DIY visual inspection for dummies

2009Prius · Jan 7, 2010

I think it will be helpful to collect information/tips/photos on how to do the various inspections mentioned in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide, especially for the uninitiated such as myself.

Here is a list of the inspection items:

Inspect engine air filter
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body (what torques?)
__ Automatic transmission fluid
__ Ball joints and dust covers
__ Brake lines and hoses
__ Brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...iy-visual-inspection-dummies.html#post1112688
__ Drive belts
__ Drive shaft boots
__ Engine valve clearance
__ Engine/Inverter coolant
__ Exhaust pipes and mountings
__ Front differential oil
__ Fuel lines and connections, fuel tank band and fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
__ Fuel tank cap gasket
__ Radiator, condenser and/or intercooler
__ Steering gear box
__ Steering linkage and boots

The subject came up in a recent thread and below are some quotes. Please reply with your comments/tips/instructions/photos/drawings ... etc. Thanks!

Patrick Wong said: ↑

Dear friends who wish to perform this inspection:

1. Buy a pair of jackstands and a hydraulic floor jack. You need to raise up the car to do a decent inspection job. It is not necessary to remove panels under the car.

2. Brake linings/drums: Raise up the rear of the car and remove the rear tires. Release the parking brake. Pull off the drum with your hands. If the drum is stuck, use two 8 mm bolts inserted into the threaded holes in the drum, and rotate clockwise to force the drum off.

Look at the drum interior to see if it looks burnt. Look at the linings. 4 mm thickness is new, replace at 1 mm. Look at the brake cylinders. If wet, this means brake fluid is leaking, the cylinder has to be rebuilt or replaced.

3. Brake pads/discs. Raise up the front of the car and remove the front tires. New pad thickness is 11 mm, replace at 1 mm. Use a micrometer to measure disc thickness. New disc thickness is 22 mm, replace at 20 mm. The caliper should be dry, if wet this means brake fluid is leaking and the caliper has to be rebuilt or replaced. Especially in parts of the country where road salt is used, look at the inside of the disc for rust.

4. Ball joints and dust covers. These are located at the front suspension and allow the suspension to pivot and the front wheels to point left/right. While the front tires are removed, look for these pivot points. You should not see grease leaking out. If you do then the ball joint must be replaced.

5. Brake lines and hoses. While the tires are removed, look for the flexible rubber hoses that lead from the rigid steel brake lines to the brake calipers (in front) and the brake cylinders (in rear). The hoses should not have any bulging or leaks. If they do then they must be replaced. Look at the steel brake lines, which should not have any damage to them.

6. Driveshaft boots. While the front tires are removed, look at the axleshafts that come out of the transaxle and connect with each front wheel hub. Each axleshaft has two constant velocity joints, one on either end. The CV joint is hidden by a black rubber pleated cover. The cover should be intact, no grease leaking out. If you see any grease, the CV joint must be immediately serviced.

7. Engine/inverter coolant. Look for the engine radiator overflow tank behind the radiator and the inverter coolant reservoir next to the inverter. Both should be at the full mark when the car is cold. If not, replenish with pink Toyota Super Long Life Coolant.

8. Exhaust pipes/mountings. Get under the car after it is raised up and find the exhaust system leading from the engine and running down to the back of the car. You will see the catalytic converter, a resonator, a muffler, etc. Look at each component for holes, leaks, etc. Look at the rubber hangers for damage. Any fault must be immediately repaired.

9. Radiator, condenser, and/or intercooler. Look through the front grille at the radiator, inspecting for leaks or other damage. The condenser is integrated with the radiator. There is no intercooler as Prius does not have a supercharger.

10. Steering gear box, linkage and boots. While the front of the car is raised up, look for damage to the electric steering gear, the linkage or the rubber boots.

This takes more than 10 minutes if you are doing a thorough job.
Click to expand...

KK6PD said: ↑

Hey Tom, How ya doing, and Happy New Year to ya.

As far as the inspection part of the process,

I wash the "Baby" every Sunday morning, and every 4th Sunday, I have a set of ramps I pull out and I drive up on.

Ball joints and dust covers
Brake lines and hoses
Drive shaft boots
Steering linkage and boots

Look under the front wheels, you can access the Boots, brake lines and brake hoses. Look for OIL, rips, drips, and or leaks or anything that looks wrong. If you get into the routine its a simple routine to follow.

