spark plugs and antifreeze

Can anyone help?

 

joeman,

Some dealers and or independent shops will only clamp off the hoses going to the inverter pump when they change the inverter pump. If that is the case, the shop that did the work could have possibly only added what little was lost during the process of changing the pump.

You might consider having the inverter loop drained and refilled. Most here on PC recommend changing both loops at 100K and then every 50K after that.

Also, FWIW if you really want to drain the coolant system on the Prius well, you should drain the thermos bottle along with the radiator and the overflow bottle. You won't get a lot out of the ICE itself, but the thermos bottle does hold quite a bit of fluid.

Patrick Wong has noted when he drained all three places on the Pri he has worked on, he added roughly six quarts. That is a considerable amount more than the three quarts you replaced.

If I owned your 06 with 140K plus on the clock, I would have drained and replaced both the inverter and the radiator along with thermos. But that is me. Everyone has their own choices to make in their life.

Finally, keep an eye on the fluid level in the radiator after you refill it. Sometimes it will drop down some and not take any fluid from the overflow bottle. The level should be even with the top of the neck underneath the cap. Check it when the system is COLD.



Best of luck to you. Enjoy your Prius. I know I enjoy ours.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Ron,
That is awesome information , yep I will move forward with the transaxle inverter coolant change. You are right, you never know what they are doing when the garage door is closed.
So being the coolant in the ICE system is relatively clean, can I buy a little time on that, because of budget? When the time comes I do want to do it right like you said. I have been checking the coolant in the ICE cold by unscrewing the main Rad cap, adding a few ounces off and on.
One quick question, when I had the pre inspection done by a private garage that knows the Prius cars they noted my 12 volt battery was week. I have seen no signs of it. Would the garage tomorrow be able to show me on a meter if the battery is week, or are there too many circumstances to show a true reading?

 

joeman,

IMO, since you have already drained the rad, it would be foolish to drain the thermos since the fluids throughout the system have already mixed together. Based on that fact, I would not do the engine loop again UNLESS you have a problem or develop a leak. But I would go ahead and do the inverter loop now or very soon and then at 200 K do both systems completely. NOTE: If you would have said the coolant was "dirty" when you drained it recently, my opinion above would be different. Then I would say to go ahead and dump the whole mess and start over. Hope this makes sense to you.

The 12 volt, well that is a different story. Lots of threads on that.

You can run the test when the Prius has set overnight and post the three values. That will give you an idea of the battery as it stands today.

There is a link in my signature that leads to the test. First link found below. Run the test after the Prius has set overnight to allow any surface charge to dissipate. Also when you run the test, keep the headlights OFF as well as the climate control. If you turn those items on, the voltage will read lower than normal.

Post back all three voltages and we can go from there. FWIW, a Prius that doesn't have SKS on it will normally outlast a Prius that has SKS on it where the 12 volt battery comes into play. That is because of the quiescent draw that the SKS system applies to the Prius while it is sitting.

Ron

 

Should I change the thermostat on the ICE coolant system, and does the transaxle coolant system have a thermostat?

 

I will skip the coolant change for now on the ICE. Can I do a test from a sample of the coolant in the ICE to tell how strong it might be? I will post something on battery soon.
What is SKS?
Thanks, I do like this car, it really drives like a new one, considering the miles.

 

jm,

I wouldn't change it unless the heater is not working properly. If you have a ScanGage or something similar that can read actual coolant temperature you could then determine if the thermostat is working properly.

IIRC, it is supposed to open close to 180 F. Patrick Wong knows more about the temps than I do. So please don't quote me on the above figure.

IMO, I would not mess with the thermostat unless you are sure it is stuck. Just more air getting into the system that will have to be bled out.

Once the radiator starts looking like the picture I posted above, you should be OK. Just keep an eye on it for a few days until you see it is consistently NOT dropping in the fluid level in the radiator. I am pretty sure the pic is the correct level when the system is full. Otherwise I would not have posted it here on Prius Chat.

