2001 Prius transaxle failure OR a/c compressor failure in disguise?

You've made me think of buying a Gen 2 belt to live in the trunk as a roadside spare. There's already a Gen 1 belt back there (the old one from the last replacement), but a Gen 2 spare would allow a quick workaround for any compressor clutch issue.

-Chap

 

I had a case where the car had been sitting awhile.
The compressor seized.
Because of this, the car would not start.
The seized compressor kept the belt from moving.
Bypassed the compressor and then the engine ran fine.

 

Had something like this with a Dodge minivan. Compressor and clutch froze up.

Bob Wilson

 

When something like that happens, it's clear that the clutch/pulley has seized. That will certainly prevent spinning the belt or the engine. What it doesn't tell you is whether the compressor is also seized. It's possible, but not established by the reported facts.

Maybe it's established by the unreported facts. I wouldn't be able to tell ....

-Chap

 

who is jack roseboro? i wish we had all these shops in a sticky that could be added to, or deleted.

 

I'm having this problem right now. Is there a way to test to see if it's the a/c short of bypassing the pulley with a gen2 belt?

 

A quick search got me this:
Station's AutoBlog
I guess it's worth a shot.

 

yes gen2 belt will work to bypass AC compressor, but to test you can just remove the belt and start the engine, if noise goes away the problem is likely related to the AC compressor. (Just don't run the engine more than around 30 seconds without a belt installed to turn the water pump)

If you want to use the car and not fix the AC you can then install a G2 belt.

 

While you have the belt off, and the car turned off, do yourself a favor and try to spin two things by hand.

One is the actual compressor pulley that the belt wrapped around. Either it's quite easy to turn by hand, or you can't (or you can but it's difficult and sounds/feels rough). If you can turn it at all, you will notice there is a center portion (round flat plate) that does not turn with it. That's normal and proper.

Now leave that pulley alone, and try turning that round flat plate by hand. Again, either that is easy and smooth to turn by hand, or it's hard/noisy/rough or impossible. If you can turn that at all, you'll notice the pulley does not turn with it. Again, that's normal and proper.

What you learn from this will tell you if you have an expensive problem or a cheap one.

If the pulley is seized up or hard to turn but the round flat center plate turns smoothly, then your A/C compressor is fine. All it needs is a clutch replacement (the box will contain a new pulley, new round plate, and a bearing). The parts may be around $200-ish if you go brand new, but the replacement is easy. You don't have to evacuate or refill anything or display any specialized A/C skills. If you can turn wrenches you can do it.

If the round flat center plate is the part that won't turn (that's the part that drives the compressor), then, and only then, do you have the more-involved compressor replacement problem. Last I checked, you could get a Toyota -84 numbered rebuilt compressor for just a few hundred bucks, but replacement is more of a job, other parts of the system may contain debris, and A/C shop capabilities are called for.

As you can see, you would really like to know which of these two situations you are in, and you can find out just by spinning two things with your hand.

-Chap

 

Thanks guys

 

Should the car start with the belt still on? It says ready but the ICE stays off.

 

I did this procedure and got it to the point where the A/C light was blinking ever half second as it says but it just kept doing that. Is that the light that is supposed to blink the 22 code?

 

That's the right procedure, but the 1/2-second light flash is just the "I don't have any codes for you right now" signal. It won't necessarily show you a code that isn't recently triggered or current. (Probably driving around with a Gen 2 belt, not driving the compressor at all, would be a good way to trigger a 22 code, but I haven't tried it to see what the detection threshold is.)

But anyway, if somebody thinks there's a seized compressor or pulley problem and you have a couple wrenches around to loosen the belt, and a working hand to try turning the pulley with as I described above, it will take you just that long to know which problem you have.

-Chap

 

Anyone have a belt routing diagram?

 

Loosened the belt and the a/c wheel spun freely. Does that mean transaxle for sure?

 

No, it could also be the engine is seized. Try turning the crankshaft pully. If belt is off you can almost turn it by hand but if you use a 19mm socket it should rotate clockwise very easily.

 

Although I can't help with this specific vehicle diagnosis, I will share my experience with a 140k mile Gen I Prius with an engine that ran, but sounded REALLY LOUD clank-clank-clank -- like a bad crank bearing.

Turns out it was a bad bearing in the water pump (a relatively cheap item). Replaced that, and the engine was as silent as a Gen I Prius ICE can be. Diagnosis: take tension off the drive belt (or remove it), and briefly run the engine. If the sound goes away, it's either the water pump or the A/C compressor (if the A/C is told to turn on). If the sound persists, it's inside the engine.

For elderly Prii, a preventively-replaced (used) drive belt in the trunk is a comforting thought. I've never had one fail, but it's a habit left over from owning other vehicles with uncommon serpentine belts that run not only the A/C but the water pump AND the alternator... Replacing the belt requires removing the right front tyre and the inner splash panel (half a dozen 10mm hex-head screws, I think).

 

The outer, pulley portion of the A/C clutch (and its bearing) are always turning with the belt whenever the engine runs. Only the inner, round flat plate part of that clutch is selectively engaged when the A/C is told to turn on.

So if that pulley bearing is going, your noise won't depend on whether the A/C is on, any more than the water pump does. (The silver lining is, that pulley and bearing, if that's the only problem and the compressor's ok, can be replaced with much less work and ceremony than fussing with the compressor. And spinning two things with your hand is all it takes to find out.)

-Chap

 

Has anyone had any experience with the Dorman replacement stator?

 

That would not fix your issue. You are chasing mg1, the replacement stator is MG2. If MG1 is bad get a used tranny