spark plugs and antifreeze

Look in the Newbie post and u will see a thread under"buying a 06 wth 144k.
Click on that and keep scrolling you will find something that someone posted about plugs.
Wish I knew how to cut and paste on here. Thats the best I can do, little slow on here this weekend. Also a lot of this stuff comes up when you google.
Best of luck.

 

Just copy the url on top of the page that you want to link then right click paste it on your post.

 

The proper spark plug designations for your 2008 are:

Denso SK16R11
NGK IFR5A11
It is recommended to change them at 100k miles, people sometimes stretch that to 120k miles, any many replace them before 100k. Your call.

Heres a great write up on how -to change the spark plugs- Joemans very informative thread:
Buying a 06 with 144 k miles | Page 2 | PriusChat

The proper coolant for your 2008 is ONLY Toyotas SLLC available at the dealer. It is not advisable to use any substitutes.

Heres a great write up on how -to change the inverter loop coolant:
Changing engine coolant | PriusChat

& the engine coolant loop:
Changing engine coolant | Page 2 | PriusChat

Air bubbles can easily form in the engine and the inverter coolant loop. These can cause problems, especially in the engine.

It is imperative to bleed all of the air out of the systems and make sure you add the full amount of coolant to each loops. Failure to do so will lead you right back to the forums, no doubt, asking us how to swap out engines and/or replace your inverter People do-it-themselves on these jobs often but care has to be taken. This isnt your Grandma's Buick and we arent in Kansas anymore! lol

 

Have to look into that about copying, my ipad may make it more of a challenge .
Thanks

 

We're all here to help each other I got your back!

I posted a bunch of links for you guys.

 

I'm planning to change my plugs in my 06 tomorrow,
If you have access to some compressed air, you might want to blow off the whole area around plugs before starting , being the plugs are vertical.

 

I think I am going to pass on changing both of the coolant systems on my 06.
Seems the engine coolant change is time consuming and just a bear.
I would think a good Prius garage would have a faster way, but maybe not.
I mean having to baby the system all day to get the air out.
I think I will stick to plugs and transaxle oil change.
Hey, Good Luck!

 

Yeah the ICE loop is a pain. The ICE loop lasts alot longer than the Inverter loop. But easy way to do the ICe is to just dump the rad and fill it back up with SLLC. Do that a couple of times and it will really help.No air lock.

The Inverter coolant on the other hand is exposed to huge cross section of pure aluminum in the Inverter. Highly corrosive and tough on the coolant.

Very easy to change Inverter coolant and super easy to bleed. You will notice better mileage also as the Inverter will run cooler.
The Inverter is the work horse of the car and worth throwing $20 worth of SLLC at it every 30,000 miles.
It is also the transmission cooler.

 

Ed, thanks, so with what you described with the ICE procedure above, will that drain the whole system , are you opening more than the lower drain.
Hopefully my inverter will still last, it seems fine, but buying my 06 wth 144k, when I change it tomorrow, may be for first time, goes for transaxle oil also, first time. Owned car for 3 days now.

 

Just the petcock on the bottom side of rad. Flush out overflow bottle too. Do that twice and it will be pretty good. Much better than nothing and will help your water pump live longer.

 

The inverter coolant should have been changed when the coolant pump recall was done. Check your records to see how long ago that was.

SM-N900P ?

 

Dealers just duckbill off the hoses and slide in the new pump.

 

So Ed, this may be a silly question, can I flush out radiator and overflow bottle with just clean water on the first flush? Plan to do it in a couple of days. Weather is turning nice here in N.C. This weekend.

 

Sure. Flush away. May be easier to unbolt the overflow and really clean it out good with soap & water but I say that never having done that so far so it may be a pain and easier to just flush out.

As long as you don't open the block drain which is below the exhaust manifold your ok.
Then after you fill it back up watch is carefully for a few days as it may move around a little level wise. Soon as the car is up to temp make sure you have good heat that way you will know your not air locked.
Good heat and no under dash gurgle sounds and your good.

Put the car in inspection mode and let it run up to engine temp.

 

The inspection mode Ed mentioned is a means to keep the ice engine running, it's for diagnostic only, don't drive on this mode. To get into inspection mode, do the following:

1 press start button twice without your foot on the brake. this boots up the car but you are not "ready"
2 step on the brake with your left foot and while brake is pressed step on the accelerator twice
3 while foot is still on brake, shift into neutral and then press the accelerator twice again
4 while foot is still on brake, put the car in park and press the accelerator twice again.
5 finally while foot is still on brake, press the start button and it will put the car in inspection mode.
6 your MFD will show "problem", that's to let you know you should not drive on this mode.

shut off like normal when you are done.

 

"can I flush out radiator and overflow bottle with just clean water on the first flush?"
I suggest that if you find the drained coolant is clear, then there is no need to flush with water. I would be careful about introducing water into the engine cooling system unnecessarily since Toyota SLLC is already premixed with distilled water.

To the extent that flush water remains in the system after you finish draining, that will lower the percentage of antifreeze below the 50% mix that comes in the SLLC bottle. It is not easy to drain all fluid out, for example the cabin heater core loop will tend to retain liquid.

The rated 2G engine coolant capacity is 9 US quarts but I have not been able to drain more than 6.5 quarts out after opening all three drains. So you can see that a substantial amount of old coolant remains in the system.

 

Great Info
Will keep it all in mind during project.

 

Replaced PCV valve, took 45 min, not a bad job. After 144k, that sucker was very secure, but got it out.
The one that I removed didn't have a light rattle like the new one. The old one was more muffled .

Drained and flushed radiator and overflow only, on the ICE today.
Got 3 qts of coolant out, put a little less back in.
Coolant looked clean. Maybe have a shop do a full drain of engine and radiator in the near future.
Patrick, I feel like I have not done enough when it comes to how little coolant I have removed.
What would you do now, if you were me?

Looked at sellers records again, currently my 06 I just purchased has 144k, they had recall on HV electric water pump in 2010 when it turned 99k, so you were right JC,don't have to change coolant now.
That is the cooling system for the transaxle/inverter from what I understand.
Thanks again to all.

 

Hey JC,
Not for sure if you read my last thread about only getting 3qts of coolant out of the ICE coolant, by draining rad and overflow only.
Going to talk to shop first thing in the morning. Do you think it is worth it for them to drain whole system including ICE drains and drain 6 qts out of system. Or would you leave it for 6 months and then do a complete drain?