Here’s what I’ve got so far. Steeling my nerves for the dreaded full EGR service on my 2015 Prius. I see new aftermarket intake manifolds on EBAY for about $100. Not sure if they’re any good. What other parts do I need? Hoping to do this job with as little fumbling as possible. Watching the YouTube videos. Here's a link to the EBAY intake manifold: Intake Manifold for 2010-2015 Toyota Prius 2012-2017 Prius V 1.8L L4-17120-37054 | eBay
Bought the intake manifold, the EGR pipe and the EGR valve,. Looks like I might need a tool or two. I'm thinking I can handle cleaning the EGR cooler myself.
Take a look at the top link in my signature (on a phone turn it landscape to see signatures); it lists all the tools I needed. Secoond link in sig outlines EGR cooler cleaning in more detail. I'd add: if Oxi-Clean solution is not getting it, try lye solution. Readily available on Amazon (for soap making, etc). Be careful with the latter. My 2 cents: the first time around I used no new parts. Second time, I grudgingly replaced the (pliable) intake manifold gaskets (see attached Amayama invoice).
I found having long hose pliers really helped getting those difficult to get at hoses off. Clearance around the hoses and clamps are so tight it was near impossible to get the hoses off by hand. Also a cable type long reach hose clamp removal tool was also pretty handy. SM-G781V ?
The problem I'm having is that I'm sort of in a potentially desperate situation if my car is down for more than a couple of days. My wife will complain to the moon and back. So I'm ok with picking up a few parts to make it smoother. I plan to just clean the EGR cooler and then I'll have the old intake manifold, EGR valve, and EGR pipe to get cleaned at my leisure for the next cleaning. I've had the car for almost 2 years and only put a regular battery in and changed oil every 5k miles. Never a code, the battery still has several years of life in it.
Appreciate all the advice. The long term members here are a great source of info. I think I'm going to read for another week and watch videos over and over until I'm up to speed here.
Get the lower cooler bracket nut off in advance, and just leave it off. Back out the associated stud too if ambitious (takes E8 Torx socket). The nut is a pain to get too; will bog you down if left to the day of main job. Removing the stud as well means you can leave the two rear studs in place, and they’ll prevent the rear cooler gasket from dropping down. You will have to loosen a hose bracket just above the cooler, but no big deal. when you take things off, place them in sequence you took them off and label. get the cooler cleaning asap (unless you’re just replacing), it’s the one that takes time.
Ok guys, I know I'm shit. I ended up buying an EGR cooler too. Just pull it off and swap for clean parts. Maybe that's the coward's way of doing this job, but I can't have any complication. If we're down to one car, my wife's complaining will make the money I spent on these parts (around $325) seem like pennies. Getting ready to buy a parts cleaner and I can soak these things for a month if that's what I have to do. EGR service costs a lot more than that anyway, and I'll never have to pay that again. I'm going all the way to oil catch can!
All right. Here’s the prices: EGT tube $33.33, EGR Valve 155.78, EGR cooler 96.48. Intake manifold $134.38. Total of about $420. For this, I avoid downtime risk of not getting the job finished in one lick. Well worth it to me. For the record, the valve and the intake manifold are new.
