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Is 12 volt light bulb discharging really bad?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Tommerdoo, Jun 29, 2015.

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  1. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You will need some FIPG sealant as well. Toyota has an excellent black sealant available. Also, check the valve clearances while you have the valve cover off, and take some photos to show us how clean the valve train is (or how sludged up it is, if the prior owner neglected engine oil changes.)
     
    #21 Patrick Wong, Oct 18, 2015
  2. Tommerdoo

    Tommerdoo Member

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    Patrick, thanks for chiming in! I have a tube of Permatex Ultra Black RTV silicone gasket maker. Will that work?

    Also, offhand anyone know valve clearances? I'll take some photos while I'm in there.
    I just changed the PCV valve and it rattled and let air through one side but the newer one seemed more rattle'y so of course I gave it a new one.

    Thanks

    ALSO: To change valve cover gasket it looks like I remove the cowl / wiper blades like on Galaxee's tutorial for pcv valve change, is this correct?
     
    #22 Tommerdoo, Oct 18, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2015
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes. It just needs a couple of small dabs at the front of the engine (front faces the passenger fender) where the oil pump cover (aka engine front cover) meets the cylinder head. Then you can install the cylinder head valve cover. Tightening torque of the valve cover nuts/bolts is 7.4 ft.-lb.

    Valve clearance (Cold):
    Intake 0.17 to 0.23 mm (0.007 to 0.009 in.)
    Exhaust 0.27 to 0.33 mm (0.011 to 0.013 in.)
     
    #23 Patrick Wong, Oct 18, 2015
  4. Tommerdoo

    Tommerdoo Member

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    Ok. Got it all together before it rained tonight. I would've checked the valve clearances, but I don't have a garage so I opted to just get it finished otherwise I'd have to steal my wife's car tomorrow and I also heard that the valves for Prius (and Toyota in general) is almost always fine because of the engineering of the valve / bucket / rocker design. Anyways, I was ignorant on HOW to check and couldn't find walkthroughs, plus I had no time today --- my wife's pregnant with morning sickness and our 18 month old is well.....you know how toddlers are.

    Anyways, I want to thank you guys for all the extra help on here. I'm going to drive 50 miles north to Waimea (elevation 5,000) and back (elevation 1,300). Last time I drove the Prius home from Waimea I got 69 mpg on the return trip. I'll keep track on how the whole trip is...interested to see if any changes on the averages after changing out the plugs / pcv / valve cover gasket.

    Got some photos from the inside. Looked nice enough, but what do I know! :)
     

    Attached Files:

    #24 Tommerdoo, Oct 18, 2015
    Patrick Wong likes this.
  5. epoch_time

    epoch_time Active Member

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    Hi Tommerdoo
    Your daily hill climb leaves you no options.. I would stay with orignal spark plugs from toyota.. Im not looking forward to my plug and pcv change..My torque apk shows about 2-5 misses per cold start drive by allways random across all cyclinders. Sometimes no misses on fresh gasoline..

    Not familiar with your tires. Good luck on everything..
     
    #25 epoch_time, Oct 18, 2015
  6. Tommerdoo

    Tommerdoo Member

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    Interesting, the torque app can measure how many misses the spark plugs miss? Honestly the changing the plugs and pcv weren't that bad and like others have said there was no need to remove windshield wipers or cowls (except with valve cover gaskets). Aside from a coolant change I think my maintenance is finally catching up with the car. The main coolant seems a little syrupy to me but the inverter coolant looks really good. Not sure if one can judge coolants by sight / texture or not.
     
    #26 Tommerdoo, Oct 19, 2015
  7. Tommerdoo

    Tommerdoo Member

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    Ok, an update on my trip. It's 40 miles North and 40 miles back on the windy upper road here.

    I got 41.5 mpg going from my house at 1,300 feet up to Waimea on the North side of the Big Island at 5,000 feet. That was a pleasant surprise. By the end of the return trip, I had hit over 50mpg average. I'm amazed that this older 2004 Prius gets that kind of gas mileage! I'm definitely loving this car.

    Thanks for all the help guys!
     
    #27 Tommerdoo, Oct 20, 2015
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