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EGR & Intake Manifold Clean Results

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Rebound, Jun 25, 2017.

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  1. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    The mighty RayTheEagle, SFO and mmmodem came by yesterday and we tacked the job of cleaning the EGR cooler, EGR, intake manifold and throttle body of my 115,000 mile 2012 Prius Plug-in.

    The biggest thing I learned: Removing and cleaning the intake manifold is a walk in the park, but removing the EGR valve a royal pain. I definitely would have given up without Ray's help.

    As a warm-up, before Ray arrived, I removed the entire air cleaner/air box, drained the engine coolant, and removed the entire windshield wiper motor assembly and the tray beneath it. Even with all of that clearance, I had to move the brake fluid reservoir and pull an engine heater hose to help us access some of the bolts on the EGR cooler.

    Ray has changed out the EGR and cooler twice before and he had his old EGR cooler and valve all cleaned up, so we didn't have to do any cleaning -- he just took my parts home to clean.

    The intake manifold, which was pretty easy to remove, had quite a bit of clogging. It certainly wasn't clogged to the point of impeding flow, but there was quite a lot of built up crud which was pretty easy to remove. I purchased an oil catch can but didn't install it, as we ran short on time. Ray and SFO helped me out everything together except for the wiper motor/air box/engine coolant, which I can do in about an hour.

    My view is that the first 100K mile maintenance task (besides plugs and the two coolants) would be to drain the coolant, pull the intake manifold, clean out the air box, clean out the intake manifold, replace the PCV valve (which is really really easy with the intake manifold removed), and, if time allows, install an oil catch can. Another day, clean out the EGR. Mine wasn't clogged, but there was definitely lots of goop beginning to clog the cooking fins, and it's s worthwhile preventative measure.

    Problem is, there's no way to know the state of your EGR without removing it, except for removing the EGR pipe and using it as an indicator. If the EGR pipe is partially or fully obstructed, then you should definitely remove the whole EGR and cooler and clean it.

    We videotaped a lot of the process. The problem is, the procedure is pretty complicated. The only way to properly film EGR removal is to remove the engine and demonstrate it on an engine that's been removed from the car. As you can imagine, we didn't do that :)
     
    #1 Rebound, Jun 25, 2017
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  2. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Were you planning to clean both the EGR valve and the EGR cooler?

    If you only wanted to clean the EGR valve, it is not necessary to remove the EGR cooler assembly. The hidden 12mm nut (nearest the engine) can be accessed by removing one of the EGR cooler's studs and moving the cooler slightly with a pry bar.
     
    #2 The Critic, Jun 25, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
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  3. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Glad to help(y).

    You take any pics;)?

    I can take some pics of the egr cooler prior to cleaning. As @Rebound mentions, there was some deposits on the fins but you could still achieve air flow through. It resembled mine at 120 k miles when I removed mine from service and @m.wynn 's at about 140 k miles.

    My curiosity lies in the location of the takeoff from the exhaust to the egr. Would the deposits form if after the cat when additional reactions lead to cleaner effluent prior to entering a system that has small races:(.

    As the gen 4's begin to pile on the miles, anyone with one at around 100 k miles that is willing (within reasonable distance of the Bay Area or North East PA), I'd be a willing participant to help figure it out;).

    It's a shame that the video is hard to shoot due to location:(. @Rebound had a very bright LED light and a very nice camera.

    But in the bright side we got to see his new ride (y)!
     
    #3 Raytheeagle, Jun 25, 2017
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  4. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    Just filmed the intake manifold, gonna work on editing and finish uploading hopefully tonight, or tomorrow.
     
    #4 NutzAboutBolts, Jun 26, 2017
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  5. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Does anyone know if the the guys at Hybrid Pitstop does this type of maintenance? They are located near me in Orange County and it sounds like a routine maintenance that I need to put aside money for in about 60k miles. It would be worth paying someone to do it. I would of course buy the parts to replace instead trying to clean them.
     
    #5 Montgomery, Jun 26, 2017
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  6. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    You can do it yourself, it takes 1-2 hrs but it's doable. Plus when you remove the intake, you can replace the pcv valve as well. I would do this service at 100-120k miles. 60k is too early to me. But it is your choice.
     
    #6 NutzAboutBolts, Jun 26, 2017
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  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Hybrid pit stop is a modification joint right? Not a mechanic shop?
     
    #7 JC91006, Jun 26, 2017
  8. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    In another 60k, I will have cose to 80k. I wanted to do it on this side of 100k. I will review the video. Its just all the wires, tubing and stuff that I want to make sure I put back correctly.
     
    #8 Montgomery, Jun 26, 2017
  9. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Nope, met the guys at the meet on Sunday. They do it all. Oil Changes, repairs. They will even install the Oil can trap.
     
    #9 Montgomery, Jun 26, 2017
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  10. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Oh wow, nice to know
     
    #10 JC91006, Jun 26, 2017
  11. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Or take a trip north, we'll help you out(y).

    A good excuse to get to wine country :whistle:.
     
    #11 Raytheeagle, Jun 26, 2017
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  12. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Just did a google map of from here to "wine country". By the time I got there, I would put on 60k.............(kidding)
     
    #12 Montgomery, Jun 26, 2017
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  13. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Here's my car with the intake manifold and EGR removed.


    The night before, I removed the wiper motor and intake air box. Then, I covered the MAF connector and intake hose with plastic and degreased/washed down the engine to make the work cleaner. That's why there's still a plastic bag there.

    It's all back together and working fine now.

    IMG_8287.JPG
     
    #13 Rebound, Jun 27, 2017
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  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Any idea where the oil on the outside of engine was coming from? Around the PCV valve, leaking at the intake manifold flange, valve cover, or?
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Jun 27, 2017
  15. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    This looks pretty extensive for "maintenance". It's like open heart surgery.
     
    #15 JC91006, Jun 27, 2017
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Open heart surgery is @danlatu 's department lol.
     
    #16 Mendel Leisk, Jun 27, 2017
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  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    That looks like dirt
     
    #17 JC91006, Jun 27, 2017
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  18. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    @Rebound is "particular" about a clean engine bay;). We joked as we were going through the process in Saturday about finding a leaf on the top of the strut tower:eek:.

    I know when @mmmodem 's hood was opened up at the March meet up, a cleaning was in order:sick:.
     
    #18 Raytheeagle, Jun 27, 2017
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  19. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Even my engine detailing has its limits... and the underside of the intake manifold is one of them. That dirt is still there, because you can't take a water hose to it while the intake manifold is off.
     
    #19 Rebound, Jun 28, 2017
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  20. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Did this last Sunday!
     

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    #20 Aaron Vitolins, Jun 28, 2017
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