Oil Change on v just like standard Prius?

Guill I wish I could help but I'm still under 1k miles. If you have the desire it may help to document it for us newbie Prius owners. . Hopefully when the west coast has had their coffee someone will answer. Good luck! W

 

I've taken off the entire engine bottom cover of my "v" to do reustproofing and undercoating, and I can verify that it is exactly the same, although mine las only 500 miles on it. I've ordered the filters, the Assenmacher oil filter car wrench, and even a couple of extra oil filter housing assemblies, and I can assure you that they look the same.

The hinged door uses the same three push in rivet clips. The door has been redesigned away from the thin sharp platic "living hinge. It is not a "radiused" corrugation that puts less stress on the plastic hinge.

I intend to us paint marks to reference the position of the cap in relation to the casting into which it is threaded, so I can "retighten" the cap to the same "angular torque" as the factory without a torque wrench. Doung it this way, even a 10 unch Crescent adjustable wrench would work with the Assenmacher cap wrench. If you use a torwue wrench, you'd need a 24mm or a 15/16" socket. I have all the above, but marking the cap would be easier.

I'm going to change my oil at about 2k miles. I think 10k is too long to wait. If I do this, my oil filter housing cap would be marked.

I doubt if the dealer will used a torque wrench. Marking the cap will also let you confirm if the delaer changed the filter at 10k miles, since the marks will not likely be aligned, when you get your car back.

 

Guill,

I'm glad to share my knowledge with you. I'm 62, now, and, like you, I've been working on cars, including my own since I was about 16. Experience does make a difference.

The OEM filters are less expensive than the FRAM's at Walmart. The Prius "v," already has synthethic oil in in installed at the factory. So, I'm almost sure that I'm fine, if I chage oil at 3k and let the dealer do it at 10k, as scheduled.

I am, however, not sold on AmsOil that supposed to last 25k miles. I prefer to get the "crap" out with the oil change.

That torque angle method is actually more accurate than the torque wrench. Nearly all cylinder heads are tightened using angular torque to finally tighten the head bolts.

 

Can anybody confirm "Oil Filter Cap" size?
Is it 64mm, 64.5mm or 65mm ?

I see reference to all sizes all over the net and not sure which one is correct. Eg: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-filter-cap-w-too-much-force.html#post1367353

I've found one on ebay:
Oil Filter Cap Tool for Toyota 64.5mm 3/8" Drive | eBay

Anybody has the oil filter cap and a caliper to confirm the size?

 

The Assenmacher TOY640 is the best one out there;

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B0015PK3AG?tag=priuschatcom-20
I've not heard of anyone breaking the filter cap. It can happen, however, that the threads could be stripped, if they were crossed.

 

Toyota has a TRD (Toyota Racing Development) synthetic filter (part no. PTR43-52090) that can be used instead of the OEM paper filter. Costs about 3x as much, but worth it in my opinion since I'm only changing the oil twice a year.

 

Yes, just as with standard prius:

Step 1: Drive car to dealership.
Step 2: Have them do oil change.
Step 3: Drive home.

 

Step 4: Check the oil dip stick level and find out that the dealer overfilled it.
Step 5: Drive car back to the dealership.
Step 6: Wait three hours.
Step 7: Drive home.
Step 8; Recheck dipstick oil level.
Step 9: Find that oil level is still overfilled.

 

:cheer2:

 

Move step 7 to 9, then renumber...

 

Yes - sort of! I'll share a bunch of pictures - if you're familiar with standard prius changes, or if you're familiar with cartridge-style filters on other vehicles, much of this will be familiar. But I wanted to document my whole process for anyone who's interested, or maybe totally new to the Prius and this style of filter.

I did a partial (filter-only) oil change yesterday, at about 1800 miles. I've taken to doing a filter-only change every other interval on my vehicles - i.e. if the recommended Oil Change Interval is 3000mi (as on my Vibe), I do a filter-only change at 3000mi, and a full change + filter at 6000mi. Modern synthetic oils apparently don't really break down under normal use, so it's just a matter of keeping it clean and free of contaminants. Changing the filter usually drains about 0.5 - 1 qt of oil, so I call it a partial change.

