2008 prius owner. Couple questions?

OK on replacing the engine thermostat, engine coolant, and inverter coolant.
Check the VIN number on the Toyota owner's website to determine prior dealer service. Maybe you will find the inverter coolant pump was replaced under recall.

If not, I would agree with replacing the inverter coolant pump preventively since you will not receive advance notice of a failure.

The engine coolant pump bearing can be inspected for weeping by looking for whitish or pinkish residue inside the pump pulley or deposited upon the air conditioner compressor housing. If you see, then replace the pump, as the weeping is your advance notice of a failure. If you don't see this, there is no need to replace that pump.

I would not replace the coolant heat recovery system pump unless an engine ECU DTC is logged which points to that. That pump contributes almost no value. Similarly I would not replace the engine coolant valve unless a relevant DTC is logged. If the valve fails, the worst-case scenario is that you lose cabin heater functionality which is not the end of the world. A valve failure would not lead to engine overheating or driveability issues.

 

Okay Patrick. Thank you for relaying and making me understand the functionality of the unit. I red your answer too in the other forum relating to the coolant recovery pump. So in this case I can hold on to that one since the part is so expensive. I almost order that one today too. However I got the rest of all the items and I should be able to get it anytime next week. I will go ahead and change the inverter pump, thermostat and gasket (so I wont get a surprise), Ill double check if I need to change the mechanical water pump either wait or change it if needed, flush the cooling system, change all the coolant, hold on to remaining pump front of the car if that's the one you mentioned that acts as a heater cabin operating valve if I'm correct on hearing you. If so I can set that aside for now. And as for all the service records I got it from the Toyota website. Ill probably gonna hit the transmission oil too and fuel filter. I notice there is a slight movement on the motor mount and I will probably gonna replace those too which ever is the one that needs it. I'm also planning to clean out the cell battery fan and see if it also functioning properly. Hopefully I should be a golden after this.
Like what I mentioned before the hybrid is all new to me with a purpose of using this car for an everyday go to work so I would just use my other cars on the weekend since they are pretty much all 50+ years old.
I was with a few 80s Toyota PU and Corollas for everyday use and in fact I still have 1 which is an 86 still runs like a dream but having said this is my third one in my whole life so I wanted to switch to a bit more gas saver and more green. Every time I buy a new "used" cars I tend replace as much as I can to prevent the car not to stop me on the road. So far it's rewarding.
Hopefully I get the same experience with the Prius and I'm barely beginning to understand the way how the system works.
Im preparing myself to learn more in case if the HV battery dies soon.
I have another question, when do you normally change the radiator (thermostatically operated) auxiliary fan switch?
How many gallon of coolant do I need to get to flush the entire system?
Can I use sierra or prestone or do I get the one they sell at the Toyota dealer?
Im a bit concern for this is the first time owning a car with no temperature and oil gauge (only light). Why do you think they designed it that way?
Thanks,.
joe

 

Hi Joe,

You will need 6.5 US quarts for the engine coolant loop and 2.5 US quarts for the inverter, so buy 3 gallons of Toyota Super Long Life Coolant (which is premixed with distilled water.) Do not use cheap antifreeze substitutes.

Get 4 quarts of Toyota ATF-WS for the transaxle fluid change. Also get 3 aluminum washers for the transaxle drain and fill plugs: 2 for the transaxle ATF fill and drain; and 1 for the inverter/transaxle coolant drain. You need a 24 mm 6-point socket and a 10 mm hex key socket. The 10 mm hex key is for the transaxle ATF drain; the 24 mm socket is used for the other two.

There is no fuel filter that you can change unless you replace the entire fuel tank. (Those 2G Prius owners who report changing the fuel filter live outside North America as those Prius have a different fuel tank which does not contain the bladder.)

I would not worry about the radiator fan switch, that is not a commonly reported failure item. Most of the time when people report an issue with the fans, that is due to front-end accident damage improperly repaired.

