2011 IM+EGR Coolant Cleanup Saga - With updated details

Hey, @Mendel Leisk. I checked the price yesterday. Our current price for EGR service is $600. That gets a cleaning of the IM, pipe, valve, and cooler.

 

Does the customer get a printout of what the Mode 6 EGR Flow value was before and after cleaning? Or does the info get automatically added, with the car's mileage, on the EGR blockage data thread?

 

Curious, do you swap cooler for previously cleaned, to speed things up?

That price seems fair; it's not a trivial job.

I noticed something very commendable on Tod's website: any 3rd gen they sell with over 150K miles, they've replaced the head gasket. Presumably done the EGR too.

I think Toyota could do the right thing: publish an EGR cleaning how-to for the dealerships, and notify owners: offer a gratis service to any 3rd gen owners that want it, every 50K miles. Maybe in a parallel universe...

 

Maybe a good excuse to take a trip to FLA.

 

@bisco?

 

hopefully next january, but it'll be the camry

 

Demille got some pretty good shots of disassembly if it helps as it relates to the air intake manifold and you won't believe the gunk we cleaned out of the EGR passageway in there:

 

Video shows that the funky half-screened throttle body gasket doesn't fit down well into the old intake manifold.

We keep wondering what all changed with the updated manifold. I wonder if part of it could be a change to that gasket groove, so the funky newer gasket fits?

 

If you're asking about what Tampa Hybrids does, then, no. I don't think 99% of the customers are interested in that data. They just want reliable transportation.

No. But if there was an automated way to do that so that didn't reduce our productivity, it would sure fatten up the database. We average close to a dozen EGRs a week.

Yes. Each Tuesday, the first thing on my list is to get the pile of IMs and coolers cleaned. There are usually anywhere from 9-15 of coolers and 4-8 manifolds. It takes me 3-4 hours to set up, do the cleaning, and put everything away. Then I can move on to other things and they have another week's supply. Sometimes the techs do clean and reinstall the manifold and EGR pipe, but the cooler is much more time consuming. They also clean the valves themselves.

 

I forgot to respond to that one. Yes, any head gasket repair needs the EGR system cleaned or it'll probably just blow that one, too. Yesterday, we had a customer who had the shaking symptoms of a failing/failed HG who only wanted the EGR cleaning. Said he didn't have time for a HG or something like that. I imagine he'll be back.

 

Wow, I'm surprised you did it.
Did you get them to sign the work order stating the probably failed head gasket and that
you're not responsible for any failure do to head gasket failure and that cleaning the
EGR system is NOT a fix?
Gotta cover your butt!
And almost certain they will be back. Or get rid of the car.

 

I was not present and didn't think to ask about it when someone told me what happened. I would expect that there was a notation on the invoice, but I'm just assuming. He was informed that the cleaning would not be a cure once the shaking starts. If the HG is indeed bad, he'll probably come back for that and it'll cost what it costs for a HG replacement.

 

The mode you want is the one that keeps the engine running; that's the first option ("2WD for testing exhaust gas"). The second option ("for disabling TRC") is more for speedometer/dyno testing and the like.

Gen 1 and 2 had a single inspection mode that did both, but Gen 3 split that out into two modes.

There are warnings about driving much with TRC disabled; hard on the tranny if you're not careful.

If you use the chicken-dance method, the first mode is the one with two pedal stomps, and the second is the one with three. (Or should I say six versus nine?)

 

Closing the barn door after the horses have bolted.

 

Almost my exacts words when I heard about it. I think I said, "Well, the horse is gone; better close the barn door."

 

Reading too much conjecture on Priuschat which sometimes propagates to other blogs.

 

I'm not sure what the "commanded" is exactly. If it's valve opening percent, it's going to be pretty darned close to the valve step.

The nearest available proxy for the EGR flow is what happens to the manifold pressure when the EGR is flowing. That's how the monitor test measures it.

 

If you remember I've tried something like that in the past but as you said there are other factors to consider during live testing/monitoring so I give up.