Ron

 

The shop is going to let me wait for the transaxle coolant change in the morning.
I guess a good shop can change it and bleed it in less than a hour.
I'm just a little uncomfortable about doing it myself right now.
Thanks again ,
Joe

 

SKS (Smart Key System)

You could use a hydrometer to measure the freezing point on the antifreeze and you could use a PH test strip if you wanted to check the PH. If you all you did was drain and refill, your freezing point is probably Ok. But if you added water at any point, it will affect the freezing point. I think Patrick Wong mentioned that earlier in this string.

Oh, you asked about a tstat on the inverter. I don't think there is one. The inverter fluid flows all the time the Prius is in "Ready" mode.

You can purchase a hydrometer rather cheaply at a local parts house if you so choose. Some use little balls, the more expensive ones have a float in it. Either one will work for the test. Just tell the guy or gal at the counter you want to test the coolant in the radiator.

Ron

 

BTW
I was doing some coasting on some small rolling hills doing 35 to 45 mph today.
At one point I was averaging 70mpg.
Overall around 60
Recently changed trans/inverter ATF ,Plugs, PCV valve, engine oil, and inflated tires.
Plus both air filters.

 

I'm sure the coolant is fine as far as protection against freezing, was wondering if there was a test for how it is in it's quality. Like comparing new to , old and worn out, when it comes to fighting corrosion .
I do have the SKS., great stereo, no back up camera.
Later,
Joe

 

Ask them are they going to change the fluid for the inverter? And point at the inverter bottle under the hood. It is the narrow rectangular bottle that sits on top of the engine next to the inverter.

If they say NO, then STOP before any work is done.

I say this because the transaxle is cooled by the inverter pump but also has its own separate transaxle fluid also. The inverter and radiator takes the Toyota SLLC whereas the transaxle takes a fluid similar to tranny fluid. I can't recall the exact name. Patrick Wong can tell you that.

The inverter bottle is pictured below.



One hour sounds about right for the job. A local Toyota dealer recently quoted me $120 for the inverter drain/refill which is a reasonable price if you are going to pay the piper.

Ron

 

The Toyota garage I'm going to tomorrow is doing it for 145.00 total, coolant and all.
Been there before, Tao Auto here in Raleigh.

 

From the sound of everything you have said, I think you will be Ok for a while unless something breaks.

Concerning testing the quality of the antifreeze. You could pay someone to test it, but would the cost thereof be worth the data/info you would receive. I think if you just change it regularly, you are doing more than enough to take care of your Prius properly.

Best of luck to you and I hope all the info I shared is helpful and correct.

Ron

 

1. I agree that changing 3 quarts of engine coolant is not very good considering the spec capacity is 9 quarts. If you drain the engine coolant at the coolant heat recovery canister drain, that will suck out ~98% of the fluid that can be drained by also opening the engine block drain and the radiator drain. However you then have to run the CHRS pump to fill the CHRS canister, I have previously posted on how to do this.

2. Even if you can assume that the inverter/transaxle coolant was replaced when the inverter coolant pump was replaced (which is a dubious assumption, by the way) the service interval after the initial factory fill coolant is changed, is 50K miles. Hence the inverter/transaxle coolant should be replaced when the odometer shows 150K miles. I would say it is more likely that the dealer tech just clamped off the hoses, replaced the pump, and then topped off the coolant (even though the TSB requires the coolant to be changed and allows Toyota to be charged for this.)

 

Ron, from one of the threads above you sent, I have already changed my transaxle/inverter ATF fluid, I used Toyota World Standard.
Patrick, I will have ICE coolant system fluid changed soon, thanks a lot for the details.

 

Joe,

Yes, that is the name of the transaxle fluid - Toyota WS, I am aware you have already changed that fluid.

I am also glad to hear you are going to go ahead with a full coolant system change. I did not want to tell you to do that since you already spent money on the first part (radiator drain and refill). I think it is a wise move though to rework the job including the thermos bottle and I am glad that Patrick recommended it to you.

I go to Patrick first when I have a question. Lots of knowledgeable folks here on PC, so don't get offended all you other guys and gals out there. The community is a plus for all of us and I am thankful to be a small piece of it.

Ron