 

Okay...
I got the 24mm six pointer and the 10mm hex. I also found my cooling system pressure tester and with a stroke of luck, I have and adaptor that fits into this mini radiator cap. Last time I was that adaptor was over 20 years ago.
Changing this inverter pump should be a little relaxing knowing Toyota commonly uses "some 8" 10-12-14-17-19 24mm and pretty much "looks the same" on this car.
Maybe next time Ill adjust the valve train. Not sure if this is convention or shim type. if so I don't have those pellets.
Thanks for the help and regards. I see you have an XK Jag. That's a nice car! What's the engine size?
I'm so bummed out I sold my XJ6 not even a month ago. My cat loves that car I drive her at night around our area.

 

Be sure to triple check you have bled all the air out of the cooling system after changing the coolant. When I drained the coolant in my ex taxi Prius to do the timing chain replacement (not actually required it turned out) it took me quite a few attempts to get all the air out of the system.
As far as coolant temp, if you fit a Scan II gauge then this is one of the parameters you can monitor, you can choose which of the 4 displays monitors which sensor that is fed to the computer.

T1 Terry

 

Hi Terry,
Thank you for the input. That is actually the one thing I need to know where the bleeding points are. I worked on a lot of car as you know this in new to me. That only thing I know when I bleed the system is to release to the highest point. That is yet to be determined when I get there unless there is a schematic or a drawing that I can make myself a bit shortcut on finding it.
The other thing is there is like a coolant reservoir on the drivers side fender if I'm correct so basically that's another area that I need to cover too.
I red all the jobs they have done in past at the dealer which includes the inverter pump back in 2011. I think I'm just gonna call it like this. I'm gonna start from ground zero since I'm on 100k miles. Ill replace all the pumps, fluids, filters since the car is almost 12 years old. I'm gonna be driving the car almost like a taxi in the radius 85 miles from where I live. Its very difficult for me to follow-up on the car religiously due to having 2 jobs, the houses, family. its a good thing I was able to keep up with my other cars in the early days so I'm kind of relieved on that side.. (for now). I'll use that scanner when I fire it up to monitor it.
I kind of understand now that there are some certain areas in the engine and inverter/converter going to the tank that varies the operating temperature. I want to ask you this. Have you ever thought about putting a temperature gauge like any place in the dash? I use to install those stuffs in my early days when I use to work for GM. I'm just a bit concern that when overheat comes, atleast it wont be a surprise....

 

The valve train requires shims.

The XK has a 4.2L V8 engine, 300 hp, 32 valves.

I owned a 1985 XJ6 VandenPlas a few decades ago, and enjoyed owning that car except for engine oil leaks that were difficult to keep up with. The electrical system was not perfect. The more recent Jaguar models thankfully are much better in that regard.

There is a plastic bleed plug in the engine radiator. I believe it needs a 6 mm Allen hex key. When draining engine radiator coolant, keep the radiator cap on and open the drain at the coolant heat recovery system canister valve. That will drain the reservoir, and 95%+ of the engine coolant. No need to open the radiator drain valve. Optional to open the engine block drain valve as only a tiny amount will come out.

The inverter coolant needs a tube running from the bleed valve up to the reservoir when refilling. That reservoir is between the inverter and engine. This bleed valve can be seen when the black plastic panel above the radiator is removed.

Regarding a temperature gauge, I have not bothered because the Prius is not really known to overheat if you keep an eye on the coolant pump, serpentine drive belt, and coolant level in the radiator. However if you want one, a possibility is the Autool X50+ which I got for the XK. It plugs into the OBD-II port and you can measure engine coolant temp, battery voltage, engine RPM, etc. You can select three measurements to be simultaneously displayed, so I have engine coolant temp in the large font display, as well as engine RPM (which is redundant with the tachometer) and battery voltage. You can even calibrate the battery voltage display, so I set the display to correspond with voltage as measured by my Fluke 87 DMM at the 12V auxiliary socket.

