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Steel Coolant pipe/flange squeezed/crushed, how to repair??

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by jameschicks, Mar 6, 2019.

  1. jameschicks

    jameschicks New Member

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    2012 Prius
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    I'm not sure what its called, but my '12 prius has been driving weird lately, struggling to make power, having trouble climbing hills and seemingly having to work harder... difficult to achieve and maintain 55 on the freeway. decided to poke around under the hood today, and noticed this..:

    [​IMG]

    ...its the steel pipe that is under the EGR valve and to the left of the inverter... the small fitting that connects to the rubber cooling line that skirts the air intake box is crushed or squeezed at the bend, not totally blocked but certainly constrained in terms of coolant flow.

    heres a shot of an undamaged example of the same part (courtesy of my "parts" 2010 that lurks in my driveway)...

    [​IMG]

    could anyone venture a guess as to what effect this condition could have on my car? lack of power, coolant starvation, etc? should i attempt to right the bent fitting with some vice grips, bend it back into its original shape as much as possible? swap it with the good example from the parts car? i know it would involve dumping coolant, how hard would it be to get that piece out?

    any advice or insight would be appreciated friends, thanks in advance.
     
    #1 jameschicks, Mar 6, 2019
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    I would leave it alone since it’s just a small dent
     
    #2 tankyuong, Mar 6, 2019
  3. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

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    It's only a small kink, and if it did not happen lately then it's not the problem. If the coolant restriction was significant you would experience overheating. Look to the EGR circuit.
     
    #3 Pluggo, Mar 7, 2019
  4. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Check for a restricted exhaust.
     
    #4 The Critic, Mar 7, 2019
  5. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Question is, how to it get dented? Its in such a small tight place.
     
    #5 Montgomery, Mar 7, 2019
  6. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I think you're seeing two versions of one part manufactured two different ways.

    The "dented" one got those dents when the tubing was bent on a crush bender. The "undented" one went through a nice mandrel bender. Toyota probably has several suppliers and the bend type isn't likely to be critical to performance.
     
    #6 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Mar 7, 2019
    Montgomery and Robert Holt like this.
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