Finally replaced EGR valve/cooler today

For the EGR removal, you for sure need an E8 Torx socket (likely 1/4" drive). A ratcheting 12mm wrench is not mandatory, but very useful, for the rearmost cooler bolts. If it has a pivoting head that might help too.

If you want to remove the 2 studs in intake manifold (for throttle body), an E6 Torx socket is needed. This is not mandatory, but if you're cleaning the intake manifold, the studs are a little fragile, safer to remove them.

To avoid coolant spills with the EGR removal, drain a couple of liters of engine coolant at the outset, return it to the reservoir after.

For cleaning the EGR cooler, a strong solution of OxyClean in hottest available tap water is very effective. Let it soak for a at least an hour (one end of cooler plugged), then flush with hot tap water, and repeat, 5~6 times.

For the EGR valve, stick to Brake Cleaner and brushes: Oxy may react with the aluminum.

Some torque values, foot/pounds unless noted:

PCV valve: 15
Intake manifold bolts/nuts: 21
EGR pipe bolts: 7
EGR studs: 7
EGR nuts: 15
Throttle body nuts/bolts: 7
Throttle body studs: 44 inch/pounds (3.6666 foot/pounds)

 

If you're extra vigilant, like me whenever I work on my car, you can unplug the HV battery. That'll ensure that the engine cannot turn on it's own.

Pixel XL ?

 

Can you please provide any link for E8 and E6 Torx socket?

What is oxy clean?

 

Harbor Freight has a set of torx sockets.

Oxy clean is household cleaner. Amazon has it reasonably priced.

 

Oxy you can get in any major grocery store. My wife just happened to insist we get it recently when we were in Costco (the Costco sized box of course).

 

How'd it look after the Purple Power?

IIRC OxyClean didn't work too well for you, though maybe it was due to using cold water?

 

FWIW, before using Oxy I did a fair bit of spray/soak with Braklean. The results with the latter were lackluster, but maybe they acted like a one-two punch, following up with Oxy. Who knows. Also, my cooler was not really socked-in with carbon, only around 71K kilometers.

But at the end of that process it was shiny-steel clean.

 

Our Prius is a bit of a garage queen, a couple of days downtime is no big deal, the norm actually.

 

When mine was plugged I used #18 copper but piano wire sounds like it worked just as well. I used a drill and it was a breeze.

 

I didnt know you could clean the EGR without removing it , did you have to unbolt it ?

 

If I may jump in: @danlatu had the EGR removed.

I also used wire a bit, but it was mainly OxyClean that did the cleaning. It wasn't that clogged though, only around 70K kms.

 

Ahh Thanks , I realise that I misread the post ,

I am planning on installing the oil catch can from above in the next few weeks ,

I guess I should look at cleaning the EGR at the same time ...

 

I did my egr today, mine has only done 139,000 miles but I figured it was worth it just for the prevention factor.
I bought a used cooler from eBay last week for about $50, when I got it I wasn’t surprised to find it was pretty clogged.


Couldn’t find oxi clean but I remembered someone saying that the active ingredient was hydrogen peroxide and when that mixed with hot water it created a fizzing that cleaned the cooler, so I found an equivalent in our local supermarket.
A few treatments later

Cleaner and with an led light behind it you can see right through, however it took another 2 treatments to really get it looking good

So I set about stripping the car apart today, I had seen the YouTube video and figured this was well within my abilities.
Scuttle off.


It’s amazing how much more room you have with all that removed, and looking at the video from nutzandboltz I have a feeling that right hand drive cars have more room in the area I was working


Less than an hour later I had the cooler off the car, it wasn’t as bad as I had expected



There was a led lamp underneath it, that’s the light you can see

And the egr


Cleaned the egr, assembled the cooler and 30 mins later it was all bolted up and running, the final job was draining the air out of the heater hoses, I’m glad mine is an early gen 3 with the bleed valve


Yes the lower cooler nut is a pain to do, if you lie on the engine and get at it from the back of the engine it’s quite easy, if you try and get at it through all the HV cables and heater hoses you have no chance.

I’m now cleaning my old one and keeping that as a back up unit, may swap it back out in 50k miles and see how clogged it has got



2010 Gen 3

 

I just remeberd bout this dissolving solution TCE trichloroethylen. I used it several times in the past to melt all epoxy from black boxes and other things. Its a cancerous solution. Well egr cooler is all metal so no problem there. I used it in ultrasonic bath and after less yhan 1 minute all epoxy became like cotton.
I dont see any problem with carbon.
Again this is a cancerous material.

 

So did you use this on the EGR cooler? I'd stick to Oxy, more benign, can go down the drain.

 

No. Dealer cleaned my cooler with a new eg valve couple weeks ago under warranty. My car is good now no complains I'm over 50 mpg for a long time now, i just remembered about it now. I guess using TCE is not a right way to go just wanted to get a mechanic-chemist opinion bout it