Goo on EGR valve

[dhetrick2]

I repaired my FICM and since my truck had been pointed downhill for the last week I decided to pull my EGR valve to see how dirty it was and any signs of moisture. It has a small amount of goo on it and the manifold is damp at the bottom. Ford replaced the head gaskets about six months ago, could this be left over from that or is the EGR cooler starting to leak? Also I noticed there appears to be oil weeping through the charge boot at the turbo. Is this normal?

[Stoker0560]

Most likely what your seeing is soot from the egr cooler mixed with oil vapors from the CCV, that's common, I had my intake hot tanked and did egr delete 60k ago and it's still new looking inside today!

[howell_jd]

Dampness in the manifold and goo on the EGR valve after leaving the truck in a "nose-down" configuration are indicators of a leaking EGR cooler. Six months after a headgasket change any residual moisture would have evaporated even if the truck had not been operated. It is possible to test the EGR system for leaks using air and a pressure gauge - this won't conclusively identify the EGR cooler but with other indicators it certainly helps pinpoint. If you had a headgasket failure and the EGR cooler wasn't changed at the least then with very high probability the EGR cooler is leaking. Ultimately what caused the headgasket replacement? A failed EGR cooler allows moisture into the combustion chamber where it becomes steam and even with ARP headstuds steam will stretch those studs readily and/or even warp heads. I think you have an EGR cooler failure.

Oil weeping through the charge boot at the turbo is common but not normal. The crankcase ventilation system allows oil vapor to recirculate through the intake as an emissions control measure and to avoid excessive crankcase pressure that is capable of blowing main seals. This oil vapor is capable of reacting with the rubber boots connecting the charge air cooler tubes to the intercooler. When oil is weeping usually air pressure is also lost and ultimately a failed boot is a startling event - BOOM! - with an accompanying loss of power and loads of black smoke resulting from insufficient air to fully burn the extra fuel delivered under load. Inspection of the boots for signs of cracking is recommended and replacement is advisable. The excess oil from the crankcase ventilation is avoidable with inline filtration using a reroute of the existing connections to a catch can fitted with filtration media. A very reliable system is available from NCHornet on Stealth-Automotive.com:

CCV Mod

Good luck!

Jonathan

[dhetrick2]

Well the headgasket failure was kinda self induced, I did some towing with other than my tow tune... The Ford dealership did all the testing and determined the EGR cooler was ok but the headgaskets were leaking, since it was done under warranty they wouldn't replace the coolers at the same time. This is the first time I have taken the EGR valve out so I am now leaning toward the CCV vapors making the goo. I am going to change the boot for sure because it has some cracking also and look at the CCV mod. Thanks for the responses.

[2 stroker]

I see you are running the Motorcraft Premium Gold coolant one of the problems of the 6.0 ditch the gold and do a flush add a CAT EC-1 Rated coolant. What kind of deltas do you see solo and pulling my run ECT 192*-194* EOT 198*-200* pulling my 5er add 10* to each and the most i have see ECT 218* EOT 228* pulling a 7% grade 6mi longs 90* weather.
2 stroker

[dhetrick2]

Originally Posted by 2 stroker

I see you are running the Motorcraft Premium Gold coolant one of the problems of the 6.0 ditch the gold and do a flush add a CAT EC-1 Rated coolant. What kind of deltas do you see solo and pulling my run ECT 192*-194* EOT 198*-200* pulling my 5er add 10* to each and the most i have see ECT 218* EOT 228* pulling a 7% grade 6mi longs 90* weather.
2 stroker

I bought a CTS shortly after buying the truck two years ago and have monitored the temps which run 6 - 8 degrees empty and 8 -14 pulling my 5 whl. I plan on switching coolants one day but not until I need to replace the oil cooler. The Gold has been changed twice in the last 25,000 mi due to warranty engine work, I bought a test kit to check nitrate levels and run a coolant filter. I also run Vivians tunes with the EGR shut off. Hoping I am just getting oil reside fom the CCV.

[Six0~Stroker]

Originally Posted by dhetrick2

Well the headgasket failure was kinda self induced, I did some towing with other than my tow tune... The Ford dealership did all the testing and determined the EGR cooler was ok but the headgaskets were leaking, since it was done under warranty they wouldn't replace the coolers at the same time. This is the first time I have taken the EGR valve out so I am now leaning toward the CCV vapors making the goo. I am going to change the boot for sure because it has some cracking also and look at the CCV mod. Thanks for the responses.

Knowing this i would NOT drive it another day until I either 1 deleted my EGR cooler or 2 got a bulletproof cooler...

I would not want to gamble with the egr cooler leaking. Why, because if your egr cooler IS leaking right now and coolant goes into your cylinders.....bye bye Head Gaskets AGAIN!!!!!!!


Do YOU want to gamble, or just get the core issue of lifted heads (egr cooler) fixed once and for all before it lifts your heads again.


Yeah, it could be teh CCV causing moisture, but are you sure


Bulletproof EGR cooler $350

EGR delete $200





Doing your head gaskets again...Priceless

[dhetrick2]

Originally Posted by Six0~Stroker

Knowing this i would NOT drive it another day until I either 1 deleted my EGR cooler or 2 got a bulletproof cooler...

I would not want to gamble with the egr cooler leaking. Why, because if your egr cooler IS leaking right now and coolant goes into your cylinders.....bye bye Head Gaskets AGAIN!!!!!!!


Do YOU want to gamble, or just get the core issue of lifted heads (egr cooler) fixed once and for all before it lifts your heads again.


Yeah, it could be teh CCV causing moisture, but are you sure


Bulletproof EGR cooler $350

EGR delete $200





Doing your head gaskets again...Priceless

Well, I can do either because I still have several years left on my extended warranty and of course the EGR an Oil cooler are not covered but the headgaskets are. So I will keep an eye on it and hopefully it is just oil from the CCV.

[Evil Eye]

Hi Dave,
Looks like we might be neighbors since I am also from Arizona. I think you are on the right track to just keep an eye on it. It shouldn't be gooey, so I also think your EGR cooler might be starting to go, but there should be some other accompanying signs. Where do you live? You might consider taking it to the Bulletproof shop in Mesa and having them do some checks on it to confirm your suspicions or give you some piece of mind. Just a thought.

PS. If you are ever in my neck of the woods, give me a shout and maybe we can go for a beer or something.

[dhetrick2]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye

Hi Dave,
Looks like we might be neighbors since I am also from Arizona. I think you are on the right track to just keep an eye on it. It shouldn't be gooey, so I also think your EGR cooler might be starting to go, but there should be some other accompanying signs. Where do you live? You might consider taking it to the Bulletproof shop in Mesa and having them do some checks on it to confirm your suspicions or give you some piece of mind. Just a thought.

PS. If you are ever in my neck of the woods, give me a shout and maybe we can go for a beer or something.

Hi Shawn,

We are, I am on the other side of the valley (Mesa) I stopped by BPD's shop when I first got my truck to talk about PS's in general, very friendly folks. I see you have done a CCV mod, which one and are you happy with it? I didn't realize how much oil is going back through the engine until I checked my boots and they are really oily. I don't have any other symptom's of a blown EGR cooler so for now I will just pull the valve out and check it.

I get over to the west side occasionally and will give you a shout, always enjoy taking Powerstrokes.