Intake manifold cleaning and found this

Some of the active Priuschat members clearly have engineering or equivalent backround. They know a lot but remain curious, can analyse and are able to admit what they don’t know. That is -sorry to say- much different from average mechanic whose job is to follow troubleshooting flowcharts. It’s not their fault, they just do what they are expected to do because thats how quality is made. No ”artists” or ”rockstars” needed at repair shops.

This is why i read a lot from internet (Priuschat in practise) and then put together my own opinion and go to shop and tell what to do This has worked very well during past 10years with my cars. Even the medical doctors nowadays admit that patients studying their symptoms from internet is a good thing at the end. Still, unlike with cars, i do not tell doctors what to do

 

Some of us are actually PhD in physics, chemistry, or materials science that really works as professionals in battery research.

 

Not all mechanics are good and not all engineers are smart. I'm an engineer and hobbyist mechanic and I've seen it both ways. Prius chat has a lot of great info though. A lot of passionate science and mechanical based people on here figuring out some good solutions to a lot of the common problems we have on here. If it wasn't for Prius chat I'm probably certain I would've lost my head gasket as well.

Are you doing 99% highway or a standard mix of driving around 55% city, 45% highway?
If you're doing a long-distance travel job I don't think it makes sense to get a Prius over a Corolla.
But if you do a more city driving style and live in emissions and inspections free city I wouldn't hesitate to put another motor in that car. It sounds like the body is in good shape. We have two now, 2010 and 2012, with "EGR deletes" running just fine.
I even towed for the last 100k in mine pretty regularly even though you aren't supposed to and it did fine. Long distance, 60mph, 1200ish pound package bass boat, dual jet ski trailer, appliances on small trailers, motorcycles on a trailer, in the low 200k miles now. Couldn't afford a tow vehicle at the time and I wasn't scared to try it, although now it has been retired and isn't my tow vehicle anymore.

So yes I would say it might make sense to get a good shade tree mechanic to swap a motor in right now after seeing the price of used cars. But a 03-08 corolla could be a good choice too if you do only highway driving.

 

There are 4 things that we should sell our Prius:
1. Head gasket (unless you find someone for $1000 or less)
2. Brake booster $1600+
3. Catalytic converter $2000+
4. Hybrid battery $2500+

If the catalytic converter is stolen, usually the 2nd catalytic converter that does not have O2 sensors on it, you can just weld a straight pipe or bulge pipe on it and bypass the exhaust heat recirculation lines. At least it is not totaled and can still be driven. It will not cause a check engine light on and may still pass the MOT. The main catalytic converter is very close to the engines, right after the EGR lines in 3Gen and before EGR line in 4th gen.
The catalytic converters in most cars are usually 2 units. The main one is integrated with the exhaust manifold and the secondary unit down before the resonator.

 

”If you're doing a long-distance travel job I don't think it makes sense to get a Prius over a Corolla.”

Prius is 100x more cool

 

Blowby?

 

I will reuse this old thread.
My car is Auris Hybrid 2011 with Prius Gen 3 drivetrain with cca. 90.000 miles.
I plan to clean the intake manifold and EGR pipe together with PCV valve replacement in the first phase. The second phase with EGR and EGR cooler cleaning will need to wait for 1 month.
I have already checked the videos and threads here and this first phase should be pretty straightforward.
I have seen that it is suggested to change the IM gasket. This is part nr. 17177-37030, right? Does it need to be replaced or can it be reused?
I would like to replace also PCV valve but I cannot find it in the Toyota Parts Catalogue. Can somebody help me with the part nr.?
Is it best to buy Toyota genuine parts or are there any QUALITY alternatives for these two parts? What prices can I expect for these two parts? Other gaskets are fine to be reused in this first phase?
And one other question: I have a problem with finding the brushes to clean the IM. We have gun shops here, so I thought to just buy cleaning brushes for guns. What is the diameter of the small intake hole on IM? Which caliber would suit best for it? Should I buy steel or plastic brushes?

PS: While doing this first phase, I would also check throtle body and clean it if needed. I do not need to disconnect the coolant hoses for this, right? Any specific things I should be careful about this job?

 

To extricate the EGR valve without the cooler is difficult; I would do both together. The valve likely would be fine with cleaning, not needing to be replaced.

I didn't replace ours, but at much lower kms. It's not that difficult taking the intake manifold off again, if it turns out to be worn out.

If finding the replacement PCV valve is difficult, I would just clean and reinstall the existing one. Clean the threads and apply some non-permanent thread lock, just so you don't get oil leak. Torque spec in attached. If you replace, best to stick with Toyota PCV valve: others may be physically similar but have different performance/behaviour, be imcompatible.

Only the intake manifold has pliable gaskets; the EGR components are metal gaskets, should be fine. When removing the EGR cooler be careful not to drop the rear gasket, very easy to do, and hard to find.

About 1/4". I used brush marketed as being for cleaning stainless steel drinking straws, the kind you reuse. Gun barrel cleaning brushes would be good as well.

No, see first link in my signature.

 

Thank you very much for your answer and PDF for PCV valve. Do you have part nr.? Or a suggestion in which part do I need to search for it in the electronic parts catalogue?
PCV valve is not a problem to get at Toyota dealer. If the price will not be to high, I will just replace it.
Do you have also torque specs for throttle body? I have checked your link for throttle body cleaning and in the IM pdf I have not found torque specs for TB.
I do not plan to replace EGR, just clean it together with EGR cooler. But that will need to wait for a month.

 

Or a small test tube brush?

 

Too: plastic bristles safest, not brass or steel.

 

my favorite video

You just need to make sure to clean the EGR passages really well. Don't worry too much about the EGR cooler at 90k miles unless it burns a lot of engine oil. 2014 is probably the border when Toyota fix oil consumption issue in 2ZR-FXE engines.

 

Thx. Looks like it is a very detailed video, I will have a thorough look.

To answer my own question about torque specs for throttle body nuts: it is 10Nm

 

You've found it, but fwiw, it is in that intake manifold pdf as well:

 

Thank you for info, I missed that, because I did not look for torque values in the picture.
And I have finally found PCV valve part nr. (ventilation valve sub-assy): 12204-37010

 

Almost all 10mm bolts are about 10N.m, 14mm bolts are about 30Nm, etc. I will never buy aftermarket parts for PCV Valve, ball joints (never fail, only if we got an accident), control arm, bushings, etc. Sometimes aftermarket is equal or better in Brake rotors (coated), pads, Bilstein struts/shocks, DENSO sparkplugs, stabilizer links (way cheaper) and 0w-20 Longlife IV motor oil and filter.

 

Thx for your input. I do like to check the factory specs and go by them.
Great to know regarding parts. I will go for genuine Toyota PCV valve and also gaskets. Since I would like to do this job and not think about it for next 100.000 km.
Btw: epic video, extremelly informative and also entertaining .

 

Good to find/verify Toyota torque spec, for something like throttle body hold-down fasteners. 1/4” torque wrench is good for this btw.