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New EGR Cooler Coolant Tip - milk jugs and plastic bottles

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by gboss, Aug 17, 2024.

  1. gboss

    gboss Member

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    The good news: I found a simple Prius-dogma way to drain the coolant without going down to the radiator spigot or spilling everything into the engine.

    The bad news: I dropped a 12mm socket and the metal gasket w/ clip between the EGR cooler / engine. I can't see them and have no idea how to retrieve them from the bottom of the engine bay. I'm pretty sure they dropped to the bottom...this is disaster.

    EGR coolant tip:
    1. Get yourself an empty milk jug (or 2L soda bottle) and a few plastic water bottles.
    2. Cut the tops off of each bottle
    3. Find the small coolant tube coming out of the throttle bottle to the EGR cooler
    4. Hold the large bottle with cutoff top next to it
    5. Disconnect the tube and swing it ontop of the large bottle...let it drain
    6. Use the small plastic water bottles in the same fashion for the other lines (these bottles are smaller and fit in the tighter spaces). Most of the coolant has been drained already so there won't be much left in the other lines.
    7. Empty the large jug and any small bottles into a stock water bottle for storage so you can pour it back later.

    This worked out really well for me and didn't leave any spills. You can also see how much coolant was stored in the EGR coolant area - about 15oz. I've got my cooler sitting in Mendel's suggested oxyclean solution in a bucket and hope to blast it out tomorrow with a pressure washer.
    tempImage3Mq4As.png
    IMG_1921.jpg
    tempImageI9Fy1W.png
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Just put another 12 mm nut stud bolt whatever it is you dropped and be done with it it's probably going to fall out onto the ground I'm assuming all your plastic is sitting under there and you have your little oil door and insulation and everything is real pretty so you can pull all that down and you can get under the car and smack on it and maybe the bolt nut or stud is sitting down there and you'll hear it rattling around you'll never get it to fall out but you'll know it's there and or you can remove all that plastic and pull down on it and just form it to find this little bolt. Every time I get one of these cars over here there's a few little bolts and nuts hanging out in those plastic pieces A lot of times those plastic pieces are hanging and all fubar I remove them take pictures of them for the customer showing the crap that's come out of them and then tell him he can go buy new ones or whatever and we can put all that stuff back up pretty or given the condition of the car he can forget it and let it rip his choice totally they usually go in the trash.
     
  3. gboss

    gboss Member

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    Yeah, next step is to remove the entire panel. It was the actual socket from the wrench that fell down into the bay...hoping it doesn't hit any of the electric motor moving parts if I can't find it.

    Might as well change coolant, invert coolant, and transaxle while I’m down there.
     
    #3 gboss, Aug 18, 2024
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2024
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I see your table lamp:

    [​IMG]

    And raise you a floor lamp:

    upload_2024-8-18_11-26-36.png

    Read 'em and weep:

    upload_2024-8-18_11-29-49.png
     
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  5. gboss

    gboss Member

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    You got me @Mendel Leisk , too rich for my blood! Cake too...now you're just showing off - I'm trying not burst a blood vessel during this tedious operation.

    Finally got things back together but haven't turned it on yet. I thought I caught most of the coolant but I guess the small amount I spilled was wayy more than I thought..not sure how:
    tempImagecpzoGg.png

    I'm going to replace spark plugs while I have the cowl off and then test it. Do you think it's okay to test the engine on this amount of coolant at idle and maybe a short drive? /forgot to leave the top EGR hose disconnected when refilling but will let is sit overnight and hopefully it makes its way through ...we really need to a make sticky with all the small steps

    Also, I just read about someone taking their car to the stealership to upgrade the cooling pump logic in the ECU via a TSB after doing the EGR circuit? I'm lost, is that required for this too?
     
    #5 gboss, Sep 1, 2024
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2024
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Never heard of that.

    Is there ANY coolant in that reservoir? I’d be inclined to score a gallon of Toyota Super Long Life, top it up before driving.

    that was pumpkin pie, made with Halloween pumpkins no less, that’d been lurking in the freezer for at least a year. :)
     
  7. gboss

    gboss Member

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    I’ve got 2 gallons of coolant, ready to go to do the flush on the inverter and the engine. Along with transmission fluid. I just thought I’d try to start the car up and make sure no codes start flying if I did something wrong with the EGR circuit and spark plugs.

    Still confused why that coolant is so low (it was already at the low mark when I started the circuit) as I thought I caught nearly all of it .
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Explain "caught".

    Did you do a preemptive 2 quart drain (from the radiator drain spigot), prior to pulling the cooler hoses? This'll leave the EGR components more-or-less dry.

    Did you leave the throttle body coolant hoses connected? They have enough slack that you can pull the TB off the intake manifold, tie it too the inverter cables.

