Inverter fluid change, should I

Purging air out of the inverter just comes with the territory and is not that big of a deal. Two clear plastic tubes and a little wrench work and the inverter pump does most of the work. Then carry the left over fluid for a couple of days and top off the little tank if the level goes down and the problem is solved.

Bob Wilson

 

My advice: If it ain't broke.....don't fix it!.

 

Use an AirLift to bleed the system!!!!!

 

Since your car's model year is 2001, the original fluid was the red Toyota Long Life Coolant which should have been replaced at 30K mile intervals. If you use the pink Toyota Super Long Life Coolant then the service interval will be 50K miles.

The reason why it is necessary to replace the inverter/transaxle coolant is that the antifreeze has a limited service life. If you don't replace it, corrosion may form in the inverter cooling channels.

 

There seem to be recommendations both for and against this approach, as seen in another thread, with some shops routinely using it (e.g. Art's Automotive) and others (like galaxee's DH and hobbit) advising against because of concerns that the inverter cooling loop might not be designed for such relative pressures.

I haven't seen any reports that the people doing it have had problems.

I actually now have an Air Lift myself. (Well, not an Air Lift air lift, but a venturi vacuum source and some stoppers and hose). And I still haven't decided whether I'll use it on the inverter loop or not.

-Chap

 

Are there photos/instructions of the inverter coolant change procedure online?

 

The 'hobbit' link in the post above covers his pump replacement pretty well (drain coolant, switch pumps, refill coolant). If you skip the 'switch pumps' step it's a pretty good description of a coolant change, done without a vacuum tool.

Art's Automotive has a 30k service thread that describes a coolant change with a vacuum tool.

-Chap

 

Yes. 2G has one bleed screw and the inverter bleeding process is pretty easy.

Classic has two bleed screws and the process is more difficult. I recommend that 1) you measure the drained coolant so that you know how much you have to add before you can declare victory and 2) you listen to the sound of the inverter coolant pump and look at the fluid turbulence within the inverter coolant reservoir before you start the fluid change.

You'll need to bring the pump sound and fluid turbulence back to the original levels, before you can say you are done. If you hit a plateau where your bleeding efforts don't seem to be doing much, try driving the car around the block, then resume your bleeding activity.

 

From what I can tell from the photos, the "Hobbit" link details the inverter coolant replacement on a gen 2. I don't see the Gen 1 transaxle pan.

Also, my car has about 160,000 on the original inverter coolant pump. What is the part number for a new pump, and is it behind the left headlight as shown in the link?

 

Also, my serpentine belt needs replacement. I'm thinking of doing the water pump at the same time, but again, I want to see pictures before I start taking stuff apart. Any links?