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Changing fluids

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by LongRun, Dec 26, 2006.

  1. LongRun

    LongRun New Member

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    To change the PSD fluid do you just drive around to warm it all up, remove the 24mm plug and refill it ? Then fill it up to the other plug higher up on the PSD and torque each one back to 38fp.

    And that other plug, is it to drain the inverter coolant and you just fill the resorvoir with Toyota extended drain premix coolant?
     
    #1 LongRun, Dec 26, 2006
  2. derkraut

    derkraut Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LongRun @ Dec 26 2006, 03:16 PM) [snapback]366889[/snapback]</div>
    Why do you want to change the PSD fluid??? Or ANY fluid except the routine oil and filter change, for that matter. There's no need to do so, unless it became contaminated in some way.
     
    #2 derkraut, Dec 26, 2006
  3. LongRun

    LongRun New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(derk @ Dec 26 2006, 07:20 PM) [snapback]366985[/snapback]</div>
    In the process of driving one could possibly contaminate or otherwise introduce wear particles and moisture into the transmission fluid. This can happen in the very best of circumstances by the most careful driver in the best weather and driving conditions. It should be easy to change and should only tie up my driveway for a little while. The PSD is a mechanical device and today's mechanics are parts changers and computer tech's. I would like to keep mechanical things out of their hands as long as possible. I would also like to use this fluid change to act as an indicator to tell me how things are doing. I can't afford to leave everthing to a dealer or repair shop and I feel better about the car if I get involved a little bit. I absolutely believe that there is no such thing as a life time fill for any kind of fluid that a motor vehicle uses. I run a data base with over 8k vehicles and have been involved in maintenance planning for about 30 years. I know I still have a lot to learn, especially about the Prius, but one thing I do know is that it's ok to be careful with one's own vehicles and changing the transmission fluid is a useful thing to do. The same can be said for exchanging coolant and brake fluid, too. It's cost effective in fleet service and it should work in the driveway, too.
     
    #3 LongRun, Dec 27, 2006
  4. jmccord

    jmccord New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LongRun @ Dec 27 2006, 12:55 AM) [snapback]367056[/snapback]</div>
    Go for it! You sound very knowledgeable, and I'd like to know what you find when you do the fluid change (hopefully nothing).
    I'd also be curious to know your take on Prius maintenance compared to other vehicles you are familiar with.
     
    #4 jmccord, Dec 27, 2006
  5. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    As far as the location of the CVT drain plug and fill plug, Tempus edited a nice picture from Hobbit:

    http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=24458&

    This is covered in much more detail in this thread

    http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=18782&

    I have a ramp made out of old railway ties at my hobby farm, so it's easy for me to drive up almost 4 ft in the air, with the car level on top. Much easier to get the correct fill level.

    A few hints:

    The drain plug is a hex. The drain plug near it is for the inverter/converter coolant drain.

    Always always - I can't stress this enough - take the FILL plug off first. If for any reason the fill plug is stuck, cross threaded, etc, you can take your sweet time to deal with it. However if you take the drain plug out first, and drain all the WS fluid, then can't get the fill plug out, you are completely SOL. About the only thing that works in that situation is heavy drinking.

    As far as an early coolant service, not much point these days. If you're unsure slurp a tiny amount out the reservoir and have it tested.

    Car makers are pretty careful these days to use deionized water to mix with their coolants, which are non-silicated organic acid fluids. GM had early problems with DexCool, which some car owners called DeathCool. Proper level is essential, a level near the "cold" mark could allow air mixing/foaming that may have contributed to the early long-life coolant problems.

    Before you service the coolant on the inverter/converter, or for that matter the engine itself, please visit the Toyota technical website, purchase a subscription, and download the service manual. There are complicated bleeding procedures due to the electric coolant transfer pumps, 3-way valves, and other caveats. You may even need a scantool to properly cycle the pumps to fully bleed the system.

    I've looked at the engine and converter reservoirs, and am wondering if a vacuum bleeder might not also be a useful tool to use?

    I even like to regularly change my brake fluid and flush/bleed the system, every two years max. On the Prius I clearly could not do this myself, as you need the dealer scantool to properly cycle the booster pump and valves. My dealer charged me around $90 to perform this complicated dance.

    Good luck!
     
    #5 jayman, Dec 27, 2006
  6. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    coolant drain/fill takes a lot of time to ensure that you bled out all the air from the system. unless you've got the tool to do the job right in a more reasonable amount of time. it's a PITA job but i don't have the husband here with me to explain in detail.

    also, you don't want to do brakes without the scantool. at least the coolant CAN be done with enough time and patience, not so for the brakes.

    we are still working out a system for answering prius questions (and time to do so) from home without internet there. i will email this thread to myself and see if i can get a better explanation from him soon.
     
    #6 galaxee, Dec 27, 2006
  7. LongRun

    LongRun New Member

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    Thanks for the picture. I looks like the way to deal with the inverter coolant is to evacuate the reservoir and refill it on a more frequent basis than a complete change to avoid the problems of bleeding the system.

    I looked through 5 years of data and although there are only 211 Prius's if you don't mind taking a shapshot without a large number of vehicles the Prius just may be the most reliable vehicle we have ever had. That's what lead me to take one for a company car. I commute 150 miles a day and I think I will drive enough miles to make the hybrid hit pay off, especially the solo running in car pool lanes in Los Angles and Santa Ana.
     
    #7 LongRun, Dec 27, 2006
  8. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    ok, a basic overview of changing the inverter coolant without coolant system tool (i forget what he calls it):
    drain
    fill
    wait
    fill
    wait
    fill
    wait
    fill
    [ad nauseum]
    start car, run a few min
    fill as needed during run
    shut off car
    open bleeder valve
    drain while filling few min
    close bleeder valve
    drive 3-4 mi
    check level, fill as needed
    drive 3-4 mi
    check level, fill as needed
    drive 3-4 mi
    check level, fill as needed
    until you're sure there's no air in there. fun stuff.

    filling the PSD is a pain as well (location of fill plug) but not so many steps as above. dealers have a pump from toyota to make that easy, but not available to the general public as far as he knows.

    let us know how it goes.
     
    #8 galaxee, Dec 28, 2006
  9. LongRun

    LongRun New Member

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    I was thinking of taking coolant out of the two resevoirs every oil change and topping them off. The replacement coolant from Toyota is already pre-mixed.
     
    #9 LongRun, Dec 30, 2006
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