What can influence EGR cooler clogging?

FWIW, I found concentrated Oxi-Clean solution very effective: cork one end, fill, let sit about an hour, rinse and repeat. Mine was only about 70k kms of deposit, so not that tough, but it was shiny new after 5~6 soak cycles.

And, it’s “friendlier” than petroleum solvent, can be done indoors, say propped up in a laundry sink.

 

Way ahead of you on this one. I have read the threads on this subject, and watched @NutzAboutBoltz.

Somebody in North Carolina was selling their "Spare" cooler on eBay after they sold off their Prius V. Nabbed it for $100. The Etorx socket is on order (although I have read a 6mm socket will work), and ordered the 12mm ratcheting box end wrench. Today when I pick up my floor mats at the dealer for my 2017, I will buy all the EGR gaskets, and OEM spark plugs (cheaper than Amazon!).

I would like advice on where to buy the Coolant. The dealership websites have widely varying prices on the OEM Coolant, and different part numbers for what my 2013 takes. I am used to back flushing the cooling system with my garden hose, but RJParker advised against it. I think I will just drain and refill with De-ionized water a few times, then fill up with the correct amount undiluted coolant, and if any room is left, top off with DI water. I am open to suggestions.

 

Careful: the specd Toyota Super Long Life coolant ONLY comes pre-mixed. Do a straight water flush and you’ll have a dilemma. See also attachment.

FWIW, the engine block drain instruction is a bear and a total waste of time: I tried it and got maybe 2 ozs there.

You don’t really need to do a complete engine coolant drain/fill for Exhaust Gas Recirculation cleaning. More info:

Bad Flywheel | PriusChat

 

You will need this, too.

This video will help.

 

He's nearing 100k. It's time to change the coolant, anyway.

 

Some people are lucky.
Some people make their own luck.

I'm on my second 2010 Work Prius, and it has >130,000 miles.
I exchanged mounts with my previous supervisor because he was leaving and his 2010 was lacking certain aftermarket equipment that my previous work car has, and it's still going strong at close to 200,000 miles.

I personally believe that a 1000 mile OCI (oil CHECK interval) and 5000 mile OCI (oil CHANGE interval) is pretty important in keeping you out of the "Prius Death Rattle Club." I also believe that, for this car, there's no difference between 5w30 and 0w20 since the people who lovingly care for our pampered creme puffs only use bulk oil when they pull our vehicles for their 5,000 mile services.

This is anecdotal and only covers about 10 G3s in my region, NONE of which have started to rattle (yet.)
Other than 5,000 mile oil changes, our vehicles get.....and ONLY get, the maintenance that's prescribed in the Warranty and Maintenance guide.

Since we're all shifting back to trucks and those goofy little "Hello Kitty" transit vans (I'm in the running for a 4x4 Dodge) we're probably going to be Priusless in a few years.

TIFWIW.....

 

Well the 100K Spark Plug change is in the Manual, and the Windshield wiper shelf has to come off to do that. I also had Cataract surgery two days ago, so I won't be driving for Uber for at least another week. I have the time, and my wife can take the 2017 Prius V to work. Now is a good time for preventative maintenance, even if it is beyond what is in the Maintenance guide.

I don't know why anyone would try to push the oil change interval. The damn "Maintenance Required" light only gives me 250 miles of warning, and I don't like my passengers to see that light as an excuse to give me a lower rating. I can do up to 600 miles in a single weekend.

From what was said earlier, I won't buy "High Mileage" oil again. If there is an oil that is better at conditioning the piston rings, maybe. I have only used 0W-20 oil.

BTW: the reason I wound up buying Castrol High Mileage for my last oil change was that my Walmart no longer carries "Super Tech" 0W-20 in 5 quart jugs. Maybe Castrol Edge without the "High Mileage" additives. All the name brand 0W-20 oils are in the $20 to $26 range. I miss having the Uber discount at Sears Auto.

 

I tried everything including Berryman chem dip, Gunk carburetor cleaner but found Krud Kutter eventually to be most effective. I plugged both ends with rubber stoppers and hung the egr cooler with stainless steel wire.

The fluid was really dark after the first week and got progressively lighter after each successive week, until it got absolutely clear as just water.

At that stage, I knew I had an absolutely clean egr cooler.

 

It's been hashed over in many other threads, but Mendel and others really agree with me that the spin on filter conversion is one of the best things that can be done to ease the hassle of oil changes.

The 2016+ Toyota 2zr Engine oil filter conversion - Armstrong Family Blog

 

I use the Super Tech" 0W-20 myself....
Oil snobs laugh at me, but it's Dexos2 compatible (GM rating) my 4 vehicle reliability average over the last 20 years speaks for itself, so I let them laugh.
If your WM doesn't stock it, they may deliver it if you order over $35 worth of stuff.
I've bought the 12q carton before, and IIRC it came out to less than $2/qt.