Engine/inverter coolant 3
Exhaust pipes and mountings
Radiator, condenser and/or intercooler
Steering gear box

Once again on that 4th week I detail the engine compartment compartment. I pull the shrouds and covers and again look for OIL. you should not see ANY! If you do, a trip to the dealer is in order. Fluid levels are all marked on the containers, if you keep the containes clean, it's easy to spot a low level. If low, add more! Simple

The cleaner you keep the engine compartment, the easier it is to spot trouble. Get a service manual, I went to TIS and also have the Haynes manual..

Go here.. Toyota Prius Haynes Repair Manual (2001-2008) - HAY92081

It's a good book to show you where your Pius parts are located.

I would rather spend some quality time with "Baby" keeping her "Looking Good" than parking my butt in front of the tube. Saves about $200.00 with my labor! I let the dealer do the oil. but I supply the oil and filter/gasket. Let the dealer dispose of the oil. Besides it's nice to stop by and say get the oil done in about 30 minute and relax!!!

If folks are uncomfortable doing this kind of simple work, by all means bring your Baby to the dealer. That's why they are there
Click to expand...

2009Prius · Apr 26, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Front brake

Just did 10K maintenance and took a bunch of pictures since I don't really know where to look and what is normal and what is not. Please take a look and point out where to look and what to watch out for. Thanks!

Starting with front brakes:

Patrick Wong said: ↑

...
3. Brake pads/discs. Raise up the front of the car and remove the front tires. New pad thickness is 11 mm, replace at 1 mm. Use a micrometer to measure disc thickness. New disc thickness is 22 mm, replace at 20 mm. The caliper should be dry, if wet this means brake fluid is leaking and the caliper has to be rebuilt or replaced. Especially in parts of the country where road salt is used, look at the inside of the disc for rust.
...
Click to expand...

If one of the pictures below shows the surface of the caliper that may get wet with leaks then please point out. Thanks!

1. Outside

2. Inside: no rust yet

3. Pad: looks like touching the disk, normal or not?

4. Pad with ruler: really hard to take a good shot. Looks like more than 10 mm for sure.

Right hand side:
5.

6.

7.

8.

More pictures to come later!

Patrick Wong · Apr 26, 2010

Your pictures look fine, which is what I would expect at 10K miles. When measuring the brake pad thickness, ignore the steel backing plate.

Look for the flexible black rubber hose that leads to the caliper. Inspect the hose to make sure there is no cracking or damage. Look where the hose attaches to the caliper and make sure that connection is dry.

Look at the inside of the caliper and the disk inside surface (your last photo starts to show this), and make sure both are dry. If there is a leak, it would likely come from a damaged rubber hose, or from a bad caliper seal which allows brake fluid to ooze out from the piston and deposit on the inside surface of the disk.

Note the fluid level in the brake fluid reservoir. The fluid level will very slowly decline over time as your brake pads and brake shoes wear. If you note an abrupt change, then it is time to look around for a leak. Otherwise, don't worry.

2009Prius · Apr 27, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Front brake hose/cable and shock absorbers

Front brake hose/cable and shock absorbers
Where am I supposed to check for leaks of the shocks?

Left hand side:
11.

12.

13.

14.

Right hand side:
15. Is the connection at the right hand side of the picture below where we watch out for leaks of brake fluid?

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Patrick Wong · Apr 27, 2010

Regarding front strut oil leaks: refer to photos 11, 14, 17, 18 and 19. The strut will leak oil at the point where the polished hardened steel rod enters the strut body. You need to lift up the pleated rubber cover to see the steel rod.

Note the shiny silver crimped piece visible in photos 14 and 18. That silver color will turn golden when strut oil starts to leak out.

As the strut leak progresses, the oil will leak down the strut body. The oil is very thin, so it will eventually dry in hot weather.

For example, the right front strut on my 2004 failed last summer and the body was totally covered in strut oil so that it was nice and shiny. I noticed this when changing the engine oil and oil filter.

I didn't have a chance to change the struts until a couple of months later due to business travel. By then, the strut body was dry (due to the 100+ degree ambient temps here) and it was not obvious that an oil leak had ever existed.

Regarding flexible brake line leaks, they could occur in the rubber body or at the connections, so look at the entire line. Photo 20 shows the top of the flexible brake line and photo 15 shows the bottom.

Photo 19 shows the wire cable that runs down to a sensor mounted to the hub carrier. The sensor provides wheel rotation information to the skid control ECU so that the ECU knows when a wheel is slipping or skidding.

