EGR issues/anger

[UpaDowna]

OK I am not sure what I should do with my current dilemma and was hoping for some input from you all.

I have a 2006 6.0L with sporadic EGR P0401 codes. Last year I threw the codes and pulled out the EGR cleaned it and re installed and all was good for a few months (1500 miles or so in town driving) then it went off again. So I replaced it with a new one, all was good for a few more months and then bam the code popped back up but this time on a long trip. I was not having any drivability issues or smoke or really any other indication things were wrong so I kept driving. 1500 highway miles later the light went off!!

Now it has popped back up and I am leaving for a desert trip on Sunday. The EGR is under warranty and I have got the entire job down to maybe 1.5hrs of my beer drinking time. So I am wondering should I ignore it? Clean it? Or swap it for new?

I did recently go back to motorcraft oil after the local screaming diesel shop said the motorcraft oil helps with other 6.0l issues so now I am even wondering if that has anything to do with this?

I also have researched this p0401 and it seems like the code will throw for a myriad of issues that may need further diagnostics that I have neither the time or the cash for now.

And yes I know about the wisdom of the EGR delete kit and that is not in the cards right now.

Thanks in advance!

[Tapatio]

Do you add cetane to every tank? Soot is most likely causing your EGR to get stuck.

You can virtually delete the EGR with a tune from SCT. EGR stays in place but never opens and is 100% reversible.

[carringb]

When you pulled the EGR valve previously, was it dry? Or did it look like it had any oil on it?

What do you have a for a code scanner? Repeated failures definitely warrants further diagnostics IMO. Its often an early indicator of a deeper problem, some of which can be catastrophic if not addressed (i.e. bad injectors, leaking EGR cooler etc).

[UpaDowna]

I am not currently using a cetane booster. Is a cetane booster recommended?

The EGR was slightly oily and definitely had plenty of soot on it. I will crack this one out tomorrow and be able to see what has happened over the past year. No scan tool currently being used.

[macdadmorgan]

If it is gooey then your egr cooler is leaking. Then time to bulletproof, or delete the cooler depending state emission laws, and level of enforcement.

[carringb]

^^^ Yup. Oily EGR valve = early stage EGR cooler failure (unless it smells like diesel, then you have a really leaky injector). Fix it now before you earn yourself a new motor. Could take months to fully fail. But it could also only take hours.

[UpaDowna]

Thanks guys. I am pulling the EGR valve in the morning and will see how it looks. If it's gooey I guess I might have to post pone the trip. So lets hope it's nice and crusty and just simply failed!

[WhitH]

Like Tapatio said you can practically speaking do a delete with an SCT and custom tune for somewhere around $500. Or like you are apparently aware go full hog depending on legalities, regulations and personal convictions. If you live in Khazakstan or there abouts you'll likely experience none of those. Somewhere west of there and it's your call.

[JoeH]

I ran an SCT tuner for the last two years with a custom tune from Innovative Diesel that turned off the EGR valve. You still have coolant going through the EGR cooler so that's still a weak point but it does work. The PCM tune itself is worth it just for faster and crisper transmission shifts.

[daveb]

When my vehicle was under warranty, I did oil sample tests that pointed to a problem one of which was to look at the injectors. I then had the injector fail along with the EGR. Of course Ford would not do anything under warranty until it failed. They replaced the cooler and an injector. After that I used cetane booster and I never had an issue again. The cetane booster doesn't affect the Espar units as far as I know and actually after using it seemed to make them run better as well.