It is getting to be time to think about installing a new EGR cooler and oil cooler in my 2005 F350. I want to go with bulletproof products.

I know that the fully bulletproof kit that includes the new egr cooler and the external oil cooler is about $2,100, which is quite a bit more than going with their Ford replacement cooler and new egr. What I don't know is how much more the labor is (on average) to install the kit with the external cooler? Anyone with knowledge or experience with regard to the costs to install the two kits?

I really like the idea of knowing I'd never have to do another oil cooler, but if the cab has to come off the truck and it's much more expensive to install I may just go with the Ford replacement cooler and the bulletproof egr and make sure my coolant stays clean. I have a Sinister coolant bypass system that should get delivered on Monday.

Any and all advice or approximate range of installation costs at a shop would be most appreciated.

ON EDIT: Looking at the installation instructions on the bulletproof website it says that the installation of their fully bulletproof external cooler is very similar to replacing the stock oil cooler, so I am guessing the labor may not be too much more. I am thinking it might be worth the extra $1,300 or so to never have to mess with the oil cooler again? Or does it make more sense to run a coolant filter and go with the stock oil cooler after a good flushing?

 

The time difference between the 2 should be a wash, with the old cooler having to be disassembled and cleaned properly before reinstallation, both setups you have to remove the intake so..... with the bulletproof setup everything is new and can be installed as soon as cleanup of block mounting surfaces is complete and th mounting of the air cooled cooler is pretty straight forward. A delete for the EGR cooler is always the best idea, What area are you in. do you have testing?

 

Thanks Bob. I live in eastern Washington, in the desert. We don't have testing, but I am concerned that we may end up with it. Reading the bulletproof website it sounds like doing the delete will cause some type of EGR fault message if the truck has a newer flash in it. I don't know if that is a big deal or not? What is the biggest advantage of the delete, does the engine run cooler?

The Bulletproof website says about 8.5 hours for the average mechanic to install one of these kits. Does that seem reasonable?

With a coolant filter is the upgraded Bulletproof EGR and a stock replacement oil cooler adequate, or do you feel like the external oil cooler upgrade is worth the $1,300 or so?

 

The truck will only throw a code if you remove the EGR valve, you can leave that in there because it won't do anything, if you want to keep the cooler in place you can just plug it with a freeze plug. You drive a 35mm freeze plug into the inlet side of cooler and put a solid gasket with a thin sheetmetal backer/to support gasket/ at the intake side. The EGR cooler is now a dummy cooler, best part is you don't have to buy a new cooler, if you tackweld the plug in you can even use a cooler that was allready ruptured and it would work.
The neg. side of deleting EGR system= NONE
The pros. better fuel milage//better turbo spool up// increased acceleration// cleaner intake //no getting stranded because EGR valve failed//
To answer your question if its worth it, to me NO, how many miles has the the stock cooler worked for you? after dooing the flush and by adding the coolant filter you should at the very least double the number of miles out of it. If you are still interested in a remote setup there is another company that uses the stock cooler as a remote so it is still water cooled but they use a real coolant inline filter, not a bypass filter which is better. Look up IPR , innovative performance Research, If you ask me the bulletproof is way too exspensive for what it is. I did complete headstuds, oil cooler and all gaskets needed for less than there kit.

 

The truck is right at 105k now, and my delta's are right at the 15 degree spread.

To me one of the most attractive things about the remote cooler is that the oil temps are supposed to stay quite a bit lower. It sounds like it also eliminates the problems with the stock filter and the plastic detent deal that can break, and if it does, oil is bypassing the filter.

ON EDIT:
This is from bulletproof's site:

¹ The common belief is that 2003-2005 model 6.0L's will not trigger the check engine light. However, Ford's newer software updates now check for insufficient flow through the EGR and will trigger with an EGR delete. Keep in mind that if you have an earlier version Ford 6.0L and have had it in the Ford dealer in the past few years, your ECM (computer) has most likely been updated to the newer version of software. Also, if you ever take it in to Ford in the future, perhaps for an airbag safety recall of some sort, your ECM will be updated then. So while an EGR delete may not set your check engine light today, it is very much a possibility in the near future.

It sounds like the updated Ford software will cause a non functioning EGR to send a code? They talk elsewhere on the site about needing a tuner or something to get rid of the code.

 

My truck hasn't been reflashed sinse 04, I refuse to let Ford do any flashes, it is my truck so I have the right to refuse the flash, if it is out of warranty you have the same right. My buddy got his truck reflashed in 05 and it cost him 3mpg so I refuse. The only downfall to the stock cooler is that you can't filter the coolant before it enters the cooler, that IPR setup takes care of that though. The only time I ever heard about the plunger failing is when someone used the wrong filter and did not completely seal the plunger and allowed oil to bypass. Iv'e added up all parts needed to do the same thing they are doing and it seems they are charging more than half the cost for that special housing . A good flush and keeping tabs on the coolant filter should make the stock setup nice and reliable.

 

Thanks Bob. Certainly something for me to think about for sure. $1,300 is $1,300. I do like the idea of the oil running cooler though.

 

I wouldn't really count on it running "cooler" though the idea seems nice. It's not like these trucks run really hot anyways. Plus you're in Washington. If you were in Africa running through the desert day in and day out, I could maybe see the benefit.

The bulletproof unit is very nice, and a good peace of mind, if you've got the coin.

I'm rebuilding my junk soon here and I'm going with an OEM oil cooler re build kit. $231 seemed easier to spend than $1300.

As for the EGR delete... yes, delete it. FWIW, even 03/04 trucks that have newer flashes I haven't really seen any CEL's thrown for the EGR. Delete it and see what happens. Worst case you get the CEL on, then just buy an SCT with some custom tunes to get it off.

Welcome to DB!

 

I live in Washington, but in Eastern Washington, in the desert. It get's hot here, 100+.

I think what I am going to do is get my coolant filter installed this week, run it for 1k miles or so and see what it looks like. Once it's cleaner I'll do a flush with Restore and Restore Plus and run as long as my deltas don't get crazy. Then I'll replace with the bulletproof EGR and the updated OEM oil cooler. Does that seem reasonable?

I would like to delete the EGR, but I live in an area where emissions testing probably isn't that far way.

 

Sounds like a good plan of attack for sure. FWIW, everyone I've seen do a flush to clean their oil cooler out ended up rebuilding/replacing anyways, since it just clogged up again in no time.

There was a neat write up somewhere floating around where a guy bought two of the fumoto drain valves, installed them in the coolant drain ports on the block and even backflushed his cooling system with his garden hose. It was really cool. I'll see if I can find it.