need help with what to do with my egr system

[viper40]

so while cleaning my egr valve i noticed moister in the housing and had it looked at and found the egr cooler leaking. so i am trying to figure out the best way to fix it whether to do a delete or just get it fix? and what would be the pros and cons of both ways?

[viper40]

and if i do a delete do i still need to leave the egr valve in and plugged in?

[HeavyAssault]

The full delete will be the better option. While you are at it maybe swap out the oil cooler as well. It needs to be done so don't wait too long for the repairs.

[viper40]

so with my truck being an early 04 ive seen on here that all thats needed to do a delete is to weld a freeze plug in. is that true and would i be able to do this even though the cooler maybe leaking

[NYC F-350]

Not a good idea unless you weld up both ends and have excellent welding skills. If you just weld up where the exhaust enters, the leaking coolant will still flow (albeit at a slightly slower rate) into the air intake stream. The coolant system is under pressure (at times up to 16PSI) and the EGR cooler will still leak.
You are MUCH better off if you delete it, if you are able to. Take into consideration the state inspection process in your state now, and in the future. If you can not delete it, buy the best EGR cooler out there (Bulletproof diesel).
Whether you delete the EGR cooler or keep it, you MUST replace the oil cooler. The oil cooler passages for coolant are plugged and the end result is the failed EGR cooler. The failures go hand in hand.
Coolant is slowed in the plugged oil cooler, less coolant to egr cooler, egr cooler overheats and stresses the metal beyond what it can handle and it fails, resulting in the leak you found.
You should thank the lord above that you found it now, before it had a chance to REALLY screw things up. Its relatively cheap now compared to what it would be. Don't run the truck around until you get this fixed. It can lift the heads off the motor, resulting in thousands upon thousands of dollars more.
And, yes, you may leave the egr valve in place and plugged in. I have. You probably will not get codes.

[viper40]

i was told by a diesel mechanic near by (he is a master diesel mechanic) that i shouldnt worry to much about it right away but to keep an eye on the coolant level, temps, or if the engine light comes on before i need to worry. they looked at it and ran some tests, im not sure what test but he said its not a bad thing yet so i was going to just do what he said and keep and eye on it. is this true or no

[NYC F-350]

OK, but, who makes more money if you F up your truck more?
Certainly not me.

[NYC F-350]

As it stands now, you only need an oil cooler and an EGR cooler. Fix it while that is all it is.
Keep driving it like he says, and you might just fill your cylinders with a little too much coolant. Do that and suddenly your buying new heads and getting those ARP head studs like you read alot about on here.

Your 900 fix just went to four grand.............

[viper40]

where can you get a delete and oil cooler done for just 900 the cheapest i can find is 2100

[NYC F-350]

Ok, so I was low.
I do all my own work ever since I had to pay a grand for faulty diagnosis and an ICP sensor I didn't need.
The point is you will go from a cheap(er) fix to a MUCH more expensive one.
The cheapest head stud job I ever heard of was just a touch over 4 grand.
Hey, you can ignore my advice, no skin off my nose if you have to put new heads on it. I was just trying to stop you from yourself. Let us know how it all works out.