Transaxle replacement thread: Orange4boy's 2003 Prius

Just got it back in!

I decided to remove the old axle seals and install the new ones once the tranny was installed because in is easy and there's lot's of room to work under there. Plus, I'm impatient and couldn't wait to pick up the seals on Tuesday.

The chain hoist worked fantastically well. The way I set it up you could change the centre of gravity by moving the position of the hook on the rod. This allowed the tranny to be tilted /swung to get it into position much more easily than from a jack below. I just left my lift hook bolted to the tranny as it would have been tricky to unbolt. I used the jack to support the weight when I needed to change the hook position.

Of course there had to be a problem. I got it into place and was trying to get it that last bit so I could get the bolts in. Then I noticed a small problem. Two pins and no holes to go into. After a short mild panic that the early and late gen1 trannies were different, I calmed down and attempted to spin the extra one out of the tranny with a vise grip. I guess the tranny had an extra pin from it's last home corroded in. It came out without too much trouble. After that it was smooth sailing.

I'm also flying solo here but I used to wrench on my WV beetle when I was younger and that was similarly challenging.

I decided to leave the struts / brake / axle assembly attached at the top. They just hang from the strut mount. Saved a few bolts and any crazy brake bleeding.

Pics later...

 

I did lift it from below but with a chain hoist from above. The chain dropped through the engine compartment and hooked onto the tranny below, then up she went. I'll post a picture.

Thanks for the advise, tomfreed. I got the shaft aligned and moved the flywheel a bit and in it went.

 

Some more pics.

This is how I lifted the transaxle in. It was not dropped in from above. It was rolled under the car on a low dolly. The chain hoist was hung from the reinforced rafters above, aligned with a plum bob, the chain was lowered through the engine compartment, hooked on to the bracket and raised up. This allows the transaxle to be manipulated very easily which is fantastic because it needs to be tilted to easily clear the flywheel. The hood could be removed to give the required space for the chains but I just loosened it and propped it up further back with a longer rod.

This could be done with a regular engine hoist too, just drop it down instead of lifting it up

In the first picture the hoist is mounted in front of the car so I could lift the transaxle high enough to remove the seals and attach various brackets.



My transaxle lift bracket. Bolted just beside the bleeder nipple. It's a 1.5" x 3" x 3/8 thick flat bar drilled for the 1/2 inch x 5" high strength ready rod. You could use a grade 5 or better 1/2" bolt here too but it should be 5" or longer total to be able to balance and tilt the transaxle.



Here the transaxle is tilted down to the right to clear the flywheel and the frame on the right side. Note the position of the hook on the bolt. Balanced is to the extreme outside of the bolt.



That's where it sits. I'm leaving it there for "insurance" purposes.



This is the shot of the extra pin which gave me a start until I realized that it came from the last ICE. The confirmation was a paint stripe on the end of the pin when I got it out so It must have been pulled from the ICE side.

 

Woo hoo!



That's a happy hybrid screen!

Had to post the quickie news flash because I wanted to finish the rest of the assembly/final torquing so we could take it for a spin tonight.

When I first turned on the ignition I got the triangle of death and the hybrid system red flashy car icon. I was worried but still had hope that after I finished bleeding the inverter coolant it would be fine. You have to turn the car off and on a few time and bleed in between and the third time I turned it on the bad lights went bye bye. I started it up and the ICE ran and charged the battery.

Now I must eat and recharge my batteries.

 

No, Thank you, Bob!

For the much appreciated hand holding, timely information and the soon to arrive tech tool.

Thanks to tomfreed for the pictures, advise and encouragement.

And thanks to the priuschat support group... you know who you are...

Getting tags tomorrow!

 

A good omen. And boy, did I give thanks when it started up!

Had just reconnected the 12V. Tank was a little under 1/2.

Transaxle only had 19,000 Km. I confirmed this when I opened the oil pan and the sump was very clean with only a small build up of extremely fine particles (so fine it felt like a sludge) on the magnet. Oil was nice and red and viscous.

I will keep you up to date here.

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

I got a first MFD mileage of 5.4 L/100Km - 43.5 mpg. Not bad for Bowen where the van gets about 10.5 L/100Km - 22mpg. It will be a bit lower for Honey's commute because it will be cold at each end.
Not enough Km for any conclusions, but a good start.

It definitely will need a grille block and some more engine bay blocking to stay warm as it cools off in just a few minutes at 10˚C. Finally, a chance to use some of the Soundown acoustic / thermal insulation I got at a thrift shop. A block heater,and two sump heaters are also on the menu.

I will keep an eye on the temps at highway speed when we go to the in-laws on Tuesday.

Im very curious to see the insides of the old transaxle too. I still have to do a big clean up and catch up on some work for a client though, so I'm going to have to be patient.

On another note, I bought some interesting 120V 140watt elements at Princess auto the other day for $4 ea. I had seen them before but had not thought of a good application for them. Now I have a candidate: Oil pan heaters for the Prius.

The elements are CSA approved, U shaped, made of aluminum with a resistive core and have seal on the end which I hope to finesse into two holes in the side of the pan so the element is suspended in the oil. I don't know about rubber seals and oil, though.

I will have to test them first to see that they don't overheat the oil or leak through the seals. I think I can install them in both the transaxle oil pan and the engine. Tested one today in a giant tin and it heated the water to 120˚F in about an hour. Next. I will test it in an oil bath in an old baking sheet to see if the seals work an test it's reaction to oil. If the seals don't work (and I suspect they might not) then they could be fairly easily surface mounted on the underside of the pan.

Fun fun fun.

 

Update.

Everything is fine so far. Runs great. Having fun learning how to drive it well. Getting about 6.2L/100 here in hilly, cold, short trip driving. Put on about 200Km so far.

I will put in a block heater soon as it warms up slowly in the 5˚C weather.

My front brakes are still covered in a layer of rust. I have done the neutral stop technique but perhaps not long enough. There is a local guy selling rotors and pads for $80 a set. That's 2 rotors and the pads for $80. Seems very cheap. Perhaps I should buy them for future use. I'll get a comparison price from my local parts place.

I will get an alignment when I get new tires. There is no service record of previous owners having done one so to protect the new tires...

Going to check for leaks and re-torque everything today.

Thanks again for your help.

 

Brand is Lomandi. Looked them up. They are a Canadian company based here in my home town.

Seem to be reputable. Maybe the seller got them as remainders for cheap or bought them then sold his car.

 

On the highway run home from Abbottsford with two of us plus the scruffmuffin and a trunk load of groceries and furniture, the MFD read 3.9L/110Km 60mpg I was able to do quite a lot of super highway mode... once I figured out how to keep it there. The upper levels highway took it's toll though and by the end of the drive it was down to 4.5 / 52.

I'm not complaining though. That's still excellent. Next time I'm going to try taking the beautiful Marine Drive to see if that is a better FE route.

Can't wait to see what some mods will do for me.