EGR cooler

Have you thought about doing it yourself? I did mine.......

 

Just make sure they see the videos online of what to clean. It takes hours..... It took an entire day. Best thing is to remove cooler and soak it in carb cleaner or gas for a couple of days....I also used the wire off one of those marker flags that go in your yard for locating.
Others have used oxi clean.....I used oven cleaner, gas, carb cleaner power washer.... It's apparently critical to get this done or you risk head gasket failure.... go to youtube and watch the videos....

 

I wanted mine totally clean, so I soaked it for 6 weeks. I plugged the openings with rubber stoppers, filled it wit cleaner, and checked it every week. Every week, the solution came out a tan color. The last time, it came out totally clear. So, I knew it was as clean a brand new one.

 

Good idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The things are extremely dirty and hard to clean.

 

Has anyone actually gone to a mechanic to have this done? If so, what was the cost?

 

Crickets...

 

LOL yeah. Most mechanics I've heard of don't clean anything at all, ever. The sales guy would probably look at you funny if you even asked. (not that it's not a bad question, just that's how they are).

Often when I work on something, the cleaning is a good fraction of the total effort.

There's much more money to be made in replacing parts vs. repairing things efficiently.

 

Done properly without shortcuts, this type of service just isn't going to cover their needs for boat and vacation home payments. At least, not without scaring off customers with higher price quotes than they will be willing to pay.

Thus, the DIY angle.

 

Yeah, it's just one of the "features" of third gen ownership.

 

If you don't have a back up vehicle it would be nice to have a salvage cooler.... already prepped........

 

Thx for the feedback. I guess the realistic route with a mechanic would be to replace (not clean) the parts as a preventative measure. Any estimate on that cost?

(I'm at 74k miles so I'm thinking ahead.)

 

@Raytheeagle had it down to about 4~5 hours. Say 4 hours pro labour at $100 per hour minimum? I'd suspect someone very familiar with this could shave it down to 2 hours, no problem. But would they charge only 2 hours, who knows.

Maybe a middle ground: supply them a cleaned and ready to go EGR cooler, but they clean the EGR valve, which is trivial.

Also....: the intake manifold. It has EGR passageways; you can restore the the rest of EGR circuit to as-new condition, but if you haven't touched the intake your work is for naught.

I really don't think you want to replace the intake manifold. Removal, rudimentary cleaning (concentrating on the EGR passageways and resinstall of that, maybe 2 hours labour? They'd charge three though.

Seven hours labour at $100 per hour, plus the cost of a salvage EGR cooler you clean yourself in advance, you're getting close to a grand.

Turn it around: if you DIY, you can do it for next to nothing. I did ours at 70K kms, replaced no gaskets (they looked like new). I bought one can of brake cleaner, found it was pretty much useless on the EGR cooler, used a few tablespoons of OxiClean we had on hand: success.

 

Cleaning at 70,000 miles probably easy......but at 200,000 a whole different story.... like digging out concrete.....
I poured water in one end and nothing came out the other end.....

 

I don't think I bought a gasket........ (senior moment)

 

That was 70K kilometers.

After the first time, really not hard at all.

 

OK, I'm sold. LOL

But which of these is what I need:
Stain Remover Products | OxiClean™

And looking into it a little, it seems that oxiclean dissolves to create hydrogen peroxide, which does the magic. How about just using hydrogen peroxide?

 

I always say that to mess with Canadians........

 

We have a box of powdered Oxi-Clean, the laundry detergent additive, Costco purchase:



I basically mix it as concentrated as possible with hot tap water (and then some), cork one end of the EGR cooler, swirl the solution and shoot in in quick. Aim for a little less volume than required to fill the cooler, so you can dissolve the Oxi that didn't dissolve with a little more, top it up.

Before I got organized with corks:



This is mainly for the EGR cooler, which is 100% stainless steel. The EGR valve is mostly aluminum, apart from the valve and valve seat, so really don't want to use Oxi there. It might be just cosmetic, but I suspect Oxi, being a fairly strong base, will quickly dull the valve finish, make it look like old zinc. Carburetor cleaner, or Brake cleaner will work; the valve is relatively open and accessible.

It is possible to clean the valve pretty much completely WITHOUT removing the black cap (which can be a pain, and might even damage the innards. I would just use something like brass brushes and carb cleaner, and around the lip of the valve gently pry up with a knife or thin screwdriver, run Q-tips or whatever around the edge.

Ditto for the EGR pipe, between valve and intake manifold.

Speaking which, the intake manifold you can soak with Oxi, take the throttle body studs out (Torx E6), just for safety, avoid them getting bent. You might start with carb cleaner, wipe out what you can, then switch to Oxi soaks.


(Note I bolted the EGR pipe on, to act as a filler neck.)

After a bit:



Note EGR channels really pumping out the crud:



Inside diameters of the cooler, for corks, are in this info:

EGR COOLER INFO:
part number: 25601-37010
Intake opening diameter (at exhaust): 20.9 mm (I got white rubber corks suitable for this end, made in China)
exit opening diameter (at EGR valve): 25.7 mm
coolant pipe spigots dia (3): 17.0 mm (exclusive of rib at end
coolant pipe spigots dia (1): 9.1 mm (exclusive of rib at end
EGR VALVE INFO:
part number: 25620-37110
INTAKE MANIFOLD INFO:
part number: 17120-37050
supersceded by: 17120-37051
Then, for EGR misfire condition, by: 17120-37054
and then: 17120-37091

Some boilerplate info:

The simplest way to see where you're at, is to check the degree of carbon build up in the EGR pipe, a stainless steel connecting pipe between the EGR valve and intake manifold. Watch @NutzAboutBolts video #16 here:

Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

Two or three other videos linked there too, for the full cleaning of the intake manifold, full EGR clean, and Oil Catch Can install.

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 (or 1/2 plus reducer)
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.

Couple of relevant repair manual sections attached, with torque values: