Taking the engine underpanel off can help. But stuff can still just drop part way. That's where I found my (dropped) rear gasket. Yeah something like an old towel under the zone you're removing makes a lot of sense. If you can manage to scrunch it in there, it's so crowded.
They still worked, so good enough . I bet the mechanic afterwards was a bit confused where they went. I bet one of the other mechanics was blamed.
The gaskets are so inexpensive, it's not worth reusing them. At least not for me. If you have no choice, well, you have no choice.
Corrosion loves my Pri. I tried to take the two screws off the EGR valve to lubricate it. The screws are corroded and will not break. Sprayed with liquid wrench and soaked them to no avail......can’t win with this project.
I’ve worked on 2 Prii from the east and you can tell the ones that come from the salt belt. But it just means you have to be smarter and more tactful than the rest of us. Good luck and you’ll get there.
Was the engine underpanel intact? Always parked outdoors, heavy dew conditions? I would think those nuts are pretty sheltered. OTOH, I've seen some engine bay pics where every nut, bolt, bracket and hose clamp is rusted all to heck.
Don’t forget the salt spray gets into the engine bay goes everywhere . And the 2 Prii I’ve worked on had all the plastic shielding in place. Makes me thankful we moved to an area free of this phenomenon
Salt spray, hit the nail on the head. I bought mine used about 15K ago. Was probably kept outside, but I now always garage it. The body is in amazingly good shape. But EVERY bolt has some type of corrosion. The undershield is intact, although missing all but three clips lol.
When I helped @m.wynn with his water pump and egr circuit cleanse a couple of years back, it was amazing what the front of the engine looked like. All the piting corrosion and rusted fasteners. When I cleaned the egr circuit of his 2011 that his daughter had it was in similar condition. Only this time when I removed the splash shield I was pelted with dirt and rocks. Definitely put through it’s paces off road. A place not a lot of Prii traverse.
The project is complete, I’ll admit I was a little nervous after everything was put back together. I changed the plugs too, which the previous owner said were changed at 100,000. I have a hard time believing it how fouled up they were. Upon starting The engine was giving a death shake and light smoke was coming out of EGR cooler. The engine shaking and smoke stopped a few minutes later and all was fine. No codes thrown or anything which was surprising. I believe the smoke had to be eithier from oven cleaner that wasn’t totally flushed out or maybe? It was definitely smoking from the cooler. The results so far are pretty amazing. I am seeing an increase of 5 mpg ! (after driving on it for few hours). I can definitely tell I have more power off the line, and engine is transitioning from from EV less harshly. I’m debating on water pump and thermostat swap next. I have a friendly challenge going with family members who have been teasing me about the car and why I’m spending the time and money working on this car. They believe it will be dead within 10-20,000 miles. Creeping up on 128K and I really want to take it to 300K. Hopefully she will last me!
I'm very happy for you! Now you can reap what you sowed! It's a good feeling isn't it? There's always some smoke after doing all the work you've done. As long as it stops!