Are egr delete/studs enough

[Buzzyt517]

03 6.0
The Problem I'm having is the typical overflow puking and higher oil temps at times. I've done as much research on here as I can find. Now I need some thoughts.

I had the egr cooling tube replaced about a year ago without doing my research. When I had it done I did not have the oil cooler done due to lack of 6.0 rookie knowledge . The coolant was not flushed either but prestone was used to fill what was missing.

Now its making me believe its the same problem again. This time I'm planning on doing egr delete/oil cooler/Head studs/coolant.

My coolant is still slightly visible but it is low from all the puking. This has happened over the course of the past few months. Which makes me believe that the head gaskets should be fine because you'd think over time the symptoms would get worse and I'd keep loosing coolant. Plus I checked my overflow cap this afternoon while the truck had been sitting for well over 24 hrs and still had pressure under it. My truck starts and runs great as well

Do you guys think I should just go ahead and do egr delete/oil cooler/studs/coolant or should I just do head gaskets as well.
Cant really afford the HG's unless its a must.

[SickStroke6.0]

I'm thinking your headgaskets are done already, I only lost coolant one time in three weeks, and it ended up being my headgaskets.

Just go ahead and get it over with. I did it a while back, you'll love the peace of mind.

[taskforcefreddy]

DIRFT. 'Nuf said.

[Buzzyt517]

Yeah. That's kinda what i figured. It just kinda boggles my mind that it can hold pressure over 24 hrs and it has not gotten worse or dissipated...
Clean coolant and oil as well.
The other thing is once it got down lower on coolant just visible at the bottom of the over flow it has not moved in well over a month???

[SixStringMadness]

I had many many people tell me my HG's were gone when I had puking. I did and EGR and OEM style oil cooler delete. No more puking. It's not always the HG's causing puking. It is also coolant boiling in an EGR cooler unable to pass through a blocked oil cooler. HG's don't blow unless your head bolts stretch, they don't stretch unless you've had some serious high temps to weaken them.

Point: Don't always assume HG's are the problem. They are next to worst case scenario.

[Buzzyt517]

Ha ha now your just making me struggle way to much. I have the egr delete and oil cooler on the way. I'd like to just put those in and see what it does but at the same time if it is the hg's I'd like to get it all done in one shot.

If its any help the truck has 194,000 miles on it. I purchased it two years ago with 160,000 from a used dealer so i'm not sure if maybe at one point its had hg's and studs done. The only reason for me to believe it has not been done was the oem sty egr tube was still in there. Is there any marking on after market head studs or any thing to look for to see if its already been done????


Can any one run an oasis report and see if ford did anything?

[SixStringMadness]

I believe you can see one or two of the head bolts outside of the valve cover. If it's a head stud, it will look like a six point nut on a bolt, instead of the head of a bolt as is the OEM torque to yield headbolts..

The only way to test the system is to pressure test the cooling system while driving. If it exceeds 16 psi while under full throttle, in a rapid fashion, it's a blown head gasket. (The exhaust gases are pressurizing the cooling system). If it is a less rapid rise, but still exceeds 16 psi, it is the EGR cooler boiling the coolant, and that is pressurizing the cooling system. (Like a tea pot whistling)

Either way, the cooling system is still getting pressurized over 14 - 16 psi, and the coolant cap is burping off the extra pressure. The difference will be in how fast. Rapid increase under a heavy foot up a hill, would most likely be a HG. A more steady and persistent but not quite so rapid would be a blocked oil cooler.

Go check out BulletProofDiesel, they have a couple of videos up, and a simple, but somewhat ineffective test to a newbie tester. It's worth a looksie though for ease of mind.

I for one am somewhat reluctant to assume HG's unless you've had serious heat for an extended period of time, due to lack of coolant and hotter than normal engine oil. (Which would allow the OEM headbolts to stretch)

[Buzzyt517]

Originally Posted by SixStringMadness

I believe you can see one or two of the head bolts outside of the valve cover. If it's a head stud, it will look like a six point nut on a bolt, instead of the head of a bolt as is the OEM torque to yield headbolts..

