3 EGR Failures In 2 Months - Need Advice Please

[TheTechChik]

I was apparently too long winded in my earlier post to get any direct answers to my questions so here's a condensed version.

I've had my 06 F-250 in the dealership 4 times in the last 2 months with a "Check Engine" light. Two of those times there was also black smoke, once the truck needed to be towed. They replaced the EGR every time and gave the truck back to me. Now the dealership is saying that I need an EGR Cooler and an Intake because of carbon buildup. They've put off the repairs for two weeks because they only have one diesel tech and he was on vacation for one of those weeks. They said I should ignore the "Check Engine" light and continue to drive it in the meantime.

Here are the questions I have:

Is it possible to do additional damage by driving it in this condition?

Is there anything else that I should insist that they check when they work on it?

I've been reading a lot on the forums about cascading failures where additional damage is done by ignoring problems. I specifically remember reading about a link between EGR's, EGR Coolers, Oil Coolers & Head Gaskets. I've never read anything about intakes and carbon buildup however. I also watched a video that scared the sh** out of me, showing how easy it is to end up with a complete catastrophic engine failure.

My appointment at the dealership is tomorrow morning and I'd really like to have some idea of what I should expect and/or insist upon when I get there.

[InetDev]

Make sure they compare the difference in temps between the engine oil temp and the coolant temp. If it's more than 15 degrees, have them replace both the oil cooler and the egr cooler. When the intake manifold is out during the oil cooler replacement, have them throughly clean it to remove the soot. A failed oil cooler will routinely destroy those egr coolers.