Missed the EGR Cooler Cleaning

I did the EGR selenoid cleaning and CCV filter replacement at about 80,000 miles, but missed the cooler (Florida thunderstorm). What does the cooler do? I'm at 87,000 miles. Trying to add this to the equation of my problems (probably turbo actuator).
Thanks,
John

 

The cooler cools the exhaust gases before they are sent back into the engine. The cooler has to be cleaned to maintain cooling efficiency. Otherwise it can cause over heating due to the exhaust gas still being at temperature (not cooled) be introduced back into the the engine.

 

yea if you are emissions intact (stock) you really do want to do those services on time and all of it. These trucks get a bad wrap because people skip them and then wonder why they have issues. The cooler needs to be cleaned for sure. I would say do it as soon as you can, but done weat about it. The valve the the big item on the list.

IMO... if you are running emissions intact stock, I would be doing the entire EGR servers every 60k (not 67,500) and every 30k removing just the EGR valve, cleaning it, and putting it back on. The EGR valve itself is the source of most of the emissions system problems on these trucks. Removing the EGR valve is pretty simple and easy to clean. Back in the day I would pull mine in 10 mins, let it soak in purple power for 6-12 hours, flush it clean and put it back on in 10mins. Truck is down a while, but your nor laboring for it all. #beer. Doing it at 30k is extra insurance on reliability. Do make sure to order up some gaskets for it in case you break any when removing.


EDIT: if you're having a turbo problem, it's likely because you let this service go past 67,500k. Your EGR valve was sticking, dumping excessive soot into the engine, clogging up the Grids, intake, turbo and ultimately the DPF.

 

This is why many just unplug the EGR and live with the CEL and P0405. The risk of an EGR failure can cause considerable damage in very short order. Heavy EGR on this gen of trucks with the LNT emmissions is a weak point for sure.

Also spot on when you say many go past the service intervals and that certainly is a contributing factor as well.

 

While doing several other maintenance items I had my EGR valve removed, and decided to get a picture before cleaning so you can see the extent of soot build up, and this with about 50K miles and mostly towing/highway driving. This picture should tell you that you do not want to go beyond the recommended interval for EGR cleaning. In the port at the top of the picture you can see a build up of soot that is about 30% closing off flow in that side of the valve.

#ad