 

There is thread here with a You Tube link to a very long and drawn out 2 part instruction on draining and bleeding the cooling system. You'll need a few cups of coffee to get through it without dropping off to sleep, but it can be condensed into a fraction of the time if he didn't enjoy talking so much.
For a US model, the drain is on the drivers side looking up from under, the bleeder is under the plastic cover panel that goes across the top of the radiator. Put a tube on the bleeder, run it into a clean container so you can recover the coolant.
The video shows how to run the pump, I just ran the engine for a min each time till air stopped coming out, closed the bleed screw and the filled the radiator, ran the engine again and check the radiator filler till it was full after an engine run.
Next I ran the engine until I could feel the heat in the radiator signalling the thermostat had opened, turned the engine off, loosened the bleed to see if there was any air trapped, then check the filler level. If you have to add much, best to do this bit twice, but my Prius only required about a cup full to top it up. Checked again after a drive and letting it cool and part of the over flow bottle was drawn back into the radiator, topped that up, checked the rad level and it was full. Job done.

T1 Terry
Forgot the link Is there a way to drain the coolant from just the radiator,and not need bleed the cooling system | PriusChat

 

Hi Patrick / Terry,
Hate skip a bit for I had a window to chat at work shortly and will get back on our conversation. Have you ever dealt with these guys before? Been following up since Saturday for I want to add one more part from my current order at least before they ship today. I don't have their phone number just email... Joe

TOYOTA PARTS DELIVERED,
10 Marmon Dr.
Nashua, New Hampshire, 03060
USA

 

Have you already tried this # ?

• Parts: 833-681-9943

They have a fairly low rating, I hope everything works out with your order.

 

Oh thanks for the info.
I order some parts from them last Saturday and I just want to add one more part so if I can get it all at the same time. I did had the chance to contact them with the number you gave me (thank you). Hopefully the guy had a cup of coffee.
If the delivery is a "turtle express" I can wait a bit as long as its not like next year. Lol...
If you can give me an input, why and where would you go?
Thanks,
Joe

 

Parts.com
Autonation Toyota Gulf Freeway (Houston)
Olathe Toyota (Kansas)

 

Hi Patrick /Terry,
Looks good and pretty much I have a picture of what I'm going do. Thanks for narrowing it down. If I didn't know this it'll probably take me much longer than I'm suppose to do. After I bleed, test drive, bleed... Ill take a temperature check see if I can get that Autool X50+. That too can be useful along the way too. Was wondering if you can use that meter on continuous operation. Like installed on normal driving operation? Sorry I was a bit swamped at the job. New year. You know how that goes. Just right here..
Thanks,
Classic Car Guy

 

The Scangauge II that I have installed in my Prius runs full time. It can be set to display a lot of different sensor related information, but only 4 at a time can be displayed. There is a slight lag in information updates and I think this may just be the frequency the on board computer reads the sensor output, but it might be the time it takes for the Scan gauge to read through all the inputs and return to the input you are monitoring. SOC, battery voltage, engine temp and current flow in/out of the traction battery are the ones I monitor and the delay is showing the regen amps and SOC changes are a bit annoying, yet the traction battery voltage updates very quickly compared to the other 3 displays, but it probably is only a few seconds delay so .....

T1 Terry

 

...That's close enough better than what I got = "nothing". I think I'm gonna order that gauge a soon as I can. In the mean time I believe I can get the parts tomorrow and Friday. Hopefully Ill get all the pumps complete so I can hit it as much as I can on Saturday and flush all the coolant, out some new one. I gotta pick those up at Toyota at least on Friday before going home. I have to push this car to finish for in the next 2 weeks Ill be on road. a lot of jobsite work.
How's the taxi business? Seems pretty busy now for business is picking up again by the end of January.
Regards,
Joe

 

Not in the taxi business, my high mileage Prius was purchased from a taxi mob based in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland Australia. I'm in the lithium battery/solar off grid install business

T1 Terry

 

Oops my bad..

 

I thought you were in the states. Is it pretty cold in there now?
My best wish if I can get my hands on a 1971 to 74 Dodge Colt aka Galant GSR or a 76-78 Ford Escort RS2000 with the round lights.. That will be the day. Unfortunately we don't have those cars here. I heard that you have those in Australia like there's no tomorrow. Nothing better or best its just a personal preference.. or wish.

 

It’s summer in Australia now. Seasons are reversed because Australia is south of the equator

 

Hi. I see what you mean now. Lol... That's okay Ill just drive the other car I think its might be a bit sunny this weekend.