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Problem after egr cooler cleaning.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by nathenvan, Oct 11, 2021.

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  1. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    Hi all, I need your help.
    My decided that my 2010 prius with 240k miles will benefit from a egr cooler cleaning. While I have the wiper cow off I decided to change out the spark plugs and the 2 front struts as well.
    So I drained all my coolant before removing the cooler. I got the cooler out and cleaned with power washer at the car wash followed by oxi-clean soaking. I did have to use a hanger that I cut and attached to a drill to help clean out all the caked carbon. This egr cooler has never been cleaned. I cleaned the valve, intake manifold couple weeks ago. I also replaced the pcv and installed an oil catch can.
    So today I installed the cooler back on and replaced with new coolant. At start up I got a really bad rattle/shake so I shut off the engine and started again. It quiet down a bit the second try but the egine seems hesitant not smooth. I saw minor white smoke came out of the tailpipe for a while but eventually it cleared up. I figured it was burning off all the solvent residue that is still on the cooler. Engine was mostly run in maintenance mode to bleed out the coolant.
    As of the moment the vehicle sound like I have a bad muffler when ever the ICE kicks in. I have driven it about 10 or so miles and it is still the same. No CEL, engine seems hesitant and loud whenever ice activates. Any help would be appreciated.
     
    #1 nathenvan, Oct 11, 2021
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Any spare parts leftover? :)
    Any problems/confusion when you were re-assembling things?
     
    #2 PriusCamper, Oct 11, 2021
  3. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    I put back all the gaskets that I took off the cooler.
    Any chance I might have damaged the cooler using a hanger on the drill and now coolant is seeping into the engine causing hesitation and loud engine when ice kicks in? Anyone have this happened?
     
    #3 nathenvan, Oct 11, 2021
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Are you still seeing white smoke? Have someone rev the engine while you look.

    The hanger wire is unlikely to cause a leak in a stainless steel assembly. I have done the same thing without issue.
     
    #4 rjparker, Oct 11, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Was engine coolant level stable in reservoir before you started cleaning?
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Oct 11, 2021
  6. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    I only got knocking and shaking after cleaning the intake manifold. I didn't dry out all the water from the intake manifold before putting it back on the Prius apparently. Once the water was sufficiently sucked into the engine, it ran smoothly ever since.

    You say you cleaned the intake manifold previously, so other than forgetting to put something back on properly, or forgetting to plug a harness back somewhere, I don't know.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #6 xliderider, Oct 11, 2021
  7. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    I say blown head gasket
     
    #7 tankyuong, Oct 11, 2021
  8. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    I have pretty good idea how to put it back together. Plus I watched couple videos on YouTube including nutzaboutbolt before tackle the job. There was no spare part leftover.
     
    #8 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
  9. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    I will check this today
     
    #9 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
  10. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    Yes it was stable and ran just fine before the cleaning.
     
    #10 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
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  11. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    I checked but didn’t see anything. I took off the air box 2 times to make sure I put everything back correctly since I cleaned the throttle body with carb/throttle cleaner.
     
    #11 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
  12. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    .
    . I hope this is not the case. Car was running fine with no problem before the cleaning.
     
    #12 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
  13. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    Did you check and make sure you still have your catalytic converter?

    Just wondering if while doing this work you had it jacked up outside somewhere and easy to access to someone.
    Might explain loud engine when running.
     
    #13 dig4dirt, Oct 12, 2021
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    240k is the smoking gun?
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Oct 12, 2021
  15. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    Thankfully it is still there
     
    #15 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
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  16. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    So I have my wife press on the gas pedal while I look inside the engine to try and pin point where the sound is coming from. The connection between the egr cooler and the exhaust is secure and there is no noise coming out of that area. I am thinking the exhaust may have cracked while I was lowering the jack otherwise CEL would be lit if it was not put back together correctly. I will have to jack it up and do some visual inspection on the muffler.

    Btw, coolant is stable and there is no smoke coming out of the tailpipe.
     
    #16 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
  17. mjoo

    mjoo Senior Member

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    Is it possible the EGR ports in the intake manifold have some build up left in them? Those ports seem to be a common source of problems for people cleaning the EGR circuit. Unbalanced EGR flow can lead to an engine misfiring.

    Any active codes?

    moto g power ?
     
    #17 mjoo, Oct 12, 2021
    Raytheeagle and Mendel Leisk like this.
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Could also be something related to those: you used spec'd Toyota PCV valve? And which Oil Catch Can? All connections good?
     
    #18 Mendel Leisk, Oct 12, 2021
  19. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    I cleaned the intake manifold and the 4 ports in there a couple of weeks ago. The car ran smoothly after the cleaning. There is no code. Car just seems loud I am guessing at about 2.5-3 Rpm.
     
    #19 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
  20. nathenvan

    nathenvan Junior Member

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    I use Rock auto pvc and $30 Amazon OCC. I mounted on top but decided to move it down low when I do the cooler cleaning. connection goes like this. PVC—OCC input. OCC output—-Intake Manifold.
     
    #20 nathenvan, Oct 12, 2021
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