2009Prius · Apr 28, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Rear brake

Rear brakes:

Patrick Wong said: ↑

...2. Brake linings/drums: Raise up the rear of the car and remove the rear tires. Release the parking brake. Pull off the drum with your hands. If the drum is stuck, use two 6 mm bolts inserted into the threaded holes in the drum, and rotate clockwise to force the drum off.

Look at the drum interior to see if it looks burnt. Look at the linings. 4 mm thickness is new, replace at 1 mm. Look at the brake cylinders. If wet, this means brake fluid is leaking, the cylinder has to be rebuilt or replaced.
....
Click to expand...

I did have to use 8 mm (not 6 mm) bolts to push the drums off on both sides. Is it really necessary to put the drum back exactly the same orientation (matching the 8 mm holes with the marks made by the 8 mm bolts)? I forgot about this when doing the left hand side and only remembered when I did the right hand side.

It looked so complicated that I hadn't the slightest clue what to look for. So I just took a lot of pictures and hope that at least some of them would capture the critical areas.

Left hand side:
21.

22.

23.

24. They talk about "glazed" linings but I don't know what it would look like. Does it mean that the (supposed to be rough) surface is filled with brake dusts and become very smooth and shiny (not enough friction)? How do these linings look?

25.

26. The drum is quite rusty already, especially the center hole. Is this normal?

Right hand side
27. Even more rusty!

28. I noticed these black dusts accumulating on the trailing edge of the lining and wiped with my finger. You can see the area where I wiped the dusts off. The dusts seem soaked with oil. Normal?

29.

30. No dust accumulation here!

31.

32.

Patrick Wong · Apr 28, 2010

Thanks for pointing out that the required bolts are 8 mm.

It is not necessary to reinstall the drums so that the holes match the prior orientation.

Your brakes look great. Any potential leak would be from the wheel cylinder which has a silver metal center and black rubber ends.

Glazed brake shoe linings would be shiny. Your linings look normal.

Regarding photos 28 and 29, a bit of high temp grease is applied during installation of the brake shoes, where the shoe contacts the backing plate. Some of the grease bled off onto the shoe and attracted brake lining dust which you wiped off.

Just make sure not to wipe the grease onto the lining itself, as that could cause glazing. A better approach instead of wiping off the dust would be to use a can of brake parts cleaner and spray off the parts that need cleaning. This cleaner does not leave a greasy residue (like throttle body cleaner would).

The brake drum rust is minor and normal. It looks like your rear brakes are basically unused, with so little dust accumulated within.

Photos 25 and 29 show the little star wheel that you can rotate (via the access hole in the backing plate) to adjust the parking brake setting.

2009Prius · Apr 29, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Rear brake hose/cable and shock absorbers

Rear brake hose/cable and shock absorbers

Left hand side:

41.

42.

43.

44.

Right hand side:

45.

46.

47.

48.

Patrick Wong · Apr 29, 2010

Beautiful, no problems evident in the photos.

As your car ages you will start to see oil leaking down the side of the shocks. Once the oil stain reaches below the bottom of the coil spring, the shock should be replaced based upon Toyota's definition. However (as previously stated) note that in very hot weather the oil might dry up and the stain on the shock body may not be obvious.

2009Prius · Apr 29, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Engine air filter

Engine air filter

51. air box cover

52. filter - clean side

53. throttle body and MAF sensor seem clean

54. filter - dirty side. How dirty would it get before needing replacement?

55. filter - dirty side

56. air box with hole at bottom
- I assume this small hole is for water to drain?

57. air box with hole at bottom

BAllanJ · Apr 29, 2010

You know, these nice detailed pic are going to be great for other threads to reference when trying to give advice. (something like " pic #41 in the thread (link) shows what you should see. Check for...blah blah blah") So, thankyou!

Patrick Wong · Apr 29, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Engine air filter

2009Prius said: ↑

54. filter - dirty side. How dirty would it get before needing replacement?

56. air box with hole at bottom
- I assume this small hole is for water to drain?
Click to expand...

54. Hold the filter up to sunlight. When you can't see light coming through, it's time to change the filter. Compare to a new filter if you are unsure.

56. Yes, your assumption is correct.

2009Prius · Apr 29, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Rubber boots and Rusty metals

Rubber boots and Rusty metals

To my untrained eyes the rubber boots all looked OK, at least no gaping holes or cracks.

There are paint peelings and rusts here and there. Not sure how bad they are but they do look ugly and I can't imagine what they will look like at 100K miles. I wonder if I could use Rust-Oleum spray paint on the rusty parts but fear that the paint may damage rubber parts or trap moisture if applied to wrong places.

