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Oh dear! Triangle of Death! No oil! Help!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by WilDavis, Feb 19, 2020.

  1. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'm pricing water pumps. :whistle:
     
  2. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    ;)
     
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  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I'm going to have to throw the penalty flag on this and agree with @jerrymildred. By the time you turn car off, get out, open the hood and pull the dipstick, the oil is in the pan.

    The oil in the top of an engine drains very quickly into the bottom of the engine..unless there is significant clogging of the return drains due to sludge buildup, etc. If you've been using synthetics, that doesn't happen. If you've been using dino, it does. If you have significant clogging of the return drains, you're heading for a host of problems, so I would immediately start using synthetic to star getting it cleaned up. Stay away from flushes, as that can cause chunkies to break loose and really clog drain ports resulting in oil starvation at the pump.

    or, the oil is still nice and clean, which sometimes makes it difficult to read in many lighting situations.
     
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  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Yeah, it's pretty fast -- or should be. Like I said earlier, the only exception would be if the oil is already so low that it barely touches the dipstick after it's all in the pan. And that's very conceivable in a car that old.

    I suggest very frequent dip stick checks until you get a feel for what it's doing.
     
  5. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    …ah, if only I could get it to fit! (…sigh!) The Toyota water-pump (plus labour) is $590+, then flush/replace hybrid coolant ($140) and drive-belt ($93)
    …interesting point, although I looked pretty hard (it would have been much easier in daylight), and the oil was changed recently (Jan 23rd) so it was v. clean!
     
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  6. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I consider myself a pretty attentive automobile owner. BUT....

    I think that's pretty common owners manual advice, but how many people REALLY do this?
    I remember growing up in the 70's...a little kid, and SOME gas stations would fill your gas and also check your oil as a service, but by the 70's that level of service was rapidly fading.

    Today, it's on the owners, and I have to admit, I don't check my oil every time I refill my gas.
    I very diligently check my oil level after I have it changed, and I check it 2-3 times the first week after an oil change just to make sure nothing is leaking and everything is "tightened down".
    But after that? I would say, I check the oil level maybe once a month.
    Of course I'm dealing with a newer vehicle, that doesn't burn a significant amount of oil. If I owned an older vehicle that was burning oil, I'd change my routine, to check more often. But with my vehicle? Maybe it's a violation of owners manual recommendation, but I have to admit, I check about once a month.
     
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  7. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    If I'm lucky, I check it about half as often. :oops:
     
    #27 Prodigyplace, Feb 20, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2020
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  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Me, I have to make things into habits, or I don't do them.

    So, I do check the oil, every fillup, just like the manual says, because that makes sure I do it.

    Stop car, pull fuel door release, pull hood release, get out of car, swipe credit card, put nozzle in tank, start fill, open hood, wipe dipstick, look at dipstick, close hood, wait for fill nozzle to click, put nozzle back in pump, close up fuel, take receipt. Done.
     
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  9. RobertK

    RobertK Member

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    Regarding the oil level, sometimes it is hard to see right after an oil change when the oil is clean. That's happened to me before. It also might be a case of "seeing" what you expect to see.

    The cost for replacing the pump seems outrageous to me. I replaced the water pump on my 2007 Prius myself last week and spent $73 including tax and shipping on the pump, a new serpentine belt, and a gallon of SLLC coolant. I did not use genuine Toyota parts, but I could have gotten cheaper parts if I had wanted to. I did the work in about 2 hours, most of that time being spent getting the air out of the system after replacing the pump. I'm sure I could do it quicker a second time.

    AutoNation lists the MSRP of the genuine Toyota pump at $75.43 and sells it for $50.79, while the genuine Toyota belt lists for $11.23 and sells for $7.26 on the same site. If you were charged $93 for the belt your dealer is taking you to the cleaners. From what I've read on Priuschat a water pump replacement at a Toyota dealership should run between $450-$550.
     
  10. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    What'd you say:p?
     
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  11. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    You don’t look like my wife.
     
  12. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Hopefully not:eek:.

    I'm sure she's lovely though (y).
     
  13. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    @Raytheeagle - TactMeister Extraordinaire! ;)
     
  14. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    My wife just got her first hearing aid. She loves it!! Now, if we could just get her mom into a pair. So tired of yelling everything twice.

    A friend once said he didn't like the idea of spending that much on himself. His wife said, "It's not for you!." :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    exactly. mrs bisco loves mine :)
     
  16. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    The best deals I have found is Costco.
    Count yourself fortunate. :(
     
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  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    your wife doesn't like the fact that you can hear her now?
     
  18. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    They do not work as well as we would like :( I have had many different aids over the years.
     
  19. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Will be changing out the original+belt on my 06 once the wx warms up! It's been on my automotive to-do list for the past two years or so. :rolleyes:
     
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  20. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    Well, I daresay you are absolutely correct, but (IMNSHO) the dealer has the expertise, all the right gear, and (what is more important) the necessary backup should anything go wrong, plus the guararantee, whereas I have limited resources, (…a few meagre tools, an over-packed garage, unlimited enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and plenty of time since I'm retired) - so, I guess "you pays your money, and takes your choice!")
    (…but, as always, YMMV!) ;):)