    More info on both the above in top link in my signature (on a phone turn it landscape to see signatures).
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think @ChapmanF had the pump software updated iirc
     
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  10. gboss

    gboss Member

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    Yup, I drained the 2 quarts in the new method I described in my OP (I used a fuel line clamp on the hose running from the EGR cooler to the throttle body after moving it out of the way from the intake manifold....same method as going for the radiator spigot but without having to get under the vehicle). There was some slight spillage when one of the clamped coolant lines I had tied up high fell below the cooler, but it was a small puddle...or so I thought.

    Also, if anyone is interested...this is what my spark plugs looked like after 110,00k miles and a clogged EGR (new one on bottom for comparison):
    tempImager1VSh5.png
     
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  11. gboss

    gboss Member

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    I'm going to do a coolant change but want to startup the car to make sure the engine with the new plugs and EGR works ok so that I can use maintenance mode to get out the air bubbles. Am I ok at the this sub-low level of coolant?

    Seems like a waste to pour new coolant in only to drain it again.
     
  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The only TSB that I've seen that mentioned a firmware update specifically about the water pump was a European one, and of course it referred to a European version of the firmware that won't be flashed on a US car.

    I looked at US TSBs from around the same time that mentioned an ECM firmware update and didn't say much about what it changes, and I speculated that maybe they included the same water pump control changes into it without fanfare. So I asked my dealer to update me to that version. (It's the same one that's mentioned in two different TSBs, one for an intake manifold change and one for an EGR valve change.)

    I have no idea really whether that version does include any water pump changes or not. That was just my speculation. But hey, anyway, I've got a newer firmware version. And it's a version newer than the stop-backfiring-and-blowing-hoses-off fix, so presumably I've got that fix, too.
     
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  13. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    I have also dropped 12mm socket down and spent a lot of time searching for it. I was determined to find it as I did not want someone potentially be hit by the projectile on a highway. I found it after taking the front driver's wheel off. It was literally hiding under the steering support bracket, see the picture...
     

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    #13 Prius DIY nut, Sep 3, 2024
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2024
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  14. gboss

    gboss Member

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    Finished the full engine coolant flush (without removing the under panel) - thanks to everyone that helped out.

    I ended up running maintenance mode for 45 minutes, the fans went on a bunch of times and I also ran the heater on high like NutzandBoltz's video. The coolant did not go down from the B-line very much even after that duration, so I took it for a spirited drive on a country road with the pedal down, attempted to drift around corners but I guess my tires have too good of traction. Now the coolant sits slightly above the Full line:
    tempImageAzln4o.png

    Even though I'm going to do a transmission fluid change, I did the coolant without taking off the under panel. I haven't seen any pictures in the threads regarding where to stick your arm os this is view of the radiator spigot from the pan below that it drains into:
    IMG_2163.jpg

    This is the view from the hole just behind the drain hole (it's about 3-5x the size), where I twisted my arm up into while lying on the ground next to the driver's side wheel and used a crescent wrench for added leverage since the knob was stuck and its at a really awkward angle:
    IMG_2162.jpg
     
  15. gboss

    gboss Member

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    Nice! That's crazy how it got wedged in there.

    Funny you brought that up, mine flew out on the spirited test drive I mentioned in my last post and sounded like baseball being hit at 100mph, which is about what I was driving....luckily nobody was behind or oncoming. I got out and traced the raced on foot....found it dead smack in the dividing lane about 300 yards back. Sometimes the universe provides :)
     
    #15 gboss, Sep 3, 2024
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2024
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    For opening the radiator drain it’s definitely not necessary to remove plastic under panels. I found raising the front end just a few inches helped a lot though. To open that tap IIRC I resorted to putting a small adjustable wrench on the handle, snugged down loosely on the ears, gives you a bit more leverage. Also, I pushed a short length of surgical tubing onto the spigot, permanently.

    still, I’d advocate taking the engine under panel off, at least occasionally. It affords a better view of CV joints, to check for leaks. I take it off for every oil change, saves wear-and-tear on that “oil change flap” (till it eventually breaks). If you’re familiar with the fasteners, periodically remove them, carefully and always rinsing in soapy water before reinstall, both the panel and fasteners will almost last the car’s lifetime.

    the plastic fasteners are itemized in attached. I found Amayama the most reasonable for genuine Toyota replacements.
     

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    #16 Mendel Leisk, Sep 4, 2024
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2024
  17. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    I now have these wingnut drivers to loosen the coolant spigot. Used with a 1/4 inch bit driver ratchet, it's great, because as noted, the drain spigot is in a difficult to reach area and you're working at an awkward angle.

    You might have to grind the opening wider to fit over the spigot valve though. Screenshot_20240904_071131_Amazon%20Shopping.jpg

    SM-G781V ?
     
  18. gboss

    gboss Member

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    Very cool. You're using some kind of right angle power tool for these drivers?
     
  19. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Somethings like this, a combination 1/4 inch square and hex drive ratchet wrench. Screenshot_20240904_172038_Amazon%20Shopping.jpg

    SM-G781V ?