Verification of EGR cleaning

In the States, Tampa Hybrids offers 3rd gen Prius EGR cleaning, for around $600~800 USD IIRC.

It takes me, an elderly duffer, about 6~8 hours, coincidentally. I think for them it’d be about 1/2 that time, due to experience and equipment.

brand new components, especially the intake manifold, are about a grand USD.

 

I was able to buy the entire EGR train from exhaust to engine for under $1000 USD. 25% off sale, dealer discounts and free shipping.

 

$995?

The only components I would even consider replacing are the cooler, if it’s completely carbon choked, and the valve, if it’s got internal damage, a groove worn in a ramp is the common issue.

to replace intake manifold or the pipe (between valve and intake manifold) just to avoid cleaning (which entails an hour at most) seems absurd.

 

Not to make anyone feel bad, but the cooler and the valve is shared among many Toyota models.

Hence the price for salvage yard deals are low if you can get the entire assembly..

I bought a complete cooler and valve for 20eu from rrr.com / Latvia. It’s so cleaned now (with air only) and ready to replace my re-clogged cooler next year. (Just checking the EGR monitor for a drop to below 15 from 20 kPa).

 

I am not litterate enough to interpret this. Please elaborate!

 

Wow. Paying for cleaning is just pure idiocy compared to replacing every component then.

 

Yes. Owners resort to these purchases because:

1. Competent professionals are few and far between.

2. If owners DIY'ing, the get the notion that cleaning is the daunting time sink. In my experience it's the parts removal and disassembly that takes the most time. In the top two links in my signature, there's a list of tools, tips and strategies. One that's crucial, get the cooler out as early in the process as possible, one end corked, filled with a caustic solution (Oxi-Clean for mild, lye if you don't want to mess around)

The first time I did this it cost me nothing. The second time about $35 CDN, I elected to replace intake manifold gaskets. Took me all told about 6 hours on a saturday, and a couple more hours sunday morning, completing the reassemble. And I work slow.

Only had one left-over cowl bolt, and I looked thoroughly...

 

OUCH!!!! That's a LOT of money....

 

Can you clarify what you mean when you say "The monitor does not do this"?

If you're saying the monitor does not give a human the ability to fiddle the valve position step by step, then we agree on the obvious and nothing more interesting has been said.

If you're saying the ECM does not itself control the valve opening and closing in incremental steps when it conducts the monitor self-test, then it's unclear how exactly you think the monitor self-test even works.

Another way to look at it: what the ECM does, every time it repeats that monitor self-test, is a test you could imagine being able to duplicate with the scan tool active test if your scan tool allowed you to monitor the RPM, coolant temp, speed, fuel-cut status, and MAP reading simultaneously in real time with no CAN bus latency, and your reflexes were quick enough to recognize the prerequisite driving conditions, drive the valve to two different step positions, note the two corresponding MAP readings and subtract them, and do that all within three seconds while verifying the preconditions didn't change in that time. That's what the self-test does.