Slightly shaking engine and rattling noise on acceleration

Regarding the oil filter: on the one hand you could go to the dealership, ask them to remove, then reinstall it to 18 ft/lb. On the other hand, knowing them, it might just open another can-of-worms.

 

There is another thread that started recently where someone else has the same issue with the oil filter. If you have another cap coming, try a breaker bar (suggested in the other thread). If you do end up at the local dealership and when you mention torque to 18 ft lbs and they give you a funny look, say thank you and go elsewhere. They sometimes go "GFT" in place of the torque spec.........

 

Done anything other than replace spark plugs and MAF sensor cleaning? What about throttle body cleaning? Try removing the intake manifold and check the passages for blockage? Have any codes been thrown? Try fiddling with the egr valve or disconnect it from the cooler and assess the state or condition? If removing the black cap off of the egr, best to have an impact screwdriver as the screws are snug and you will round out the head of not careful. Impact screwdriver takes that out of the equation.

 

That sounds similar to a case reported earlier, in which partial clogging of EGR passages in the manifold caused EGR flow to be unevenly distributed.

 

That is one way to fiddle ( a very technical term). Since you have found a way to avoid the symptoms, you have an idea where to go. If it were me, I would do the following ( knowing only what you have shared here having no history with the car):
1) short term solution: grab an impact screwdriver and take the top off of the egr valve ( the black plastic cap that you removed). Only has the 2 screws then you can back out and manually manipulate the egr plunger. Sometimes that manipulation will be enough to temporarily allow for normal operation. But you know what the long term solution will be:
2)intake manifold and egr cooler cleanings. While these are not mechanically complex, depending on your DIY comfort level, you might want a shop to assist with the egr cooler. Where are you located? Might be a good shop near by that someone could recommend. The intake manifold cleaning is a 2 hour job (includes some soak time for carbon deposit removal). Ever done the pcv valve? This would be a good time to do this while the intake manifold is removed.


iPhone ?

 

Figured pictures are worth a thousand words . These are pictures of my EGR Cooler and valve after removal at ~ 120 k miles. Sorry for the dark pictures, but it's early out on the West Coast when I left for work this morning. I labeled the pictures for clarification. I have done some cleaning with compressed air to both the cooler and valve, but you can see the deposits both on the plunger (and surrounding it) and in the downstream chamber of the valve.

While actuating the valve will help loosen some of the deposits (like you did), it will not cleanse the system of the deposits that are causing the clogging and lack of air flow. Lubricating the valve stem may not give any benefit. With the black cap removed, the spring and weight will not have anything to resist (the black cap locks the valve then the solenoid can cause the actuation), and the egr will not actuate. When refitting, the weight spins back on (it spun off when the black cap was removed), so spin the weight on, hold it in place, then place the black cap onto the valve. It should reseat.

What I would do next if I were in your position (this will be more intrinsic investigation). If you are not getting any codes thrown, you could prep for this work by getting gaskets and spares ( I got gaskets from toyotapartsdeal.com and EGR Valve and Cooler from the local auto recycler before performing below):
1) Remove the egr pipe you cleaned before.
2) Assess Intake Manifold for deposits (you may have to remove this and clean it). This will involve removing air box and throttle body. The actual intake manifold is held on by 5 nuts and bolts, so relatively easy to pull and replace. There are threads on this in PC, so there is plenty of guidance on how to do this.
3) Remove the pipe coupler between the egr pipe and the discharge of the EGR Valve (held onto the underside of the EGR Valve in the picture with 2 nuts).
4) Remove the EGR Valve (held onto the cooler by 2 nuts).
5) Assess condition of both ends of the valve and clean as necessary (I was hesitant to use cleaning agents as the carbon deposits can get "gummy" and I did not want to get that on the seat of the EGR plunger and cause additional problems).
6) Look in the EGR Cooler and assess condition. If severe plugging (a lot of dark carbon deposits), you'll want to prepare for cleaning this (have a second pair of hands, drain the engine coolant, have a full day available).
7) Clean the EGR Cooler.

This will get you from the exhaust manifold through to the intake manifold. With a clean system, if the problem still exists, you've ruled out this as a variable. While there are no guarantees this will help you, this helped me out with rough engine transition.

 

Turn it until you have resistance. Try to reinstall. The cap should reseat. Then put the screws back on. Job done.

 

Did you get a warning light with the EGR connector unplugged?

 

It is "recommended". I did, and the gasket is cheap. But if it looks good ( not damaged, bent or compressed), some have reused.