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Finally cleaned EGR

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Noahdoge, Jul 30, 2021.

  1. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    Thanks to all of you, I took a dive into my 3rd gen Prius. 2012 with 139k miles on it. I didn’t have any codes or problems (other than a few knocking situations in the coldest mornings of January), so this is all preventative maintenance.
    Never had any mechanical experience but I watched @NutzAboutBolts about 100 times before and read as many Priuschat forms as possible. I did it all in one day, 9 hours straight work in 100 degrees heat with high humidity. The EGR cooler and EGR intake ports were about 90% clogged. Soaked in purple power for 30 minutes, blasted with pressure washer for 10 minutes on both sides and soaked in brake cleaner. Came out perfectly clean!

    Here’s all that I did.
    Replaced intake manifold
    Replaced EGR valve
    Replaced PCV valve
    Cleaned EGR Cooler
    Cleaned EGR pipe
    Cleaned throttle body
    Cleaned MAF & MAP
    Set up OCC

    Getting the ECU updated for the TSB regarding the EGR here soon.
    Thanks for all the active members here that post in detail about their experiences and findings.
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 Noahdoge, Jul 30, 2021
    NutzAboutBolts, mjoo, Raytheeagle and 4 others like this.
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Thanks for the report!

    Did you happen to note down the ECM's EGR flow monitor value from before or after the cleaning or both?

    How did you obtain the 90%-clogged figure?
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Jul 30, 2021
  3. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    I don’t have tech stream so I unfortunately cannot provide any data. The 90% was just from putting a flashlight on the back and seeing how much light was coming through. It was mostly a rough estimate, but regardless it was almost completely plugged with carbon.
     
    #3 Noahdoge, Jul 30, 2021
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  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    In that EGR flow thread, people have reported using OBD-II tools other than Techstream to get the flow monitor value. Any tool, smartphone app, etc., that is able to do "mode 6" monitor result queries can do it.
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Jul 30, 2021
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  5. msg4life

    msg4life Member

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    Just remember the OCC will help cold start since condensation and blowby will accumulate in the occ than the intake manifold. Also egr cooler needs constant cleaning do not wait since if it gets plugged you can cause the cylinder to get to hot and the combustion can cause a gasket failure.
     
    #5 msg4life, Jul 30, 2021
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    One thing with those "before" pics of the cooler, if you're using a phone, tap on the dark interior, or whatever your phone does to determine what should be exposed correctly, because otherwise it sees all that bright flange and the interior's nothing but black. Which it is, lol, but...

    Or..., look into the Hipstamatic app. Besides neat retro effects, it allows very easy locking of exposure. And focus.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Jul 30, 2021
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  7. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    thats....insanity!!!
     
    #7 Grit, Jul 30, 2021
  8. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    This was the best way I could mount the occ. The drivers side headlight didn’t work out well enough.
     

    Attached Files:

    #8 Noahdoge, Jul 30, 2021
  9. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    I still have the old manifold and valve so I will take better photos of them. Didn’t bother to do anything to them.
     
    #9 Noahdoge, Jul 30, 2021
  10. msg4life

    msg4life Member

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    Its because the egr is before the catalytic converter so the exhaust is quite dirty
     
    #10 msg4life, Jul 30, 2021
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    geez, took me a while. Right in the middle:

    6D6698E4-B633-4F9C-8ACB-86E5F5CE1026.jpeg
    (Helps to follow hose from PCV valve)
     
    #11 Mendel Leisk, Jul 31, 2021
  12. OptimusPriustus

    OptimusPriustus Active Member

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    Please let us know how MPG figures look like after this
     
    #12 OptimusPriustus, Jul 31, 2021
  13. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    i was quoting another user’s reply to that conclusion, but I do agree with you.
     
    #13 Grit, Jul 31, 2021
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  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah it's an inside joke. Can't remember who declared me nuts though; @Grit maybe has it in his on-deck quotes??
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Jul 31, 2021
  15. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    jack black.
     
    #15 Grit, Jul 31, 2021
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