My Prius is down 4 quarts of oil 9000 miles after oil change

What would be the single best way to minimize or reduce carbon, and/or sludge build-up during the first 10 years of owning the car?

 

Don't drive it.

 

For a more serious answer, use top tier fuel. It has a higher level of detergents that fend off deposits longer. It won't prevent it, but will prolong the time deposits form.

 

oil catch can

Pixel XL ?

 

any photos of these passages? i only saw the one that the egr tube attaches too?

Pixel XL ?

 

Here is a photo borrowed from Dan Latu's blown head gasket thread. You can see the EGR pipe still attached on the lower left. The main passageway is a continuation of that, and extends all the way over to the far end. I drew a dashed line showing where that is, as well as the four small branches that are the exit points. If you zoom in and look at the inside of the four large ovals you'll see a hole at the bottom edge in each that leads to that main EGR passageway (red arrows point to these). If you ran water from a garden hose into the end of that EGR pipe, those four holes are where the water would come out. If those passageways are sludged up, you need to use a long pipe cleaner brush to clean the main passageway, and a smaller diameter pipe brush to clean the smaller holes (along with your solvent of choice). I bought a cheap set of pipe brushes from Harbor Freight that worked well.

 

i saw those holes when i disassembled just sprayed them with some degreaser. didnt know what they were for. Guess i will do another tear down and perform a proper cleaning. Thanks for the info!

Pixel XL ?

 

Just finished mine at 101k miles. The egr was about 75% clogged. An overnight soak in kool aid. Yes you read that right. Kool aid! And it looks like new. Old sailors trick to soak brass parts in kool aid for a few hours to clean them and they come out looking like new. Had to use purple power on the intake though. Kool aid didn't touch the crud in that.

Also sacrificed a couple bore brushes from my gun cleaning kit to scrub out the passages in the intake. The small holes at the engine side lead to a port that feeds the egr pipe. Took a ton of scrubbing to get it clean. Took some weedeater line, chucked it in a cordless drill and fed it into those passages to scrape it clean. Worked like a charm. Didn't need to do similar to the egr as it came out spotless

 

Neat trick - I'll have to try Kool aid sometime on my engine parts!

My approach to the intake manifold was treating it like washing dishes. This took about an hour:
1. I filled a large size container with hot water and dish detergent.
2. Dunked and drained the manifold several times in the hot solution.
3. Drain the manifold.
4. Scrubbed the insides of the manifold with nylon pipe cleaners. Nylon so that you don't score the plastic. The sludge and varnish sticks to everything and must be dissolved by the cleaner to completely remove.
5. Spray through all the openings with clean water.
6. Repeated steps 2-5 until it looks like a new part.

Pixel XL ?

 

I use Techron infused fuel only. It is unique to Texaco and Chevron stations. Plus, if you use their card you get 3 cents per gallon off the cash price.

 

Do you have to add the sugar?

How did it taste after the soaking?

 

We usually buy Costco or Arco. Only when in a spot do we splurge for the 40-50 cent / gallon more Chevron gas. If you shop a Safeway enough, they give you 20 cents per gallon off at Chevron.

The Techron additive that you can buy over the counter as injector cleaner is a knock off of The BG Products 44k product. That gets added every 12 months or 15 k miles.

 

No sugar. I prefer the lemon kool aid. Kills the grease tatste. Lemon juice would work too. It's the citric acid that does the work. Cheap too. 10 packs for a buck at the dollar store.

 

I buy almost all of my gas in Arizona, so I always save about 80 cents to a dollar over SoCal prices. But, let's say you do pay 40 cents more fo Chevron or Texaco gas. Over 100,000 miles at 40 mpg per gallon (very conservative) you would save $1000 over the life of the car. Say that takes you 7 to rack up that mileage. You have saved $12 a month. That's the equivalent of 1 fancy coffee drink per week. Suggestion: skip the coffee drink and be healthier and buy quality gas to save your car.

There is no savings in using grocery store loyalty cards to rack up points for gas. Those cards are a scam.

 

Since we don't buy fancy coffee we'll continue to pocket the $12 or so a month like we have been for many years.

I'll keep using the grocery chain loyalty cards and keep putting that savings away too! My wife every Sunday clips coupons and organizes them and pairs that with savings at the store. Let's just say we are thrifty.

I think Safeway and their stakeholders have enough money. Since we would grocery shop there anyway, I will continue to look out for us.

 

Today before I reinstalled everything I stopped, grabbed a strong flashlight and took a long hard look at the Prius Intake system. I've come to the conclusion that fuel additives only benefit the injectors. Top tier fuel as some of you call it is a waste of money. The only thing flowing through intake manifold is air and whatever gunk makes it past the pcv valve. The fuel injectors are literally 1 inch away from the valves. After 100k miles my valves looked new. Everything before it looked like crap due to the gunk that made it past the Pcv. The addition of an oil catch can is the first thing every Prius owner should install. Top tier fuel and fuel additives are added to correct a problem. The catch can STOPS that problem or at least delays it significantly. It's the oil blow by that clogs the intake passages and the egr. All the additives in the world won't fix that.

14/1. Remember that ratio. For every gallon of fuel your car uses it co consumes 14 gallons of air. (Yes I know I'm being simplistic but bear with me). An 8 oz bottle of whatever wiz bang miracle cure in a bottle you can name is diluted by 10 gallons of fuel then that gallon is again diluted by 14 gallons of air. If you expect cures or improvements from that, then you simply lack critical thinking skills.

Bottom line, run the cheap gas, install an oil catch can and stop wasting money on fuel additives. Anything else is pure hogwash. Don't believe me? Personally remove your intake, grab a good flashlight and take a look for yourself. From the injector to the valves after 100k miles of careful maintenance is pristine. From the injectors back to the egr was a holy mess. It was the oil blow by that made the mess. I wish I installed the catch can 40k miles ago when I bought it.

 

See my above post. Prolonging the deposits is vital imho. The catch can is key to making this happen. Do that and top tier fuel is a waste.

 

Do you pay a premium for top tier gas, cause I don't? It's the same price as the local Kwik Serv. And this is not unique to the Bay Area of California (I have lived in 4 states in various regions of the country and it has held there as well).

Why not go with something that prolongs deposit formation since it is cost neutral?

The combustion side of the equation is separated from the oil side. Until the engine tolerances grow from age and mileage, oil shouldn't be passing through the combustion side. Until then, the only incomplete combustion that occurs should be from petroleum distillates, which will form deposits unless the detergents help fend it off.

There are 2 reasons that people buy something from one source versus another:

1. It is the same price but better quality
2. It is a lower price

I'll keep buying Top Tier Fuel.

 

The puddle of oil in the intake that I observed and has been reported by many others is proof enough for me that the combustion side is not separated from the oil side. My wife is taking delivery of a 2017 Prius 3 tomorrow. It will have a catch can installed before the first oil change.

Use whatever fuel makes you happy man.