EGR Cleaning: What did I get myself into?

I started with EGR cleaning today by just doing the pipe. Just wanted to share my success using an ultrasonic cleaner and some Extreme Simple Green Aircraft and Precision Cleaner.

My EGR pipe was pretty full of carbon buildup. Had to have been about 1/8" all around leaving a narrow passage in the middle.

I put 2 cups of Simple Green and then 12 cups of hot water in the ultrasonic cleaner and ran it for only 5 minutes. The pipe came out completely spotless. Some others talked in this thread at one point about using Oxi clean and how that might not be great for aluminum. The whole reason I got an ultrasonic cleaner was for the carbs on my motorcycle. I actually completely ruined a pair of carbs by using pine sol (soaked them for 48 hours instead of just 10 minutes). I found this simple green aircraft cleaner which is specifically made for tough cleaning on the aluminum exterior of airplanes. Anyway, it cleaned my new/used carbs right away and had no issue with my EGR pipe. I haven't done the EGR cooler yet, not sure if it will fit in my ultrasonic since I sized it for carbs when I bought it.

There are ultrasonic cleaners on eBay between $100-$200 depending on size. The simple green was like $20 for a 1-gallon bottle. If you're planning on doing EGR cleaning regularly, this would probably be a good investment.

 

@Josh, how many miles on the odometer when you cleaned the EGR pipe?

Don't forget to clean everything downstream from the EGR pipe too, namely the intake manifold and the small EGR passages next to the intakes.

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If it doesn't fit, he cooler is 100% stainless steel, so alternates, like Oxi-Clean, will be ok. If it does fit, do post how that works.

 

Pressure washer and oven cleaner for the cooler...

 

ideally, how many miles after the first EGR cooler cleared @95000 miles to reclear? It has OCC installed and est 1Q oid consumed every 5000 miles oil change

 

I think there's a question in there but danged if I can understand it. Rephrase?

 

Yeah, didn't state how many miles were driven since the 95k when EGR was first cleaned.

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Hello all
First EGR cooler cleared @95K, Now, 110K. Should it be clear every 20K for 100K Gen3 2013?

 

I'm actually replacing the entire intake manifold. I was running into the problem of a P0302 code and severe engine rattling on a cold start. Found out Toyota posted a TSB about the intake manifold being the issue under those exact symptoms and they issued an updated version of it. So with it off I decided to do the EGR too (and I cleaned the engine intakes).

I'm doing this at 260k+ miles. And as far as I'm aware it was never cleaned in the life of the vehicle. It does and has done mostly highway driving (I still get between 45-55mpg). My dad was the only other owner.

When I put the cooler in the ultrasonic, it freed up everything, but... now the inside of it is just a gunky mess of crud that I'm having trouble getting out. Trying some oven cleaner on the body in the ultrasonic overnight.

I imagine a pressure washer would help blast it all out since it's pretty much all free, I just don't have access to one.

 

Maybe like the engine coolant interval: 100k first time (at the latest!) then 50k thereafter.

 

That was the scheduled interval I performed on our old 2010.

Glad I did the circuit cleanse the second time around at 50k interval.

 

Toyota did a minor tweak to the intake manifold, and issued a TSB that allowed it to be swapped in when EGR clogging code and/or cold-start shaking was present. But, I think they've backed off on that, and I highly doubt it's a panacea.

Don't kid yourself: "P0302 and severe engine rattling on cold start" are symptoms of failing head gasket, and a new intake manifold won't turn back the clock. Try block tester (checks for exhaust gas in coolant), boroscope inspection of the combustion chambers and leak-down test.

 

Or rather, they can be symptoms of a failing head gasket, and that's why you try the block tester, borescope inspection and/or leakdown test, so you find out if they are. And if they are, changing other stuff won't turn back the clock.

If you find out failing head gasket is not the cause, then it's a matter of running down other potential reasons for cylinder 2 to misfire and cause that rattling.

 

In denial for the time being about it maybe being the head gasket. I peered down into the cylinders and they were dry and cruddy (I read coolant in the cylinders would steam clean them).

We'll see how it is after I put it all back together. Then I'll start facing the music.

 

Yeah mustn’t jump to conclusions.

 

Well over 200k miles the egr cooler is block of carbon gunk. The only way I could get mine unblocked after trying most other methods was to use a long rod from a coat hanger and drill out every opening in the cooler.

SM-G960U ?

 

Did mine similarly at 124k, but you won't be able to get every single channel clean that way, due to the angled inlet walls.

The most effective way to remove the carbon and oily gunk from my ebay sourced cooler, after rodding the passages, was to put a rubber stopper in one end of the cooler and fill it with straight liquid drain cleaner and let it sit. The liquid drain cleaner removes the carbon very effectively, and converts the oils/hydrocarbons to soap, which you remove with near boiling temperature hot water rinses after you pour the drain cleaner out of the cooler.

You'll still need to go through several of these cycles, unless you have a pressure washer. But in the end, it will be shiny and spotless inside.

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I did similar, albeit with Oxi-Clean (not as far down the PH* spectrum towards the caustic end), but this was very early, around 50K miles. Mixing up a solution with just straight lye crystals (sodium hydroxide) might be better than todays drain cleaners, which are a brew, some even with shards of shredded aluminum if I'm not mistaken.

Note: the cooler is straight stainless steel, so ok with caustic cleaners, but I wouldn't use them on the mostly-aluminum valve, or the intake manifold, due to it's metallic inserts.

* Never knew this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH

Oxi Clean info:
OxiClean - OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover

 

Put it all back together, turned it on, slight shudder but no violent shaking. Ran block test twice. Blue liquid still after pumping for 2 minutes. Done two starts since with no shudder or shake.

I did the block test on the ice coolant reservoir. I read that there's no radiator cap. Was this the right place to do it?

I got quite a bit out of the egr but I was eager to do a block test. If the head gasket had failed (knock on wood right now), I was gonna bother with further cleaning. I'd sell the car since I'm moving out of country in 5 months. If all checks out I'll take the egr off again next weekend and give drain cleaner a go at it for several days. Much easier now that I've done it once.

 

If using drain cleaner in crystal form, you need to be careful when you mix it with water. Always add the crystals to the water, not the other way around because the reaction is highly exothermic and you can get a steam explosion that will cover you in very hot caustic lye solution.

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