Tired old girl needs some tlc

[B0ner Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close B0ner]

I’ve only recently joined the forum after lurking around for a while.
quite amazing the breadth and depth of knowledge that’s apparent here.

anyway to my request for knowledg.

I have a 1997 Prado with almost 300,000 kms on its 1kz motor.
I’ve noticed it for a while now, but it appears to be down on power.
it used to pull the boat uphill relatively easily, but now I’m having to give her the shoe and rev to 3.5k to keep at a sedate 85kph.

standard setup, with egr intact.
Serviced every 5000kms,
engine flush done very 10,000km
fitted a snorkel and 3.5inch stainless exhaust to help her breath.
I’ve noticed a wee bit of oil around the back of the intercooler.

I realise it’s tough to diagnose remote, but I’d be keen to hear from those in the know , where do I start looking to give the old girl her life back?

thanks in advance
Gary

[SamSta Member Find all posts View Profile Close SamSta]

Hey Gary,

Sounds like you've got soot build up from the EGR system in your intake manifold blocking air flow to the combustion chamber. To confirm this, remove the intercooler and shine a torch down the throttle body. Other classic symptoms will be excess fuel consumption and probably overheating a bit on hills and when towing due to the air/fuel ratio being out of whack.

Presuming this is the case, you need to remove the intake monifold from the car, soak in oven cleaner and give it a clean with a tooth brush. I'm sure there are other chemical cleaners you could use so feel free to google options.

I'd also recommend performing and EGR delete while you are at it. And give your intake temp sensor (the sensor just above the throttle body in the plastic part of the intercooler) a clean with MAF sensor cleaner spray.

The oil under the back of the intercooler I supect might be a leak in the intercooler as a result of the pressure build up from the turbo and the block in your intake manifold from the soot build mentioned above. A leaking intercooler is not good for your engine as it forces your turbo to overboost which means your engine sensors are getting all kinds of weird readings affecting the smooth operation of the engine.

Don't be overwhelmed by all this though. It's all easy/cheap fix stuff as part of general maintainance. You can get 2nd hand intercoolers cheap as chips from the wreckers if yours is infact leaking. Or if you are running standard boost with your turbo, you might even get away with cleaning the leak area and sealing with JB weld or similar product. The problem might resolve itself once you unblock the intake so try that first! Eitherway, keep an eye on this as you don't want any leaks in your intercooler. The intake manifold clean is a really easy DIY job on these engines, it just takes some time to get down to. Dont be afraid to have a go yourself! The EGR delete is a matter of installing a small blanking plate available on ebay for $10 or so in between your exhaust manifold and the pipe running around the back of the engine held on by two nuts.

That should make a massive improvement to your engine performance.