Manager Forum

Looking for a little insight on this job as we don't deal with many diesels at all. The EGR cooler hose is leaking and we need to replace it. The rear clamp looks difficult at best to deal with as it sits under the turbo pedestal. Can this be done without taking the turbo off? How much time is involved? I don't find a time in Estimator. Any input is greatly appreciated.

the intake should come off to do it. after a few you may find a way to shave a bit of time off. turbo does indeed come off. replace the o rings in the pedestal. if this truck has big miles on it with the original turbo and it's showing signs of wear it can be replaced with a quick spool turbo and the increased power will be appreciated. it's not really a big deal. when we work on the engine compartment on most trucks we remove the front tires and drop the truck down. i'm a bull and have no body space control so i remove the hood. it takes about 10 minutes and is well worth it. i charge 7 hours labor along with all new gaskets. i suggest when you order the tube (if you have a good relationship with your local dealer) ordering all the gaskets and o rings associated with this repair. it's not that bad and should be knocked out in about 5 hours or less. i also charge extra if the truck has a plow on it and it interferes in any way either mechanically or electrically. look into tsb 05-21-9 as well.

I agree with Steve, not a big deal to do these.

According to Mitchell, the time is 7.9 hrs with .2 added for auto trans and .5 for dual alts. Ford part# 4C3ZP456AF is what I bought, it had all gaskets and seals, and o-rings needed to do the job; also had the little hose that goes on the end of the cooler.

liljoe wrote:I agree with Steve, not a big deal to do these.

According to Mitchell, the time is 7.9 hrs with .2 added for auto trans and .5 for dual alts. Ford part# 4C3ZP456AF is what I bought, it had all gaskets and seals, and o-rings needed to do the job; also had the little hose that goes on the end of the cooler.

I agree with this. Also, may I mention that a topside creeper, while not absolutely necessary, does make the job alot easier.

I bolted a piece of OSB wood to two of the radiator mounting bolts, made a BIG diff in being able to get it done. One other thing to pay attention to is the flange where the exhaust supply pipe goes to turbo, it is a stepped flange and can be tricky to get just right. Had a customer change his own turbo and he didn't get it in the right place, it made a big mess under the hood and melted some wiring.

Thank you guys for all the input and help. I'm more comfortable now, quoting this job with some knowledge of what to expect. I always hate quoting a job not knowing exactly what needs to be done. Now I can explain to the customer why a leaking hose takes a day to replace. Customer reaction = .

I've never done just the hose but a lot of coolers with the hose?

I have never seen the hose leak either, it is a very heavy duty piece with metal sleaves and o-ring seals, the hose part is heavy duty silicone hose. I can imagine that they were blown away at the price to change a hose!!!

It seems that either chipmunks or mice like those silicon hoses. That is what I have seen the cause of these hose leaks.

timjlive wrote:Thank you guys for all the input and help. I'm more comfortable now, quoting this job with some knowledge of what to expect. I always hate quoting a job not knowing exactly what needs to be done. Now I can explain to the customer why a leaking hose takes a day to replace. Customer reaction = .

man, i know what you mean. when i quote the price on jobs like this i hope they don't ask for the break down. 13.95 for a hose and 700 bucks labor. right away the customer thinks they're getting screwed or you get way too much money. i will tell the person i need the truck for two days. this seems to lessen the shock. imagine if i said leave it at 8 and pick it up at noon. that would be a shocker................................

Yea, an sometimes a potential job could be lost or won by the way we relate to the vehicle owner. Many of them absolutely do not have a clue of the complexity of a given job.

liljoe wrote:I have never seen the hose leak either, it is a very heavy duty piece with metal sleaves and o-ring seals, the hose part is heavy duty silicone hose. I can imagine that they were blown away at the price to change a hose!!!

Well that's the interesting part about this truck. It doesn't leak all the time. He will drive it and look under the truck and not see anything. The next morning there may or may not be a pudlle. One time it started leaking after plugging in the block heater.

When he first brought it in he said there was a puddle under the truck and he has added a gallon of coolant. Raise the truck and look to find coolant hanging on the bell housing running down from the right rear corner of the block. Get topside and everythin is dry from the heat. Pressure test the system and it holds pressure.

We added tracer dye and let him take it until it puddled again. Now with a UV light we can see a dye trace at the rear of the hose and dye all over the intake manifol strting under the rear clamp of the hose.

At this point he wants to wait since it only seems to leak during "cool down" period. Maybe I can sell him an entire engine this summer after he starts pulling his 40 foot toy hauler. I gently warned him about potential consequences.

LOL! Yeah, all gung-ho until the price part comes along......then it's not so bad.

I woulda sold the whole cooler as a kit since they are problem childs and the labor is basically the same. Check them out at www.bulletproofdiesel.com I just used one of these and it seemed like a better fix. We have done a ton of these before and I will now use this kit instead of the factory one.