The only way to test the system is to pressure test the cooling system while driving. If it exceeds 16 psi while under full throttle, in a rapid fashion, it's a blown head gasket. (The exhaust gases are pressurizing the cooling system). If it is a less rapid rise, but still exceeds 16 psi, it is the EGR cooler boiling the coolant, and that is pressurizing the cooling system. (Like a tea pot whistling)

Either way, the cooling system is still getting pressurized over 14 - 16 psi, and the coolant cap is burping off the extra pressure. The difference will be in how fast. Rapid increase under a heavy foot up a hill, would most likely be a HG. A more steady and persistent but not quite so rapid would be a blocked oil cooler.

Go check out BulletProofDiesel, they have a couple of videos up, and a simple, but somewhat ineffective test to a newbie tester. It's worth a looksie though for ease of mind.

I for one am somewhat reluctant to assume HG's unless you've had serious heat for an extended period of time, due to lack of coolant and hotter than normal engine oil. (Which would allow the OEM headbolts to stretch)

That helps thanks.
I've already been lookin at some of the bulitproofs videos.
In your opinion. If the head gaskets were leaking wouldn't you expect the coolant to keep dropping over time(Once mine puked out a few times its stayed at the same level for a while)? Also my cooling system stays pressurized while it sits for a reasonable time. Like its stayed pressurized for 24 hrs at time without being run. If the hg's were leaking it'd loose pressure into the motor which would leak out the ccv breather if I'm not mistaken???????

[SixStringMadness]

Originally Posted by Buzzyt517

That helps thanks.
I've already been lookin at some of the bulitproofs videos.
In your opinion. If the head gaskets were leaking wouldn't you expect the coolant to keep dropping over time(Once mine puked out a few times its stayed at the same level for a while)? Also my cooling system stays pressurized while it sits for a reasonable time. Like its stayed pressurized for 24 hrs at time without being run. If the hg's were leaking it'd loose pressure into the motor which would leak out the ccv breather if I'm not mistaken???????

Your though process is well founded, and makes sense. Too bad these diesel engines are not that scientific. Staying pressurized for 24 hours would be due to a source other than heat. So if the EGR cooler is cooking that coolant, once the coolant cools off, the pressure should subside. If you're hold 14 psi for 24 hours, that would actually lead me to think more about the HG's, but even still, 14 psi is 14 psi, and whether it's heat of exhaust gas, once the cooling system cools, that heat pressure should go away. The coolant cap has already burped off any excess before you shut the truck off, and the remaining pressure should subside and the heat does.

Leaks in the system are small, and can seal themselves back up once metal cools off, and things start to contract again. The leak in my EGR cooler was only evident by moisture when I took it out. I could find no holes. So a hole that small cannot release enough coolant to relieve pressure to a 5 - 6 gallon cooling system. Additionally, if it was leaking into the cylinder overnight, you would have a hydro-locked engine that would not turn over, and if it did you would bend your valves or something else catastrophic.

My blocked oil cooler caused the EGR cooler to boil off coolant, and as long as there was coolant it would boil it off. It did not drop the system to a point and stop puking. Once the EGR cooler cracked it blew steam into the exhaust, and leaked into the up pipe at night, so I was always losing coolant and had to keep an eye out to not let it get too low. Once it leaked into the exhaust, in the mornings my exhaust was a total steam pipe.

I could see where a HG leak might push some out until it was low enough, and when the system burped off pressure, it was just gas. But this is no science on my part.

He may not be the powerstroke expert he claims to be, but the guy at POWERSTROKEHELP.COM has a good testing kit and procedure to do the necessary test. He ships it anywhere you want, and has a video to show you how it works. I would check that out. (FYI I think his "Engine damage avoidance system" is flawed, I would not buy it.)

Bottom line, you have a blocked oil cooler. That's bad news for the truck. Get that MF'r out of there, the sooner the better...

[Buzzyt517]

Yeah I know I have problems. The oil cooler and egr tube are coming out forsure. There is no doubt about it.

I think I might just do the delete and oil cooler and see what happens. If it still leaks then I'm doing HG's and studs. If there is no leak then It'll still get studs just no HG's and I save some coin. I don't have the time to do the HG's myself which is the only reason I'd like to get away with not doing them.

Would you do the same or just attack the HG's right away after reviewing this whole thread?

Make it a vote. Anyone please feel free to give me your vote. The parts should arrive friday. So that's when I'll start.
1. For the delete/oil cooler.
2. For the HG's and all.