If you have a competant tuner, delete the EGR and keep your CP/CT in the nominal range, you can realize some durability improvement, primarily from a reduced risk of EGR cooler leaks. If you just delete it, or have a toon programmed in, durability is often reduced due to design limits for CP being exceeded, often significantly.
How would having a tune written excluding EGR valve commands result in realizing durability improvement from the EGR cooler? By not using it? Really? Is this your thought process?
If it is such a great piece of engineering, why wasn't one put on the 7.3?
Removing the EGR cooler from the picture greatly reduces your chance of head gasket failure. Period. It can't leak and cause problems if it isn't there.
Your thinking of having the EGR valve commands removed from the programming is flawed for one very simple reason. High boost numbers will force the EGR valve open. You won't even know it.
Coolant maintenance is hands-down the biggest underlying problem in the 6.0 liter. FORD, in its infinite wisdom chose a "one coolant for all" strategy in the day of the 6.0 liter. There is a long argument that goes on and on and on about this topic, and I would rather not have to rehash it all. My personal feeling is that if the coolant is good for a Ford Focus, it probably isn't such a good choice for my medium duty diesel engine.
Not properly maintaining the coolant is the reason that oil coolers plug, the EGR coolers fail and end in head gasket failure. (well the coolant and typical human nature of "if I ignore it, maybe it will go away" or "it is only doing that when I .....")
This isn't to say that by removing the EGR cooler from the picture, life will be grand and you will no longer have issues with your truck. Quite the contrary. The 6.0 NEEDS gauges. You have to monitor the vital signs of this engine. If you don't, your setting your wallet up for a world of hurt. Coolant temp/oil temp monitoring is absolutely CRITICAL. The stock gauges are nothing more than Fords idea of a cruel and unusual joke. Bythe time you see "overheating" on the stock gauge, you no longer have sufficient coolant in your engine, the engine is defueling (it begins defuel @221°F ECT, 253°F EOT) and bad things are coming your way. By the time the trans fluid temp gauge moves, you should have your new trans on order. That oil pressure gauge? Ford even calls it a "switch" which just turns on the needle movement. Anything above 5psi and it reads normal. If it drops, look at voltage and not your oil.
Here is a write-up I did over on the dieselstop about gauges for this engine, what you need and what to look out for. <
LINK>
From first hand experience, deleting the EGR cooler does indeed drop EGT's. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 50°F on my truck, specifically.
Now, is that drop related to the removal of the restrictive scoop that is present in the up-pipe on the 6.0 (from 2004 up)? I can't really say for sure, because both my EGR cooler and the up-pipe with that scoop were removed at the same time. But I have certainly realized cooler EGT's. I monitor the EGT's for shut down as well. I shoot for between 350-400°F depending on how much of a rush I am in at the time. Previous to the EGR delete, with the fully functional egr valve, it took noticeably longer to cool to this point. Why would that be?
I also take exception to when you say that a stock, unmodified engine will outlast a modified engine. There are modifications that will GREATLY improve longevity.
I have modified my engines oil cooling system. In fact, I no longer have the liquid to liquid oil cooler in my engine. My oil cooler is externally mounted (on the AC condenser) and thermostatically controlled. The filtration that this offers and the oil cooling is FAR superior to the stock system. A pricey modification to the tune of $2245.00 for just the parts. Check it out
HERE. My oil cooler will last the lifetime of my truck. No stock unit will.
The manufacturers don't always get it right. This engines history will surely attest to that. Just take a look at the changes between 2003 and 2004.
Perhaps you should say that poorly designed, poorly executed or ill advised modifications can surely spell an early death of the engine. There are good and there are bad modifications. Pick wisely.