EGR Deposits and Intake Manifold Cleaning

I have used CRC QD Electrical Contact Cleaner on MAF sensor for 15+ years and it is great and leaves no residue and is safe on plastics. That is what I used on my MAP sensor too. This is from CRC's site: This cleaner is designed for use on sensitive electronic equipment and is plastic safe. Use on your Mass Air Flow sensor, electrical connectors, fuse blocks and so much more.

 

What is a PCV catch can?

 

A device to condense and collect the airborn oil in the Positive Crankcase Ventilation circuit, stop it from getting to the intake manifold or combustion chambers.

It's more commonly referred to as Oil Catch Can, sometimes as air/oil separator.

 

I know this thread is old but I just finished the entire intake - egr - de carbon...... it was pretty messed up.... nothing totally plugged but pretty close.. car has 206,000 miles. The egr cooler took 2 cans of oven cleaner and 3 cans of carb cleaner.....intake 2 cans cc car wash... actual egr valve really dirty....... now have a catch can and new denso plugs......car runs fantastic.

 

After owning a TDI I became VERY familiar with EGR issues. When you dump exhaust into a clean fuel system things get clogged and fail. I deleted mine mechanically and electronically on the VW and she purred like a kitten (even though the rest of the car was crap), but up to 2006 in Texas, diesels were not "smoged". It would be nice to do the same on the Prius 1.8, but no one has done the work...so there it is. It's a known issue with Prii so just take it apart, clean it and move on...but I would do this as routine preventative maintenance, not after it breaks. It's a whole lot easier and take less time that way.

 

Interesting read......may have already been posted....... this

 

Yeah I remember that one. I was thinking to use Purple Power. When I did the deed I first used Brake Cleaner, which "sorta" worked, but really just knocked off the loose stuff. @mjoo suggested Oxi-Clean, which was the bees knees for me, brought the EGR cooler to shiney-new clean. Oven cleaner is supposedly good too, a little more aggressive. They're both "basic" (as opposed to acidic) cleaners, react with carbon, can bubble it away.

 

If your EGR fails you will get a check engine light with code P0401. I recently purchased a 2011 Prius with 214,000 miles and have the shudder problem, but no check engine light. Everyone and their grandmother has a different opinion as to what causes this problem, and no this isn't an ICE issue. I have several friends who own 3rd gens and none of which have this issue. Previous owner installed new coil packs because he was informed that was the issue, intake, EGR, EGR pipe and cooler were cleaned and are spotless. Injectors have been gone through because another "technician" stated the injectors were the issue. Feels like the clutch for the hybrid system has come apart. And yes it has a clutch! I have even blasted the valves with walnut shells while the intake was off. I repeat, this is not normal. There are no codes, and no stored codes in the system.

 

Did you ever get to the bottom of this problem?

 

The thing though: Toyota seems to have set the parameter for "fail" VERY low. Owners are pulling off intake manifolds and EGR valve/cooler assemblies that are near-completely coked-up, and still no code.

 

I never saw a code w/ mine and the cooler was completely clogged. Any brake cleaner sprayed into one end just got absorbed and nothing came out of the other side.

 

I have a 2013. I don't know. I will clean the IM.

I did not have a problem. But it is progressive. I just read about the issue and tackled the egr pipe and egr cooler last week. It took just under 4 hours (At least an hour of mistakes on my part. Dropped socket was my nemesis plus reassembly mistakes) . Not to mention watching the Nutz video 3 times and buying the supplies. I used brake clean and bicycle spoke and tube brush.

I had 174,000 miles on the odometer. Just an educated guess the egr pipe had a 10 - 20% crud build up. A little less than Nutz video. The egr cooler still seemed to be flowing but i washed out a bunch crud.

Very typical driving habits. Reg gas, mid atlantic weather, i always change oil at 5000 miles, 10,000 is foolish. I went down that road with an Audi A4 with a turbo. I would drive to a sales call jump out for 45 minutes rinse and repeat all day. The wind up was the oil would cook / crystallize in the turbo and clog the screen on the oil pump in the oil pan. Audi bought me a new engine. I dont doubt oil is ok till 10k but at some point it degrades. I will err on the safe side. I also fill to below the top line line on the dip stick.

I just cleaned what i have.

I drive in Florda weather, with a long (37 mile) commute, very conservative driving, use tier-one fuel, and use Lucas Injector/fuel additive. With all that, I still think, if this is a design flaw I will be dealing with cleaning the IM and replacing EGR system at some point.

Tier one fuel? Not sure how anyone knows what they are getting. I just use Cheveron injector cleaner. I have used BG but its stupid expensive.
The egr cooler is not mechanical replacing seems like over kill. The valve is but, again i just cleaned it.

Any thoughts or answers to my questions?

Cheers