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Coolant drain plug replacement / more coolant related help?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Sandita, Sep 6, 2020.

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  1. Sandita

    Sandita Junior Member

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    I have a 2009 (gen ii) with around 180,000 miles on it. Replaced the inverter water pump myself the first time the red triangle of death came around a year ago. Bleed the coolant the second time it came around about 6 months ago. Refilled the coolant reservoir this time and checked under for leaks to see what I think is the coolant drain plug leaking?

    I'd imagine if I just unscrewed it, lots of coolant would come rushing out but I've read you can replace it without a coolant flush. (Unless I just don't know what I was reading about which is highly likely).

    So how do I address the picture? Part number? Dimensions and where to buy? Steps? Is it a bigger issue? Time to take it in to a shop?

    This is the only time my car stopped blowing cold AC and starting shooting hot air at me.
     

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    #1 Sandita, Sep 6, 2020
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    There doesn't seem to be a gasket on the plug, if there isn't one, that's where your problem lies. But you probably may want to try and torque it a little tighter and see if that'll stop the leak, then you won't have to empty out the system.

    However if the AC is not working, it probably is not related to just leaking coolant. Maybe you should check if there is flow in the inverter pump reservoir? There seems to be some counterfeit parts (inferior parts) in the marketplace. If you happened to have installed a bad part, it could go bad again
     
    #2 JC91006, Sep 6, 2020
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  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Yes no gasket. And yes it will dump the inverter coolant again. Before you take that plug off spray that area down with carb cleaner and some rags clean that mess up.

    But the inverter coolant loop has nothing too do with the ac system. Strictly inverter & trans cooling.
     
    #3 edthefox5, Sep 6, 2020
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  4. Sandita

    Sandita Junior Member

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    So if there is no gasket, do you recommend tightening anyway? If that works to stop the leak, do I just regularly check until it leaks again and then give in to draining and buy a gasket?
     
    #4 Sandita, Sep 6, 2020
  5. Sandita

    Sandita Junior Member

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    Once I filled in the inverter coolant reservoir, the A/C started blowing cold again. The engine coolant reservoir seems to be above the full line.

    Is that possibly just because I wasn't driving the car before doing so?
     
    #5 Sandita, Sep 6, 2020
  6. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    ... unless the inverter is not being cooled properly. In that case, the inverter will lighten its load by shutting off the A/C until it cools down enough.

    @Sandita, how low is the coolant level in the inverter reservoir?
     
    #6 dolj, Sep 6, 2020
  7. Sandita

    Sandita Junior Member

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    Do you know what size gasket?
     
    #7 Sandita, Sep 25, 2020
  8. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    The gasket (as Toyota calls it) is OD: 24 mm; ID: 18.2 mm; Thickness: 2 mm. The material that it is made of is aluminum designed to crush under pressure to form a seal. The tightening torque is 29 ft-lbs (39 Nm). Ensure the mating surfaces on the case and bolt are clean of foreign debris so that they are flat and clean.

    The Toyota part number is 90430-18008.

    Txl Drain Gkt x10 90430-18008.JPG

    Txl Drain Gkt 90430-18008.png
     
    #8 dolj, Sep 28, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2020
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