I don't know where the steering gear box and linkages are. If some of the pictures below capture them please point out.

Right hand side
61. tie rod end, looking from below

62. the other end of the tie rod - what's this called?

63. same

64. drive shaft

65. drive shaft and ball joint below and tie rod end behind. what's the shiny vertical rod on the left?

66. ball joint - looks like the rubber is under a lot of stress here:

67. same ball joint

68. what is this rusty disk?

69. The black paint on the I-frame has peeled off here and there and rusts forming.

Right hand side:

70. ball joint also greatly deformed here:

71.

72.

73.

74. The rubber looked fine but the drive shaft itself was so rusty!

75.

76.

77. Can this rusty drive shaft last 100K miles?

78.

79.

80. rusty disk again

Patrick Wong · Apr 30, 2010

Photos 62 and 76 shows a tiny bit of the steering gear housing hiding behind the front sway bar. Just follow the tierod to the center of the car and you'll find the steering gear.

Regarding the rust on the chassis components, I would not worry about it. The longevity of the driveshafts is limited by the CV joints.

Do you reside in a location where salt is used on winter roads?

2009Prius · Apr 30, 2010

Patrick Wong said: ↑

Photos 62 and 76 shows a tiny bit of the steering gear housing hiding behind the front sway bar. Just follow the tierod to the center of the car and you'll find the steering gear.

Regarding the rust on the chassis components, I would not worry about it. The longevity of the driveshafts is limited by the CV joints.

Do you reside in a location where salt is used on winter roads?
Click to expand...

Yes there is plenty of salt used here when it snows. I usually spray the bottom of the car with a garden hose in the springtime, trying to wash away some of the salt.

I suppose the steering gears are sealed inside the housing so we only need to check the housing for damage, not the actual gears?

I am still curious to know what the shiny vertical rod is (visible in 65. and 77).

Thanks very much for all the helpful comments.

Patrick Wong · Apr 30, 2010

2009Prius said: ↑

...I suppose the steering gears are sealed inside the housing so we only need to check the housing for damage, not the actual gears?

I am still curious to know what the shiny vertical rod is (visible in 65. and 77).
Click to expand...

Yes, if you can steer the car and the rubber boots are intact, no worries.

The rod connects the front sway bar to the front strut housing (see photos 11, 13, 17 and 20 from your post #4, to see the top of that rod.)

2009Prius · Apr 30, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - Exhaust

Exhaust

There are also rusts here and there after only one year since new. I suppose the pipes get hot so it is not even possible to paint them, right?

Looking from left hand side:

81.

82.

83.

Looking from right hand side:

84. When I was doing the 5K service I noticed the outer sleeve of this cable connecting between the pipe and the bottom of the car wasn't long enough and wires were dangling out. I used some electrical tape to wrap it up. Now at 10 K miles it still looks OK.

85.

86.

87.

88. Look at the rusts!

89.

90.

91.

Patrick Wong · May 1, 2010

Yes, you do not want to paint the exhaust system. It's impressive to note the amount of rust after one year and 10K miles...

Photo 82 shows the center rear jack point. It is the inverted tower pointing downwards and you can lift it with a hydraulic floor jack (suggest you place a block of wood between the jack saddle and the jack point.)

Photo 84 shows the oxygen sensor which is downstream from the catalytic converter. It helps the engine ECU determine whether the catalytic converter is working properly. You had taped the wires leading to that sensor.

The translucent white plastic cover for the orange high voltage traction battery cables is located at the right middle of photo 84.

The left edge of photo 86 shows the black steel bracket which is supposed to reduce body flex. As that bracket is pretty thin, some owners have installed an aftermarket aluminum bracket which is supposed to add more rigidity to the body structure.

Everything looks good. The rust is to be expected given your winter road conditions.

2009Prius · May 6, 2010

Re: DIY visual inspection for dummies - New filter & Fluid levels

These are trivial even for a dummy like me but I thought I might as well include them for completeness.

101.

102. brake fluid

103. I found it easier to be certain of the inverter coolant level with a strong light shining through the translucent container:

104. same here for the engine coolant:

efusco · May 7, 2010

I stickied the thread...for the pretty pictures if for no other reason!

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efusco Moderator Emeritus Staff Member

Brake Shoe Inspection and Grabby Brakes

ECU evap test not running, won't pass inspection

AC pre-visual inspection. Pt 1 of 5 videos

Help needed: slow paced beeps then fast paced beeps while driving without any visual warning

$81 for a visual inspection of stuff!?

efusco Moderator Emeritus
Staff Member