Anyway, I decided to do the early change on my v as a filter-only change, figuring I'd get rid of a good portion of any particulate matter that might be present. The v uses exactly the same filters (and filter wrench) as my old Scion xD, so I already had all the equipment I needed. If you need to buy new filters, I suggest OEM Toyota filters - I found the cheapest source to be buying a 10-pack for about $45 online, but some people have said they can get a good deal on individual filters from their dealership. There are a couple of aftermarket filter cartridges available, but I find these are usually more expensive than the real Toyota ones, and at least some of them have unnecessary plastic caps on the end that don't help, and may theoretically reduce usable filter area or flow rate. So I stick with Toyota (part # 04152-YZZA6).

Pictures to tell the rest of the story:

Jacked up the car - my existing ramps (like these) are too steep, so they hit the bumper before the wheels touch the ramps. I'll eventually buy or make new ramps, but for now, it's a jack + stands. Takes a whole extra 2 minutes!






Here's the access panel: Hinge is in the blue box, annoying plastic fastener pins are circled in yellow.




Releasing the annoying fastener push pins. Note - I hate the fact that these are intended to be reusable fasteners. Nonsense - they just won't last. I'm working on replacing these - have a few products/solutions in mind. I'll try them out and post back when I figure out something that works better. But for now, you have to release the pins. I like to start with I small screwdriver:



Once the center portion is out, grasp and pull.



(To re-insert the fastener, make sure to insert the base with the pin still "out" until the base is firmly seated, then push the pin back in.)

Panel open; oil drain plug circled in red. Note that I'm holding the panel open - this springy plastic hinge is another annoying "feature" that I intend to change soon.


But we now have access to the oil change parts. In the picture below, I've attached a cup-style filter wrench and a ratchet. My filter wrench is something like a black-colored version of this one, but based on recommendations on this forum, there should be Assenmacher or Lisle brand wrenches that will fit. I believe it's 64mm or 65mm. My wrench fits so tight that I just leave it attached to the filter housing.



Once you unscrew the filter housing a few turns, oil will slowly flow out, theoretically starting near the tabs that stick out on either side of the filter housing.



I let it drain a bit, spin it another 180 degrees, let it drain a little more, until I pull it out all the way. Draining it slowly like this slightly reduces the potential for mess.



If you are doing a full oil change, you can unscrew the drain plug and drain the main pan either before or after you change the filter. I plan to install a Fumoto valve (F103S) when I do my full oil change - this adds convenience and significantly reduces the chance of spills/splashes/messes.

Back to the filter - next you need to pop out the old filter, and remove the O-ring from the filter housing.





New filters will come with O-rings, so just stretch the new O-ring over the housing and make sure it's seated in the same groove. If it's not already oily from your hands, spread a little bit of cleanish oil around the O-ring to create a good seal.
Press the new filter into the housing - be sure it "snaps" in.




Then just re-install the filter cover (I snug it until the shoulder of the filter housing hits the flat surface, then give it another ~1/8 turn). Re-install the oil drain plug if necessary, add new oil, and you're good to go!

I hope the pictures are helpful,
Andy

 

You're very welcome! Thank Chazz8 too - he came over to help me out, and he took all the pictures while my hands were covered in oil.

 

Sorry to dredge up the old thread, but I received a PM about this, and wanted to report back. I thought I had posted something about this already, but couldn't find it. Anyway, I installed the Fumoto F103S shortly after I posted this thread, and just like the ones I've used with other vehicles, it works great. Maybe even better on the Prius, because the plastic panel door protects the whole thing so debris can't catch on the lever and accidentally open it. (On vehicles where the oil valve is exposed, I just wrap a chunk of 12ga copper wire tightly under the valve; this prevents it from opening).
I keep a ~8" piece of rubber hose with my oil changing gear - just slip that over the end of the valve, open the lever, and let it drain. The oil does drain significantly more slowly than it would without the valve, so be sure your engine is warm before starting, or just be patient! We're talking maybe 10 minutes to drain, not hours - just enough time to refill the WW fluid, collect the new oil, etc.
I do recommend this on the Prius - the only thing is that the extended oil change intervals mean I don't get to use it very often!

Andy