Next, we removed the turbo....
Next, we removed the turbo. There were three bolts that held it to the turbo pedestal and two exhaust clamps.
6.0L EGR PROBLEMS
The problem is that Ford didn't design its EGR system to handle the extra heat and unburned fuel that find their way into the EGR system when these engines are modified. The EGR cooler can even cause the engine to run hot as the super-heated exhaust from the EGR overwhelms the EGR cooler and causes the engine coolant circulating around it to boil. Boiling coolant isn't good for the engine. Not to say this is the only cause for 6.0L head gasket failure, but it is certainly a common one.
THE COMPETITION VEHICLE SOLUTION
With this in mind, we headed over to Liberator Performance to talk to Shawn Liberator, who has a kit to remove the EGR cooler, and EGR in general on vehicles that will not be used on the street. The beautiful part of this kit is that it is a direct bolt-in replacement for the EGR cooler. The installation of the EGR delete kit isn't for the novice mechanic, but if you take your time and have pretty good mechanical knowledge, it is completely doable. This kit takes a professional between six to eight hours to install, so be prepared to spend some time on this project. Unfortunately, this modification is not for street-legal use on emissions-controlled vehicles.
Then we slid the oil drain...
Then we slid the oil drain line out. We were careful not to damage the O-rings.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
This is an off-road only kit, so it's not to be used on 6.0L trucks that will see any time on the street. This is a very comprehensive kit where everything fits nicely and works well together. However, we did run into a problem during installation. When we removed the EGR cooler, we pushed back the y-pipe a little too far, which caused the expansion joint in the y-pipe to crack. Once we replaced the y-pipe, we then took the truck out and did some testing.
 The turbo pedestal was then...  The turbo pedestal was then removed. |  With the turbo out of the...  With the turbo out of the way, you can get a good look at the EGR cooler (arrow). We removed the heat shield from the intake (yours probably won't be bent), loosened the intake manifold bolts, and removed the EGR cooler hose clamp. |  Once everything was loose,...  Once everything was loose, we worked the EGR cooler out (arrow). If you have time, you can remove the intake manifold completely, which will give you more room and make it easier to bolt-on the EGR delete kit. |