Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock!

Experts!
I really wonder if I missed the gasket between the EGR cooler and the exhaust pipe, would it smell bad? I mean I don't recall there were any gasket there when I removed, but maybe it fell off. Also, that binding seems to be really strong and tight.

 

Yes, there is a metal gasket between the EGR cooler and exhaust manifold/pipe.

 

mine is def a ninja install

 

I know there is, but the question is if it is not there, would it matter?

 

"I know there is, but the question is if it is not there, would it matter?"

And the answer is: it's there, because it matters. Gaskets always matter, or they would not be there...

 

The gasket between the egr cooler and the exhaust manifold doesn't have any retainer clips. When I lifted off the cooler it completely skipped my mind that there was a gasket there, and it dropped down. It was only when I was putting everything back together that it occurred to me, "shouldn't there be a gasket there?". In my case it had dropped down, but not all the way through, and I was able to spot it and get out with a magnet wand.

Someone reassembled their EGR without the gasket, then realized, and the Priuschat concensus was to just loosen all the egr mounting bolts, remove the rear connection nuts and studs, and (hopefully) slip the gasket in. Not sure if they followed through, how that went. Someone else with more brain cells might remember the guy's name, can ping him?

Considering the gasket at the other end, between the egr valve and pipe, has fine clips, stays in place when the pipe's removed from the valve, it's a bit of a design fail to not have clips on that rear gasket. Too, I found it a pain getting the gasket and the two flanges aligned, getting the studs back in; it's not the easiest reach.

 

Yeah, I tried that too loosening the bolts and trying to slip in the gasket and I gave up after 20 minutes of trying few months back. I will take it apart again as it seems, I was just doubting that the absence of that gasket can lead to gas leakage. Btw, now that you mentioned the gasket between the EGR coller and pipe can be mounted the wrong way? as I recall it is quite symmetrical one

 

Yeah I don't think you can mess up the orientation, but I recall when reassembling I had a bear of a time, 5 minutes plus, getting the cooler positioned, and the gasket sandwiched in, and the holes aligned enough that I could get a stud started threading in. They should have put clips on it: it would keep people from dropping it and orient it.

 

WHY would you reuse the old ones? New ones from Toyota were under $10. $8 something with tax.
Then you don't have to worry about dropping the old one.
Yea, some think they are reusable. But they replace the reusable oil drain plug seal......

 

Did you replace yours?

The fore, midship and aft EGR gaskets are stamped steel, no coating, look the same as the day they were put in at the factory. I wouldn't replace them unless they were bent or lost.

 

I don’t think there is a factory recommendation to replace them, just the rubber intake manifold and throttle body gaskets. Many people don’t replace those, either, but it is recommended.

 

To be fair, the Repair Manual says replace, still, I think it's overzealous.

 

I think it's overzealous to replace the drain plug seal everytime.
I've never had a leak.

 

Yeah, an aluminum washer holding back four liters of engine oil (life blood), what am I thinking, lol.

 

It's felt/aluminum, and crushed. And not under any pressure.
But what do I know? I've only done it a hundred times....

 

I did not read throught the whole thread but I have cleaned the whole egr system except the line that comes out of the egr cooler to exhaust. I also have done the OCC. My intake still pools up with oil a lot that the car starts to stall and dies. Is there anything that I am missing? I cleaned my intake from all the oil cleaned fouled spark plugs and restart the car in maintenance mode, It runs smooth until it starts shaking and dies. I check the OCC and its clean and empty, look into throttle body and have at least and inch of oil in it. I have also replaced PCV but then again OCC is clean and empty. I am afraid something else is wrong with car. I just don't understand where the oil is coming from. Car runs great after re-cleaning everything. Please help!

 

The catch can is not functioning correctly. Many of us use stainless steel scrub pads in the can to aid in condensation. This helps the
oil to collect and run down into the can rather than just continue across the top of the can and then on to the intake. Also adding a
tube into the outlet than extends down into the can and is surrounded by the pads. This forces circulation down into the bottom of the
can making it more efficient. Is your can empty or are there inserts and some tubing inside?

 

My catch can has a longer piece coming from the pcv then a shorter piece going Into intake. It’s homemade and bottle is clear and clean just like new.

 

We had another session yesterday. Since last time, just loosening the bolts and slip the gasket did not work, we took out again the cooler.. Tedious. Also discovered Toyota gave me a wrong gasket last time, only differs by one number, but that made a difference as that gasket belongs to some Tahoma not Prius. It could be one of the reasons I was not able to slide in it last time without disassembling the whole.
Went to dealership and got new ones. Now the smell is gone! It was indeed leaking along.