ERG and EGR cooler question

Fix that title while you can, lol.

And yes to all your questions.

The EGR valve/cooler assembly is likely not "going bad", just clogged, and with some perseverance you should be able to do the whole job, and the intake manifold, by just cleaning, not replacing.

With those miles probably a good idea to replace the intake manifold gasket, and the gasket between the EGR pipe and intake manifold. The other gaskets are all metal, should be fine.

So apart from the cost of gaskets, and maybe a can of brake-cleaner (and some Oxi-Clean for the cooler, and/or a pressure washer), you can do this for zip, reusing the EGR components, after cleaning.

Also look into Oil Catch Cans.

Good thread:

EGR & Intake Manifold Clean Results | PriusChat

Another:

Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock! | PriusChat

Some tools worth having:

E8 Torx socket (mandatory)
E6 Torx socket (optional, but good to have, to remove the throttle body studs from intake manifold)
3/8" ratchet wrench, regular and long handle, flex head, you can never have enough
1/4" ratchet wrench, or 3/8" to 1/4" reducer
Ratchet extensions: you can never have enough
Long needle nose piers, straight and bent tip
Ratcheting 12mm box wrench (optional, but makes disconnection of the EGR cooler from exhaust easier)
Torque wrench (3/8" and 1/4" both good to have)
Floor jack and safety stands (or ramps): basically some method to raise front, if you need to take underpanel off, which you may need to, both for access and to recover dropped items.

 

Whenever I get around to this ordeal, I won't be able to leave the car raised for a long period. If I let it down after removing the underpanel, would that cause major access difficulties with the rest of the project?

 

I had the car raised for the duration, and regretted it, makes for more of a reach for everything. My memory's getting a little flaky, but I believe I did everything from above, including the rear connection between EGR cooler and exhaust. So I'd say yeah.

If you're VERY carful, don't drop anything, there's no need to take the engine underpanel off. So maybe just cross that bridge if-and-when you come to it. And if you do drop something, there's no guarantee it'll make it all the way through, fall out the bottom.

If you drain a couple of liters of coolant at the outset, from the radiator (to avoid spillage when removing the EGR), that CAN be done without removal of the underpanel: there's openings near the front of the underpanel, towards driver's side, likely expressly for access to the radiator drain spigot.

 

I pre-drained coolant exactly that way (underpanel still on). You feed a tube as a funnel up through the oval cutout in the panel, then (with airbox removed) reach down to turn the yellow spigot while loosely holding the tube over the port. The drained coolant was then poured through a paper coffee filter before reusing. But anyone doing this should still plan to have some new coolant on hand to replace the inevitable spillage.

Plus -- after the EGR job is finished, you'll have the mojo to completely replace the engine coolant and inverter coolant and consider the transaxle oil as well. At 140K, that's overdue if it hasn't been done before. But first things first....

 

[QUOTE="wheezyglider, post: 2894960, member: 74275" ] -- after the EGR job is finished, you'll have the mojo to completely replace the engine coolant and inverter coolant and consider the transaxle oil as well. At 140K, that's overdue if it hasn't been done before. But first things first....[/QUOTE]
That makes some sense, to minimize the number of times taking off the cumbersome undercover. Compared to complete EGR cleaning, the transaxle oil change is a quick, easy task, other than dealing with the undercover.

 

Quite true and yet I still total-failed my first attempt because you have to get all four wheels up, which I've never done before. For some reason a leaky bottle jack way under that rear jack point wasn't really cutting it. So I gave up on the transaxle and did the coolants and engine oil (with only front raised). Then I wondered if coolant should also be done at level, because I used less than expected to refill by about 2qt. (Even with maintenance mode.) Argh.

Now I have a $30 trolley jack waiting for another windless day. But I read somewhere that you can maybe get at the transaxle plugs through the oil change flap. If that turns out to be stupid I will found out why the hard way.

 

Upper right corner of your initial post if I recall correctly. The "window" for editing might have, past; it's maybe 12 hours??

 

I believe you technically you can, but I would take it off: draining oil stream might splash on it, and it's really a good idea, if only to check everything over.

If you've never had it off it's likely the plastic fasteners will be "challenging". Coax them off, take your time, and wash them out thorougly before reinstall. It's trapped grit that jams them.

There's fastener part numbers in the attached:

 

If you’re going to remove the EGR, you may as well replace the spark plugs while you’ve got all that stuff out of the way, unless you replaced the plugs already when you were supposed to at 120K miles.

Also, that ratcheting box-end wrench really matters for the EGR project.

 

I avoid that problem by doing it on a moderate grade, with rear wheels up the hill and front wheels on ramps, so the car ends up approximately level.

 

My drill:

Equipment:
3 ton jack
4 safety stands
4 solid rubber wheel chocks

1. Chock both rear wheels fore and aft. Release parking brake.
2. Raise front with the jack, at front/centre jacking point.
3. Settle front onto safety stands*.
4. Raise rear with jack, at rear/centre jacking point.
5. Settle rear onto safety stands*. (If the slab is a little of plane, you may need to finetune one of the rear safety stands with a little shim, to ensure solid 4-point support.)
6. Lower in reverse order.

* I don't put the safety stands at the proscribed scissor jack locations, prefer these points:

 

This idea has actually crossed my mind since I have a sloped driveway, but I've never seen it done. Time to get the tape measure out...

Agreed the pinch seam points are not at all great with regular stands. I use those same front points (inside those wishbone bracket things) to back up my ramps. Will look for those rear points next time I'm under, seems like the only spot that isn't plastic or suspension.

What's hilarious is that the Repair Manual has you drive and then stop on a flat road after the transaxle fluid change to verify that the level is good. I'd guess this has actually been done by nobody nowhere at no time.

 

I rechecked level a day after my first transaxle fluid change: it hadn't changed.

It would be relatively easy for a garage with a lift, though overkill. For the DIY'r, it's a hassle, and if you got it right, everything's tight, it's pointless.

The rear jackstand points I use are on a "hump" of heavy gauge reinforced steel. There's oval openings (with rubber covers) just down the slope a little. I think it's where locator/locking pins insert, during shipping? It's most practical with the jackstand cradles oriented with long dimension parallel to pinch weld, considering the way the hump goes.

 

If you live in California it should still be under warranty.
15yrs/150k mi


iPhone ?

 

Ha of course you did Mendel! But that Repair Manual instruction to just "stop on a flat road and open the fill plug" reads like it was copypasta from a pickup that you can just pop under without using a jack or removing a panel. I'd think if you can verify that you pumped in 3.5qt. without spilling, it should be OK to just visually check for leaks through the oil flap. Otherwise the extra effort is cheap insurance on a very expensive component.

Anyway -- thanks for the tips -- and apologies for turning this thread into a transaxle fluid change discussion!

I hope OP's EGR clean is going well. To return to topic, here's a photo I wish I had beforehand showing how to get that one wiring harness clip off the intake manifold. It's not a great shot but the tabs are on the left and right and you have to access them from above. I'm not the only newbie to have lost 1/2 an hour to this darned thing.

 

The egr circuit?

 

Thanks. I should caution that this method could be hazardous if your slope is steep. Where I am, it works out about right, except there is a little side slope as well as forward slope, so I have to use a higher ramp on one side.

 

For sure use some heavy duty chocks fore and aft of the wheels still on the ground, if raising one end on a slope. Still, I'd rather just do both ends (on level ground) with more safety stands. Some have also ran one end up on ramps, jack the other end. .