear of the vehicle while it is warm and remove the EGR Valve. Look inside the hole and look for evidence of coolant. If there is coolant you have a bad EGR cooler. It can also be the head gaskets. You can tell headgaskets by the white chalky film around you expansion tank. Excess pressure cause the tank to vent leaving the race around the coolant lid. We offer a 6.0 delete kit. It can be viewed on our website under the Ford section. If you need help diagnosing give me a ring and I can walk you through the test.

 

I had a similar problem with my 6.0 EGR Cooler (the second time!). I considered capping off the cooler, but then I found a different way to make this repair. I rec googling "EGR cooler upgrade kit" and checking there. I bought one off of the internet and it works great! This upgrade was not a stock Ford cooler. Instead, it was the outer body of the Ford cooler, but the inside had been stripped out and - in its place - there was a strong stainless steel all-welded assembly installed. Can't say enough about the peace-of-mind I have with this new style cooler.

Gene

 

A friend of mine owns a 2006 Power Stroke in his tow truck. He was telling me about how his EGR cooler went bad... AGAIN. He said that he has had it replaced 3 times since he bought the truck brand new. I told him about this thread and the "egr cooler upgrade kit". He found it on eBay and bought one...saying that he was tired of replacing this thing and that he needed his truck to stay in business.

I went by this weekend and watched as he removed and replaced the unit.

Pictures here:
Picasa Web Albums - Gene-iuos! - Cooler Instal...

He inspected the item from eBay before installing it. He said that Ford wanted like $450 plus $115 for gaskets for a new EGR cooler, and this one was actually going to save him $100 and it was a lot stronger. He also liked that the new one has the exact same fit and function as the original cooler, so installation was easy.

I will update the forum as his mileage goes and any history or emissions problems.

 

Not to be a dink, but head gaskets are not the only thing that cause degas venting.

And I wouldn't delete the EGR system on a 6.0, it plays a bigger part in driveability than most people realize.

Just my .02

 

AN UPDATE::: He drove the truck for the whole weekend and put about 300 miles on her. She ran perfect! He scanned the ECM to see what was going on - no check engine light, no stored codes! He was glad he didn't delete the egr cooler - !

 

He's got that crap-*** aftermarket oil filter in there.

Hope he saved the original cap...they're eighty-five bucks.

Well documented, though!

(PS: Should have changed the oil cooler while it was apart though, leading cause of EGR cooler failure. Have him monitor ECT and EOT pids, under load, at WOT when the engine is at operating temperature. It cannot exceed 15 degrees spread.)

 

hillbilly, ford just dropped the price of the cap to 30 bucks to try to get people to go back to a ford set-up. also i will bet my ford diesel cert on his oil cooler being bad causing his egr cooler failures

 

I purchased the "upgrade kit" yesterday along with the "coolant filter kit". After 3 headgasket changes, Oil Cooler and EGR Cooler changes, I had the dealer install ARP Studs. Only issue I have now is deciding whether I want to install the "Kits" or drop it off at a Diesel mechanic I know, since my warranty has expired.

 

How did you like that Upgrade Kit? Did you install it? What do you think?