6.0 Diesel BulletProof Solutions
EGR Cooler

The EGR cooler is a component of the emissions system. The purpose of the cooler is to reduce heat from the exhaust gases that are sent back into the engine to be reburned in order to reduce NOx emissions. It is a heat exchanger that uses the engines coolant to cool the exhaust temperatures. The EGR cooler is a common failure in the 6.0L Power Stroke. The coolers crack and leak coolant into the engine causing the engine to burn coolant and blow white smoke from the tail pipe. It can also cause major internal damage to the engine. The photo below on the left is a failed EGR cooler.

The root cause of EGR cooler failure is the engine oil cooler. The oil cooler passages are too small. So over time, typically around 50,000 miles, the passages become plugged from degraded coolant sludge and casting sand left over from manufacturing the engine block. The photo below on the left is an oil cooler cut in half at 56,000 miles. When the oil cooler becomes plugged, it restricts coolant flow to the EGR cooler. The restriction of the coolant flow creates air pockets in the EGR cooler which cause it to overheat
and fail. We call this the domino effect.

The first fix – BulletProof EGR Cooler

BulletProof Diesel’s heavy duty EGR cooler. The factory EGR cooler is weak in design because the inner oval tubing is too thin and soldered together, which makes it prone to cracking. BulletProof uses thicker wall tubing and TIG welded joints which makes it a more reliable design. Their EGR cooler will not fail even when the system runs out of coolant.

The second fix – BulletProof Oil Cooler

BulletProof’s external engine oil cooler system. BulletProof redesigned their oil cooler system so that engine coolant and oil are completely separate from each other. Their new oil cooler design uses an air cooled oil cooler remote mounted in front of the radiator and completely eliminates the factory oil cooler.

The third fix – Head Gaskets with ARP Studs

Replacing the head gaskets with ARP head studs. The 6.0L head bolts are weak and can stretch over time. This causes the head gaskets to leak. They also stretch because of the extreme load of towing and the use of performance tunes and chips. We use the factory head gaskets. From our experience, we’ve found the factory head gaskets to be the most reliable – compared to aftermarket gaskets from Victor Reinz and Fel-Pro. The weakness is the factory bolts. We upgrade the head bolts with ARP head studs. ARP’s studs are stronger than the factory bolts and can handle heavier loads. We clean, inspect, pressure test and resurface the cylinder heads with every head gasket job to ensure reliability.

The fourth fix – BulletProof’s Water Pump

The factory water pump’s impeller is plastic and known to crack from heat stress (see the photo below to the left). BulletProof’s water pumps use a billet aluminum impeller with better grade seals and a stronger housing design.

The fifth fix – BulletProof’s Fuel Injector Control Module

The factory fuel injector control module’s circuit boards fail and burn out. When the injector module fails, common concerns are difficulty starting, running rough, dying while driving, and crank no start. BulletProof’s 6-phase FICM power supply has military grade electrical components and a full board heat-sink. Their circuit board is much thicker and vibration-resistant with strong construction. The 6-phase version of the BulletProof FICM features two additional redundant circuits that spread the workload from the factory 4-phase FICM to a 6-phase. The improved circuitry and upgraded components – combined with two additional phases – means this power supply increases fuel economy, better overall performance, better cold drivability and faster starting, overcoming fuel injector stiction.

7.3L Diesel Power Stroke

The 7.3L diesel is a very reliable engine and is known for its longevity. However, it does have some weaknesses. The number one cause of 7.3L failure is dirt ingestion. The problem of dirt ingestion causes a loss of cylinder compression from excessive piston ring and cylinder wall wear. The original factory air filter is a poor design. The lid for the air filter housing comes loose where it latches because of the weak plastic housing. This allows dirt to bypass the air filter through the housing where the lid is broken. The dust then gets sucked down the intake and turbo causing major damage to the turbo compressor wheel. The dust works its way into the cylinders and eats away the piston rings and cylinder walls of the engine until the engine completely fails. The photo on the right is an extremely plugged air filter that destroyed a 7.3L engine with 78,000 miles. As you can see, the filter is so plugged that it has distorted and passed dust around the filter directly into the engine. That engine should have lasted over 500,000 miles but its life was cut sort from an inferior air filter. And don’t think K&Ns and AIRAID knock offs are any better. These cold air intake systems claim better air flow and performance, but sacrifice air filtration for better flow. We have replaced dozens of 7.3L diesel engines with K&N filters due to dust ingestion.

7.3L Diesel Air Filter Solutions

Fords factory upgraded severe duty air filter system designed by Donaldson. Donaldson’s air filter does not compromise air filtration but actually holds more dirt and will not distort it. It will even seal when plugged. Donaldson’s industry changing sealing technology combines two components into one, the end cap and the sealing gasket. The flexible sealing material creates a sure-fit and a reliable seal between the filter and housing. Donaldson’s filter material design extends air filter life, maintenance intervals, boosts air intake system efficiency and will protect and extend the life of your engine.

Unfortunately, the world is cruel. Ford gave us one of the best engines with the worst transmission behind it!
The 7.3L 4R100 transmission :(1999-2003)
Ok maybe not the worst transmission.
There is hope for the 4R100.

John Woods
World renown transmisson builder
Located in Holtville, CA, east of San Diego
John Woods is Hoven’s Automotive’s recommended transmission builder

John Woods Tow Master Transmission
(E4OD, and 4R100) This transmission will handle up to 450 HP. It has all new Ford parts and custom machined parts by John Wood. It also has a billet forward drum, Cryogenically heat-treated shafts are standard. The transmission comes with custom high efficient billet converter. This transmission is aimed for the stock to slightly modified truck and heavy towing.

John Woods Street Performance Transmission
(4R100)This transmission will hold a lot of horsepower. All new parts are custom machined by John Wood.
This includes a triple disc convertor, a billet input shaft, a billet intermediate shaft, billet forward drum,
a billet overdrive planetary and a custom tuned valve body. Its aimed for the person with 500-800hp street driven.

Upgraded transmission cooler, a must have for every 7.3L 4R100 transmission.
The photo below shows the difference in size between the stock transmisson cooler and the larger 6.0L direct bolt in replacement.