EGR cooler

Oven Cleaner (get the heavy duty version) works well. Plug up one end of the cooler, spray in the oven cleaner. Wait. Rinse. Repeat.

 

I use oven cleaner. Soak it good from both ends and let it sit for 30 minutes or so.
Then use a pressure washer to clean it out. I didn't think about the pressure washer until someone
mentioned it. Sorry, can't remember who though.
If it's really clogged, you may have to do it several times. Some run a thin welding rod between the fins.
Just be careful NOT to damage the fins, or you could have a coolant leak.
There are several different methods. If you have access to a glass beader that would also work.
You could go online and do a search for the egr cooler, and should find several junk yards in different
state. I purchased one for $50 I think it was, including shipping.

 

The cooler is just like a radiator. You should be able to see through/between the tubes.
You can shine a flash light through it.

 

Oven cleaner is very alkaline, if the cooler is made from aluminium it might be a bad idea.

 

The cooler proper is all stainless, only the valve body is aluminum; just stay clear of that...

 

I used OxiClean on the EGR cooler, somewhat similar to oven cleaner, in that it's quite basic (caustic) albeit not as much so. Also more benign, won't burn your hands. I mixed powdered OxiClean with hot tap water, as much as I could dissolve plus a bit, swirled it good and shot into the cooler with a cork at the south end. Wait an hour while it bubbles, pour out and rinse well, then repeat. Five or six times thus it was very clean.

That said, it was pretty low miles when I did this. More clogged cases in particular, a light-duty pressure washer jet is supposedly a good persuader.

And for the (aluminum body) EGR valve yeah, avoid Oxi, just use something like carb or brake cleaner with brushes. Be careful of the electronics too.

Oxi works pretty good on the intake manifold too.

 

When mine was clogged, I tried break parts cleaner, oxyclean, oven cleaner, and seafoam. None of them really do much if you're already clogged. The only thing that worked for me was plunging each of the passageways with a thin coat hanger.

Once I got 70% of the gunk out that way, I did 6 more oxyclean soaks to get out the last 30%

 

Go for the pressure washer .

It’s the right tool for the job .

 

@taxidriver50005: BTW, was the thread title supposed to read "EGR Cooler"?? I do mental aerobics every time I read it, think the threads about ground-effects package, AC, or summit.

If so, you could report it, and ask mod to fix.

 

NIFTY! Now I want to clean my spare!

 

I used a combo of things. I tried carb cleaner at first that did nothing because of the severity of the clog. I then tried a soak with purple power for 4 hours then pressure washed it. That opened up the cooler to about 30 percent.
After that I did soaks with Easy Off oven cleaner and pressure washed for a few cycles and that got it pretty much open.

 

Looks a lot better.

Glad the pressure washer opened it up and it’s sorted now.

 

Easy Off oven cleaner and pressure washer is a good combo!

 

How many miles did the car have when you took those pictures? And what year is your Prius, if you dont mind me asking.

Good job on the cleaning, I am waiting for the weather to be nice on one of my days off then I'll be attempting this as well.

 

Duplicate post

 

It's a 2010 with just under 160,000 miles on it. The cooler was completely clogged and my car threw P0401 code. I cleaned the EGR PIPE the same way cause it's stainless steel too. But I learned the hard way of using the caustic cleaner on the EGR VALVE because the metal reacted and started forming this white gritty film on the surface. I wish I read Ed Beaty and Mendel Leisk comments before doing it. I immediately rinsed and soaked the EGR valve in highly acidic white vinegar and that neutralized the reaction. It seemed to just effect the surface, the internal parts were all fine. Good luck with the cleaning. Just have to be persistent and it will open up.

 

Baking Soda power would work too.

 

Has anyone tried an ultrasonic cleaner for the EGR cooler?

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