EGR Cooler Leaking (1 Viewer)

[joebattle1]

Was driving up to Laytonville last weekend from the Bay with my wife to pick our daughter up from summer camp and the rig started running a bit on the warm side of the temp gauge. I didn’t think much of it since I was pushing 70-75 at 21-2500 RPMs with the AC on blast as it was was 107°F and I was mostly pushing up grade. I blasted the heat for a minute to cool it down which really annoyed my wife “why didn’t we take one of the other cars?” When we got back to the cooler temps of the bay (70°’s-80°s) it leveled back to the middle of the gauge but when I got back home I noticed some coolant dripping from the EGR cooler area. When I got under it the whole pipe was wet.

The only tool I have to tighten this nut is a big a$$ crescent wrench and it’s too long to really get it in there. I’m not sure if the nut is loose or if the unit is cracked. The idea of pulling the motor to tighten or change this thing out (if I can find one) sucks. What size wrench do I need? Maybe I’ll buy one at Harborfright and cut to nub size. Any other ideas on this thing? And before you say ‘get rid of it’ I can’t. I’m in California.

Any other thoughts?


You can just barely see the drip here

From underneath. Pipe is pretty wet.

The only pic I took on the trip. In front of a killer bakery in Healdsburg. Another cruiser head saw my rig and stopped and chatted me up while we were here.

 

[garfieldthecat]

Interesting, no coolant runs through the exhaust manifold or the EGR cooler, so this might indicate (hopefully not) that coolant is escaping from your head onto your manifold. Do you notice whiter exhaust (symptom perhaps of more water in your exhaust)? Have you checked your oil to see if there is coolant there? You have to find where the coolant is escaping from. It's showing on your cooler but tightening that nut will do nothing to keep the coolant leak from happening again. It might be a blown head gasket or cracked head unfortunately, especially if the truck was overheating.

 

[joebattle1]

Interesting, no coolant runs through the exhaust manifold or the EGR cooler, so this might indicate (hopefully not) that coolant is escaping from your head onto your manifold. Do you notice whiter exhaust (symptom perhaps of more water in your exhaust)? Have you checked your oil to see if there is coolant there? You have to find where the coolant is escaping from. It's showing on your cooler but tightening that nut will do nothing to keep the coolant leak from happening again. It might be a blown head gasket or cracked head unfortunately, especially if the truck was overheating.

I thought the same thing. I didn’t think coolant ran thru the EGR cooler.

I just rebuilt the top end of the motor. The new head and gasket have less than 5k miles on it.

 

[1911]

Could also be one of the several freeze plugs on that side of the block, leaking and dripping down.

 

[Spike Strip]

No coolant whatsoever thru that EGR system. Coolant is coming from someplace above and either dripping down or onto the pipe (probably).

Just guessing, but the block flush petcock is right there, too.

Is there any moisture coming out the tailpipe ?

 

[CruiserTrash]

Are you sure it’s coolant? Sniff test? Taste test? The coolers I’ve opened up are incredible scaled and rotten with rust, I think because of condensation forming inside. It is a heat exchanger after all. Maybe there was a ton of condensation and it’s escaping past the ferrule that’s supposed to seal that j-pipe.

And yes, the easiest way to tighten that is to remove the whole damn thing. You need a long tool to get enough torque to squeeze the ferrule, and there’s just not enough room. It takes about 20 minutes to take the entire EGR system off in one piece though - not terrible.

 

[joebattle1]

Are you sure it’s coolant? Sniff test? Taste test? The coolers I’ve opened up are incredible scaled and rotten with rust, I think because of condensation forming inside. It is a heat exchanger after all. Maybe there was a ton of condensation and it’s escaping past the ferrule that’s supposed to seal that j-pipe.

And yes, the easiest way to tighten that is to remove the whole damn thing. You need a long tool to get enough torque to squeeze the ferrule, and there’s just not enough room. It takes about 20 minutes to take the entire EGR system off in one piece though - not terrible.

It’s been pretty hot lately. I can’t imagine much moisture being in there. But to answer your question… No, I didn’t really do a sniff test or a taste test yet. I’ve been working the last week and the truck is tucked up in my backyard at the moment. I won’t really be able to investigate for a couple of months as I’m knee deep in my work season.

I’m guessing (but hoping not) it’s a freeze plug. Worst case a cracked block. Ugh… I’ll have to dig further and report back.

 

[vipergrhd]

The EGR coolant is leaking maybe you need to switch to a blinker fluid.
I don't have a clue why any fluid would even come out of it, maybe a near by core plug? Hope it's nothing serious man.

 

[joebattle1]

The EGR coolant is leaking maybe you need to switch to a blinker fluid.
I don't have a clue why any fluid would even come out of it, maybe a near by core plug? Hope it's nothing serious man.

I already tried to add blinker fluid but my headlight washer bottle leaks. I was told that’s where you store the blinker fluid.

 

[cps432]

You can see, on the pipe, where this has been happening for a while. There are several mineral deposits layers around the wet spot. Looks like water to me, but it’s hard to say for sure because internet pictures…

The EGR gets screaming hot as it takes exhaust and cycles it back into the combustion chambers to be burned again.

@OSS may know more about the detailed functions, but I’m wondering if there’s a condensation situation happening here? Being that the area gets so hot any moisture leaking onto that surface during extended driving should flash boil rather than pool. Obviously, you found this after the engine was turned off, but how long was it off before you saw the wet spot?

 

[CruiserTrash]

You can see, on the pipe, where this has been happening for a while. There are several mineral deposits layers around the wet spot. Looks like water to me, but it’s hard to say for sure because internet pictures…

The EGR gets screaming hot as it takes exhaust and cycles it back into the combustion chambers to be burned again.

@OSS may know more about the detailed functions, but I’m wondering if there’s a condensation situation happening here? Being that the area gets so hot any moisture leaking onto that surface during extended driving should flash boil rather than pool. Obviously, you found this after the engine was turned off, but how long was it off before you saw the wet spot?

They absolutely condensate inside. That’s why the inside of the Cooler is always rusted out.

 

[cps432]

They absolutely condensate inside. That’s why the inside of the Cooler is always rusted out.

That’s what I assumed when I removed mine and found it clogged with carbon coated rust rocks.

@joebattle1 as long as you don’t find coolant anywhere, I would not sweat that water coming from the EGR cooler. There’s a tapered brass ring in there that seals the pipe against the cast iron box. Like a pressure fitting from an air line. I believe this ring is suppose to expand and contract with the heat. As it cools it should shrink which would allow the water to escape. As it heats up the ring expands and seals the joint. I don’t know this to be 100% true, but it’s an educated guess based on what I know about these trucks.

 

[OSS]

If the EGR valve is disabled or malfunctioning, no exhaust flows through the cooler. It becomes a cesspool for condensation and never heats up.
Engine exhaust is loaded with water vapor.