6.0L Oil and EGR cooler replacement in the shade of a tree

[photographix]

Great write-up! Keep it coming!

[Viejo]

Thanks for the great pictures.
Now I remember why I pay my mechanic the big bucks.

[BogusBlake]

Originally Posted by Viejo

Thanks for the "great" pictures.
Now I remember why I pay my mechanic the big bucks.

Fixed it.

A real mechanic would take better pictures. These are with my iPhone who's lens is all scratched. And it's night. If I weren't lazy, I'd get the real camera...
The service manual has better line drawings anyway. This is just so I remember what I did in the morning!

[BogusBlake]

Originally Posted by vwteleman

Too bad it's not still brewed in Seattle.

I think it's a Pabst brand now. All contract brewed like PBR, Schlitz, Hamm's, Olympia, Strohs, Old Style, and the other "vintage" beers. Still tasty!

[lndshark]

Originally Posted by BogusBlake

I think it's a Pabst brand now. All contract brewed like PBR, Schlitz, Hamm's, Olympia, Strohs, Old Style, and the other "vintage" beers. Still tasty!

Tumwater: "where you can't breathe the air or drink the water."

[BogusBlake]

No real visual progress to show, but I did spend 4 hours last night and the intake manifold is loose. It turns out I do have to remove the fan assy. If this were a truck, I think I'd have room to lift the IM off, but in the van, it has to slide forward.

While I was draining oil, I double checked my bypass filter line routing. Turns out they were still wrong so I fixed that.

I received the BPD EGR cooler and it's really nice. I can't wait to stop worrying about that part of the engine!

Yep, the Rainier brand is owned by Pabst now: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/447/1720

[BogusBlake]

Took Friday night off. Back at it this morning. 5 minutes with the right tool and fan was off. A minute later and the intake manifold came out the front. I had to remove the upper accessory drive belt idler because the lip just barely caught on the manifold (not in the service manual). Removing the manifold required me to lift and pull the front and my wife to lift the back so I didn't sweep FOD into the head ports.



After that it was trivial to pop the EGR cooler off the manifold.



Pulled the EGR valve and found nice, dry carbon buildup. I guess that's good news according to Bulletproof Diesel- The cooler most likely hasn't been leaking coolant into the intake. I cleaned the valve with carb cleaner and a brush- very easy.


Next out: Oil cooler assy.

[BogusBlake]

To remove the oil cooler, the service manual says to first take off the oil filter adapter and the ECR coolant supply. I didn't because it's a good handle for lifting the whole assembly. Also, these are Torx head screws. My only Torx bits have to be turned by a 1/4" socket and I was worried I'd drop it while reaching the far screw.




I pulled the oil cooler assy out and found the whole reservoir full of oil (this is after I drained the oil from the pan and filters). I scooped it out with a small cup then sopped the rest up with shop towels.

[BogusBlake]

Once the reservoir was dry, I pulled out the strainer. It had definitely been doing its job, but one of the panes had failed. I've seen a lot of versions of this exact picture on the interweb. This is one of the parts I'm updating.



The oil cooler assy is easier to handle on the bench. I used a trashcan lid so I didn't get coolant and oil all over the place. There was still quite a bit that drained out of the cooler. All the coolant galleys in this assembly had this weird gritty gunk in them- almost the texture of pumice hand cleaner. I'm going to take the old cooler to work and saw it in half. I expect to find a bunch of this crap in there too.



With the oil cooler housing all taken apart and in the "to clean" box with the manifold, the last thing I did today was take the injector pressure regulator and cover off the HPOP. The screen for the IPR also had some grit on it.



Tomorrow I'm gong to try to get the HPOP branch fitting updated and figure out where/how to install the coolant filter. I have some time in a parts washer booked on Monday. I feel like I've passed the turnaround point and am very encouraged because nothing so far has required the use of magic. For all the sh*t-talking that happens about working on these engines, I've found it to be straight forward and even a little relaxing IF YOU FOLLOW THE STEPS IN THE SERVICE MANUAL. Everything is covered by something else so if you try to wing it, you'll just end up cussing.

The Aluminess bumper is an awesome place to kneel (use a foam garden pad) when reaching into the engine bay. I still double-take when my magnetic parts dish doesn't stick where I set it down.

[JoeH]

Well-played Sir! The gritty gunk is probably casting sand from the block. A good reason to still install a coolant filter.