Only one of my vehicles uses 0W20, while the other 3 use 5w30.
I used to use Castrol but switched to SuperTech after reading some reviews which indicate that it's pretty good stuff.

When you get back to driving for Uber/Lyft then you may be the exception to my 5,000 mile OCI recommendation, but I find that the oil gets pretty nasty after 5,000 miles even when driving in a relatively reduced dust environment and doubling down on the engine air filter replacements.
Saving a few hundred bucks over 100,000 by keeping the same 3.something quarts of oil in the sump for 5,000 additional miles just isn't my thing.

ACTUAL mileage may vary.

@ Coolant.
This is one of the few times when I'm gonna recommend the OEM fluid. (Transaxle fluid is the other.)
If you're only swapping out the fluid every 50,000 miles or more, it doesn't make walking around sense to use anything else and take compatibility chances.

@Maintenance Required light......just set a reminder to clear it out every X miles (or X weeks that equal about every X miles.)
Theoretically you could clear it out every day, but I would probably do so every time I checked the oil which for me is every 2-3 fill-ups.

AGAIN
YMMV.....

Good idea on cleaning out the EGR circuit!

 

Just editorial: the US maintenance schedule specs plug change at 12 year or 120K miles, whichever comes first.

 

^ They're probably good for that if you do all the other maintenance.

 

Good luck with the cataract surgery. I had mine 5 years ago with multi focal lenses. The best money I ever spent.

 

Thanks!

I had the right eye done June 02. The difference in the ability to see is truly amazing (especially colors). After a week, I was able to drive safely by removing the right lens from my glasses.

The left eye was done on the 16th, two days before my 60th birthday. The left eye was more complicated because of scar tissue from an injury when I was 18. My brain hasn't figured out how to focus yet, hence no Uber driving til that works itself out. Passengers would be leery of a driver with a pirate eye patch

My mother waited until her late 70s to get it done, only to pass 6 years later. I figure I am getting at least a couple of decades of vastly improved eyes. Tell anyone who is a candidate for the surgery, don't put it off! If for no other reason than safer driving as we gradually age.

 

i need it, but have concerns because of flomax, which does not clean the egr cooler very well...

 

The engine running.

 

The biggest problem is not keeping it hot long enough to burn the carbon soot out.... similar to the converter problems. Heat up cool down condensation rich fuel mixture the cool down again and all the exhaust still sitting in the pipe with nowhere to go.. let use this for a ugly example but it works.... know someone who smokes in their car? After a while a film will build up on the glass... much slower if the windows are down... but never roll the windows down and it looks like it's melting down the inside of the glass..... add heat or cold air and it will build up faster.... basically the same thing happening in the egr system
You got 1000 degree hot exhaust hitting a 225 degree cooler.... condensation starts happening and it builds up in the wall unless you run it long enough with the egr open it won't clear it out. So start and stop is a major culprit as it can't keep it open to heat it up long enough the burn it off and it just starts to cake up inside.... once enough has built up it over for egr flow so no burn off will occur. Take it and hit the highway once every couple months for an hour and lay into it. Keep it about 70 and the egr will remain open long enough to keep everything cleared out and working just fine

 

It’s a tempting hypothesis, only: I don’t think anything ever gets hot enough to burn off, in the cooler, valve, pipe or intake manifold EGR passages.

 

My car was driven from Texas to Florida regularly before I got it. I cleaned the EGR System and it was plugged.

 

The light comes on at 5k miles but Toyota recommended 10k oil changes. Rotations and inspections every 5k. So most people went 10k on oil changes. Occasionally they would forget and it would be 15k. That combined with bad ring design clogged rings first and then egrs.

Short distance driving is not the issue. Many of us had long commutes every day and clogged the egr. Thermal cycling of the engine in normal operation is suspect, especially in stopped traffic or waiting situations in Ready. You can measure 20-50f coolant temp swings in some cases many times a drive cycle. It only takes ten minutes of wait time to drop 40f.

We also see intake manifolds swimming with oil. Probably poor intake and pcv design combined with ring generated blowby that unfortunately even catch cans do not entirely stop. Clearly a catch can captures some of it. There is little doubt some of that liquid oil makes it to the cylinders. Gen3s essentially have a catch can inside the intake.

We should quit trying to justify a bad engine design. Toyota mechanics acknowledge a deluge of gen3 engine failures. Egr clogging is simply collateral damage. The gen3 1.8L Prius engine application qualifies for nice try status. That is it. It was totally reengineered just a few years later into the gen4 1.8. Egr basic design, intake, block, cooling passages, upper and lower cylinder temp balancing, cylinder turbulence changes. Plus additional work and elaborate controls to capture more exhaust heat into the coolant.

To me the bottom line for gen3 design victims is 5k mile or better oil changes, 75k egr overhauls and frequent intake cleanings. For 2010-2014s with preexisting conditions, be ready to change a head gasket with age and maybe an engine if hg denial brings you there.