So, this weekend I changed the oil on my '07 prius. All went well for the most part. Only question I have is, I happened to spill a fairly significant amount of oil up top while filling it up (don't ask how, it was a stupid mistake, but it wont happen again!). I was wondering what the best way to clean it up is. Can I just use a hose and spray water down there? Seems a bit of a scary proposition with all the electronics back there. Or should I not worry about it?
you should be o'k washing it off, just give it a few hours to dry out. engine should not be hot but could be somewhat warm (say ~40min-1hr after driven). Auto stores (Autozone, Pepboys, etc) sell engine degrease spray you could spray before hosing off good luck
HOMe depot look for the purple bottle DEGREASER.. use some hot water mix and pore where it drained then rinse away with buckets of warm water till its not greasy any more
Dispose of the runoff appropriately. I would tend to sop it up with paper towels, and then burn them for heat.
well it ran down between the firewall and the engine block. (behind the oil fill spot) Not easy to get rags back there.
Hi Rusty. There's a kind of recess or indent in the valve cover where the igniters (and plugs) are located. If you spill any oil behind filler hole then it usually ends up in there (the recess). It's a good idea to dry it out properly to make sure that it doesn't seep down into the igniters. BTW. See this thread where I did the same thing: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...7365-oil-change-fail-minor-advice-needed.html
BTW. That was about 6 months and 14000 km (9000 miles) ago. In the end I never did remove the igniters to check if any oil got into the wells, but the engine hasn't missed a beat in that 14000 km so I assume it's all a-ok. I'll probably be doing the plugs at 150k km, which is about 12 months, anyway.
I also wanted to ask when changing the oil. After you have drained the old oil, replaced the filter, and added the first 3 quarts, How do you run the engine for 5 minutes before checking the level and adding more? Do you just get in and drive around some? In the post he mentioned taking that time to put the old oil into containers, but I turned on my car but the ice engine wouldn't run for nothing.
When I change oil, I ONLY use 3 quarts. As long as the oil level is between the two dimples it is just fine. I find that 3 quarts puts the level slightly less than halfway between the dimples.
You don't. Oil level is checked after an engine has been off for at least 15 minutes. Run it while checking it and you'll overfill it. And, as the man wrote, midway between the dimples is fine. 3 quarts is plenty for that.
I think he means run it, allow the oil to settle, and then check. Rusty, I just turned mine on and let it do the warm up routine for a minute or so, turned it off, then waited to let the oil settle. I think during that time I did some of the cleanup or something to fill the time. Are you a classical musician, too? I've seen drums or something before, but your car is named Allegretto...
Yes I run mine briefly to make sure the oil filter and any other passages are fully primed with oil before letting it settle and making any final adjustment to the oil level. . Within just a few seconds of starting the oil should be right throughout the system, so you don't really need 5 minutes.. It doesn't hurt though, to let it warm up a bit so that the oil drains back more freely. I do the following: - put the car into ready - leave it in park and foot on the brake - slowly depress the accelerator pedal until it starts (or if it's cold it will start anyway) - let it run for 30 second to a minute. - turn it off the start packing up, cleaning up etc. - Recheck final oil level 10 to 15 minutes later. It takes me a good 10 to 15 minutes to pack up and clean up everything, including pouring old oil into a container for recycling. BTW. I usually fill to just shy of the top dimple, about 3.5 quarts.
Thanks for all the tips guys! very helpful. Not a classical musician, but played baritone/euphonium in middle school through high school.
I don't run the engine for oil change - hate to waste fuel. I went back to my record from last oil change and level checks since then. The oil level moved down about 4 mm, i.e. the level is 4 mm lower after some driving (and resting) than it was when I completed the oil change. I did fill the filter near the top.
