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EGR Cooler failure

13K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  cjbutt 
#1 ·
Just had my truck in the dealer & got suprised with their findings...

Prob was I started getting a whinning noise when pulling hard - turbo in max mode, pulling a hill w/RV in tow. Stopped when I backed off the gas... Then my AC would blow warm air untill I was running easy again. Then heater started going cold then warm, then cold, then warm... I thought hmmmmm. Took it to the dealer.

Turns out EGR Cooler failed causing overheating and a blown head gasket. Covered under warranty - $100 deductable... My beef is that temp gauge never showed that it was anything but normal! Dealer confirmed that it never showed an engine overheat condition (guess is stores that info in the computer??). He also told me the an ERG failure would not be indicated by any sort of check engine light or would not show any real change in engine temp, even tho it got hot enough to blow a head gasket! He said he had one in that cracked the block & both heads & never indicated an engine overheating! What good is a temp gauge that doesn't show this???!!

Well, I think this is total BS! Did some checking into all this since and find a lot of discussion on EGR blockoff plates, white exhause smoke (coolant), etc.

Well, I do a lot of towing with my '04 superduty and don't want this to happen again. I've got an '04 F-350 Supercab, SRW, short box, lariet, 4x4 off road with all the bells & whistles. I run an Edge Evolution programmer set on tow with 6" stainless exhaust all the way back.

I'm looking for any input on this... EGR blockoff?? Temp gauge that will show overheating EGR Cooler? Anything!!! Thanks in advance all.
 
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#2 ·
It's not the heat that blows the headgaskets. It's the amount of boost and load on motor. The stock headbolts stretch under high boost conditions especially when maintaining high boost levels. I know because my truck blew the gaskets and I wasn't pulling anything and it happened in January. Took off from a stop light just playing and floored it. Blew tons of white smoke and started running bad, never overheated. I would suggest talking to your service tech and seeing if he will install ARP head studs or H-11 studs so you don't blow the head gaskets again. You definetley need studs if you are going to be towing and using the Edge. You can install an EGR blockoff plate but won't completely eliminate the possibility of an EGR cooler failure. The only way to eliminate that is to install a sneaky pipe which eliminates the cooler or you can modify the pipe on the truck. There is a post on here somewhere that shows how to modify your pipe and eliminate the cooler. Hope this helps out some.
 
#6 ·
Offer to pay for the head studs. You will have the same problem down the road..... just a mater of time. Block off the Y-Pipe with freeze plug going to EGR cooler and weld the EGR valve closed.
 
#7 ·
You can use a freeze plug, but someone on here said that they have heard of the freeze plug failing because of heat. Don't know if that is true or not, just what I read. Definetely offer to buy the studs. More that likely they won't refuse to put them in since they know that the bolts are the root cause of the failures.
 
#8 ·
Mine just started!

WOW! As a newbie, i just wanted to say that this is the best F*(kin' forum ever! My 04 just started with that weird whine at about 2100 rpm pulling up long grades! And low and behold You boys had the ansewer! She is going to the dealer ASAP to get checked out.

Thanks, I will keep You posted~!:thumb::thumb:
 
#10 ·
our company has 26 fords all with the 6.0L motor. i have to say it is always the same things that go wrong. EGR valve, EGR cooler, Oil cooler, and enjectors. Because they are all under warranty i can't do a damn thing with them. I there some product after they come off warranty, that can be installed, without breaking the bank roll.
 
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