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Manifold/Waterpump/PCV/Thermostat: Documenting my mistakes

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by econerd, Feb 25, 2024.

  1. econerd

    econerd Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2009
    4
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    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Just thought I'd enter my experience into the record, so you can learn from my mistakes. I'm grateful when I search for help when others have shared when things go wrong and the recovery. 2010, I am the original owner, 145k miles.

    I cleaned the air intake manifold and the EGR pipe (not the valve or cooler...not today), replaced the water pump and the PCV valve. The thermostat was attempted, but failed. This was all preventative maintenance after hearing those head gasket horror stories. Binged youtube videos then dug in.

    Here's what went wrong
    0. Valve to open the radiator drain would not budge. I lifted the front on jack stands but I still could not contort my hand to turn it. Left that for another day, and used hose clamps and caught the spillage.
    1. Hand slipped while unclipping the plug from the MAP sensor on the manifold. Pulled all the wires out. Ordered in a box of crimps and a tool, and learned a new skill. Not that hard, just small. The connections crimp, no solder, and you put them back into the factory housing. Luckily only three wires, and they held their position when pulled out. (Empty-Blue-Yellow-Black, front to back, for the record. I hope.)
    2. Cracked the new thermostat housing. The old gasket had stuck to the engine, and I missed it. Double gasket-->cracked housing. I put the old one back; it was working fine. In retrospect, I could probably swap the guts, but I didn't think of that at the time. I have kept the new guts for future use.
    3. Got it back together, started it up and the ICE stalled and the Check Hybrid System flagged. I figured I missed something, and I did. Pulled the air box back out, looked around, figuring that's all I needed to do to see everything. I forgot to reattach the PCV hose to the manifold. Plugged her in, cleared the codes, and everything is working.

    Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
     
    462disco, MrPete, bisco and 1 other person like this.