Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos

nice, mines a 2012 too.

Got plenty more to go, cylinder one spark plugs was tough to remove, I thought it was strip, used an impact wrench to remove it, then the spark plug insulation cracked and stuck in the cylinder. Now I can’t get a socket in there lol. Gotta pull the head out before I can remove the spark plugs… oh well

 

Because carbon is built up on it...
NEVER use power tools to install or remove spark plugs!

The correct way to remove them is to loosen until it starts to jam, then tighten 1/4-1/2 turn,
then loosen again, etc. It takes a while, but you don't damage the spark plug so you can't remove it,
and you don't damage the spark plug hole.
Somethings you just have to be patient with no matter how much of a hurry you are in.

 

Never happened to me before, the only reason it happened is because of the cylinder 1 misfire and it’s causing the oil to get into the spark plug threads so it’s causing a binding. The other 3 spark plugs I just loosen and use the impact wrench without issue. I should’ve known and be patient with the cylinder 1.

I also, forgot how long the spark plug threads are on the Prius spark plugs, I keep thinking it’s the same length as the Honda spark plugs

 

If you play with fire, you're going to get burnt!

I learned that the hard way also, in the 80's.

When you get the head off, wire brush around the spark plug, and use rust penetrent on it
and let it soak. It should loosen up the carbon...

 

I just removed the spark plug and sprayed carb cleaner in the tube, I’ll wire brush the thread tomorrow and do a good clean up. I’m gonna send the head out tomorrow too so I can clean up for the next 2 days before I reinstall everything.

 

I'm glad it wasn't too difficult to remove the broken spark plug..
Are those cylinder walls are as bad as they look? Do they have uneven wear?

 

Classic Steam Cleaned Piston

 

cylinder walls on cylinder 2 and 3 looks normal wear. Didn’t see any bent rod on cylinder 1. Cylinder 1 and 4 looks even at TDC.

the bad news is, all the machine shops are backed up 3-4 weeks, so I’m just gonna clean it up real good and reinstall

 

I know right? Lol I wiped it off clean with some brake clean on a rag. Cylinder 4 will take a bit of scraping to get the carbon off.

 

Clean the matting surface, check to make sure it's not warped, I don't think it is because
you caught it early and it didn't overheat.
Then lay it level on the matting surface and spray wd40 in the intake and exhaust ports.
Wait 5-10 minutes then carefully lift the head carefully and check to see if any of the valves are leaking.
Hopefully not.
You should change the valve guide seals anyway. It won't take for a few hours....

 

Flatness specs are in bottom link in my signature, if you haven't cadged it already.

 

yeah that’s my plan, I gotta clean the block, and head and check with a straight edge with a feeler gauge for flatness.

I bought the Lisle 36050 Valve Keeper Remover tool, let’s see how hard it is. Tomorrow is mostly cleaning everything that was removed so I can put everything back.

 

That's an interesting tool. Hopefully it will work like they say it does....

 

I hope so too!

I got a thread chaser as well to clean my spark plug threads. I don’t think the copper brush would be enough to clean the gunk that’s left in the thread.

 

Did you get a new head? Or remanufactured head? Or did you find someone else
to do the work?

 

I think it’s reman head, I just send in my old head and swap it with theirs. Same day since I live far from where they’re at, plus there was another Prius head there that someone else ordered as well. So this is a common issues with the 3rd gen Prius, it doesn’t matter what year, the headgasket will go.

 

Do you know how much they shaved(if they did) to make sure it was flat?
Hopefully, not much, cause there isn't much they can safely remove.

You should have it back together by tomorrow then?

 

he didn’t say anything about shaving, he just said they have a head ready that is cleaned for me to swap it out. He gets a lot of head order and head cleaning at his shop, so he has the head already there for anyone who wants to just swap it. I bet most people who fix these Prius, orders from him.

I should have the car up by next week. My camera had an accident and so my lens is scratched and my audio is broken, so I had to order new mic and lens filter for my camera before I can resume filming. Filming and reinstalling takes double the work.

if I were to do this job, probably would take me 3 days to finish, unless you already have a head ready to reinstall. Definitely a doable job.

 

I hear that! You need a camera man, or woman so you can do the work.
According to Toyota, from what I've been able to research and find, there is only about .02 you
can SAFELY shave off the head. Then the valves are extremely close to those pistons!
I do hope you got a good one!

Hopefully everything is smooth sailing when putting everything back together...
Now would be time to replace the brake booster and stuff! More room!