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Prius Gen 3 Major Maintenance: EGR, manifold, spark plugs, Oil Catch Can

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by wvs2003, Jan 21, 2019.

  1. casi000

    casi000 New Member

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    FYI - the pipe is easy to clean. The valve is a pain (though not as bad as the cooler). So I would order the valve to go along with the cooler.
     
  2. Toddwilks

    Toddwilks Active Member

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    Yup I got all the same parts as the OP. Just got these today from Walmart. IMG_5050.jpg


    iPhone ?
     
  3. wvs2003

    wvs2003 Junior Member

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    The OCC portion was:
    • Ruien Oil Catch Can 400 mL: 25.50
    • 3/8-inch fuel line ("low pressure") 3-feet x2 quantity: total $11.94 from Napa Auto Parts
    • 3/8-inch ID Brass Hose Barb Splicer: total $4.26 from Home depot
    • 5/8-inch hose clamp x5: total $5.00 from Home Depot
    • o-ring 5/16" OD x 3/16" OD x 1/16" 6-pack: 2.48 (for OCC's dipstick) from home depot
    • PCV hose that I could cut in half (part #12261-37060): 8.58 (msrp: 12.69) from McGeorge Toyota Online
    • Total: 57.76

    Not sure if MPG improved. Hard to tell because I've been driving in winter weather since doing this major maintenance. Have to wait for summer to be able to tell if MPG got better.

    However, I can definitely tell the engine runs smoother. And the transition between using High voltage battery to engine is smoother.

    Nice, looking like you're almost prepped! Do you have all the tools?
    I didn't list out all the tools needed for this project on my post. Maybe I should do that and ask a Moderator to help edit/update my post.
    What's the reason for buying new EGR? My reason was because I was short on time for using my friend's garage. I just wanted to quickly replace the parts that were most difficult to clean (e.g. EGR). I'll clean my dirty EGR at a more convenient time.

    Good luck on your major maintenance! You may want to consider doing other tasks since you're taking apart your car under the hood :)
     
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  4. wvs2003

    wvs2003 Junior Member

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    Some prius owners and I were discussing this at the last prius meetup. The "OCC up high vs down low" debate is really dependent on what tools you have, if you have garage, do your own oil, etc.

    For me, the reasons I put my OCC right behind driver's headlights (aka "up high"):
    • I don't do my own oil changes
    • I don't have my own garage
    • I don't have proper tools to jack my car up to do oil changes or get underneath car
    • I do street parking
    • I need a convenient location that doesn't require tools/time/procedures to access my OCC

    If you have your own garage, have proper tools to jack up car safely and do your own oil changes, then putting the OCC down low is a good option.

    Hope this info helps others decide where to put OCC.
     
  5. casi000

    casi000 New Member

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    +1 engine seems much smoother after EGR replacement. I was getting a mild resonation through the car when going up hills before where pwr was all the way. Now it's toned down a good bit. The improved engine performance makes the mpg drop odd though. Running ~38 where I was 41-42 prior to EGR (already low). No CEL clues so far.
     
  6. Gshadow325

    Gshadow325 Junior Member

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    I love you! Planning this job this weekend. My catch can doesn't have anything inside it though. Is that how it's supposed to be?
     
  7. butchbs1985

    butchbs1985 Taking things apart is fun!

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    So is the Prius Gen3 engine just incredibly dirty the way it's designed? I've never contemplated just taking the manifold off and cleaning it as maintenance on other cars. Sometimes a can of the foam cleaner down the intake and leave it at that of course.
    My MPG on my Prius v is about 39.9Mpg over the life of the vehicle @ 135k. Looking at the lifetime graph, MPG has gradual decrease but hasn't seemed to decrease notably.

    Looks like a full weekend of work for me to do EGR and intake. Wondering if intake is worth the hassle. EGR photos are enough to convince me that I should do that soon.

    I did replace the PCV and since then, oil consumption seems to have increased slightly which was surprising.
     
  8. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    535E9E82-BD2B-401E-A3B7-691C804BD7B1.jpeg

     
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  9. Jeffrey Mason

    Jeffrey Mason New Member

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    I just finished cleaning the egr system, intake, and installing a OCC on my 2012 prius with 167k. I would definitely clean the intake, make sure you clean the small holes where the exhaust gas recirculates. Like everyone else on here I had a lot of oil in my intake.

    Here are photos of what mine looked like.
     

    Attached Files:

  10. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    You can buy it by the foot, off a spool, at local automotive retailers. It's impossible for responders to know how much you need. Maybe you could do a "dress rehearsal" with garden hose or similar, measure what it takes. For sure just get a couple of feet surplus.
     
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  12. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    It should, if it was needed. Appropriate % of egr improves BSFC.
     
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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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  14. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Fuel consumed per unit mechanical energy out. Units of pounds per hp-hr or grams/kw-hr, typically.
     
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  15. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    I translated it to maybe if you believe hard. :D
     
  16. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    Finally I made it! EGR is clean. Second time I was more prepared. Dawn soap did not work for me, neither oven cleaner, but high pressure car wash did marvels in 5 minutes! Probably around 80% open now, but way better than zero as it was. IMG_20190808_153346.jpeg IMG_20190808_154151.jpeg IMG_20190808_160758.jpeg IMG_20190808_175629.jpeg IMG_20190808_185619.jpeg

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  17. Pseudonymm

    Pseudonymm New Member

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    Nice job. Regarding the first picture, does it not seem that the gasket was leaking, there being a lack of a distinct boundary around the soot?
     
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  18. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    Good point, I haven't thought about it. There was no gasket on that end (the exhaust end) between the EGR cooler and the pipe going out..
     
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  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Maybe there was a gasket but it dropped off when you lifted off the EGR cooler? That's what happened to me, and I would dub it a design shortcoming. The corresponding gasket between EGR valve and pipe has clips (similar to a brake pad shim plate) that hold it in place, but the gasket between cooler and exhaust has none.

    In any case, there should be a gasket there. It's #8 in this link:

    EGR System for 2010 Toyota Prius | McGeorge Toyota Parts

    In my case I located the gasket, it had fallen partially down through the engine components below, but hung up somewhere.
     
    #39 Mendel Leisk, Aug 9, 2019
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2019
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  20. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    Thanks, I ordered one. However I really don't feel like taking it apart again.. though, I feel I'm getting good at it. still painful
    Btw I meticulously checked not to lose that gasket, and I was also surprised not finding it there
     
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