Bad EGR Cooler Symptoms on 6.0L Powerstroke and Replacement Cost

The EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) cooler is perhaps one of the most important systems on your 6.0L Powerstroke. The reason is that it helps with pollutant reduction in your diesel and petrol engine. In other words, it ensures that before exhaust gases are recirculated into your engine for reuse and safe combustion, the EGR cooler makes it healthy for your engines.

Typically, it functions as a gas exhaust cooler, just like it is named. If the exhaust gas produced by the car directly enters your engine, problems will arise. The exhaust gas released is usually hot in temperature. Granting the exhaust gas-free passage into the engines without filtering it through the EGR cooler could be bad for your engine.

With a functioning EGR cooler, the temperature of the exhaust air and NOx emission is decreased. But how can you tell that your 6.0 Powerstroke EGR cooler is excellent? Well, you look out for 6.0L Powerstroke EGR Cooler Failure Symptoms, some of which would be discussed later on. Let’s dive in!

Where is the EGR cooler on a Ford 6.0L Powerstroke?

By design, you won’t find the EGR cooler the moment you open your vehicle’s bonnet. You’ll need to dig into the bonnet to find your cooler. The reason? Your EGR cooler resides below the intake manifold. Hence, when you want to replace your EGR cooler, you’ll have to take out the intake manifold to get to the EGR cooler.

6.0L Powerstroke EGR Cooler Failure Symptoms

First things first, a faulty EGR cooler means your EGR system functionality is going to be affected. Once your EGR system’s functionality is bad, it would affect the entire performance of your vehicle. Nevertheless, you do not need to panic. The trick is, you need to take your car to a reliable auto technician to help you get it fixed as soon as it starts showing some signs. Precisely, here are some of the symptoms to look out for when your 6.0L Powerstroke EGR cooler fails. Once you start noticing these symptoms, you know it is repaired o’clock.

Overheating: 

This symptom shouldn’t be surprising. Since the EGR cooler functions to switch the temperature of exhaust gas from hot to cold, you know there’s trouble in the EGR system paradise when your engines begin to overheat. Here’s why! With the EGR cooler intact, the exhaust gases could freely pass through and have their temperatures reduced. Consequently, when your EGR no longer functions as it should, the exhaust gases won’t be able to go through the cooler. Hence, the hot exhaust gas would be recirculated into the engine, resulting in engine overheating. When this starts to manifest, my friendly advice to you is to hurry down to the nearest auto-technician to get the EGR cooler fixed. Otherwise, you’ll run your vehicle into more complicated and serious problems.

Check Engine Light: 

When your check engine light comes on, it is usually a pointer to a fault in your car engine. However, don’t be quick to assume that it is a problem with your EGR cooler or your EGR system as a whole when it comes on. Sometimes, it could be your 6.0L Powerstroke injector. So, the first thing to do is to run a diagnostic. Scan the computer for trouble codes to be sure of what the real problem is. Then, proceed to initiate the fixing process. In this case, you would need to install another EGR cooler. Unless you’ve noticed the other symptoms of 6.0L Powerstroke engine failure, then your EGR system might actually be acting up as a result of a faulty EGR cooler.

Related: 6.0L Powerstroke Injector Failure Symptoms

Exhaust Leak: 

When you start to hear a hissing or knocking sound from the front of your vehicle, it’s a sign that you need to check your EGR cooler. The hissing or knocking sound you’ll hear in these moments is from the exhaust leak built up in the engine. When the cooler gets faulty, exhaust leaks begin to develop. If not addressed anytime soon, you might lose your vehicle to an engine fault. That is because exhaust leaks greatly affect your vehicle engine’s performance. So, next time you hear a loud hissing sound or a knock in front of your vehicle, do not assume that a snake got stuck somewhere in the engine. Instead, get it checked.

White Smoke: 

White smoke is also another sign of a faulty EGR cooler. Here’s how it works. A failed EGR cooler leads to a coolant leaking out to the exhaust side. Hence, it would avoid the intake manifold that it’s supposed to go through to the combustion cylinders. As a result, the coolant gets burnt, leading to the emission of white smoke. It might seem like a complex process if you’re not an auto technician. However, when you see white smoke, it’s a sure sign that something is not right with your vehicle.

Replacement Cost of an EGR Cooler on a 6.0L Powerstroke

The replacement cost of an EGR cooler on a 6.0L Powerstroke varies. That’s because there are a couple of options for where you can get your EGR cooler fixed. These various options come with their own unique price tag for replacing your EGR cooler, for starters.

While the price isn’t fixed, a regular mechanic will charge you somewhere between $133-$418 for replacement. Of course, the stipulated cost covers both the labor fee and the cost of the EGR cooler parts. You’ll also get a twelve-month warranty.

If you’ll rather fix your EGR cooler issues at Midas, prepare to pay within $139-$440. And yes, this price covers both labor and the parts. You’ll also get a12 monthly warranty. Other options for your EGR cooler replacement include Mr. Tire and NAPA. The cost for the lab at Mr. Tire ranges from $146 to $405, while NAPA charges $127-$468. These prices include both the price for the parts and the labor.

However, the difference between Mr. Tire and the NAPA is the warranty they offer. If you get the replacement done at Mr. Tire, you’ll get a 12-month warranty. But, getting your replacement done at the NAPA earns you a 24-month warranty.

If you’d like to save money and are skilled at fixing car troubles such as replacing EGR coolers, you can buy the parts from either Walmart or Amazon. However, the parts come with a limited warranty.

Related: repair the 6.0L Powerstroke crank no start

Last Words

Car trouble like EGR cooler malfunction should not be taken lightly. It is a good thing that your vehicle would notify you once something goes wrong with the EGR system or the engine itself. It is left to you to pick up these signals and act fast before the initial issue starts to compound.

Then, you might have to spend more than you should. Worse, you’d probably have to buy another car if the EGR fault isn’t quickly attended to. To avoid losing your precious vehicle to the EGR cooler failure, deploy this knowledge I’ve freely dished out to you today. Get the problem resolved before it gets out of hand.


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