Photoblog repair with tech questions

First off I want to say I have been looking at buying a Prius for some time. I am a full time firefighter, and have been very impressed at the safety as well as the fuel mileage I have seen with them. I have a few friends that have bought them, and alas I now have taken the plunge.
I am an experienced mechanic and know how to do body work, so buying a total loss prius was not a scary thing for me. I have been looking around a lot, and finally found one that was decent and not hurt too bad. So, I picked up a 07 with 110k for $4500 on Friday. I will be doing all the repairs and I hope that folks will be able to help me out on some of the more technical points if needed. As you can see, not too bad in the crunch category, but enough to total it.

I don't have any questions about the bodywork but I do have a few questions about some of the issues that I have with the car right now. Just looking for guidance and support.

1-the car will not going to ready mode and I cannot take it out of park to move it which was quite frustrating as I had to use Jacks and sweat to get into the garage. The radiator is smashed in the car is empty of coolant so I assume that it might have something to do with that but I would like some guidance in this area.

2-The only airbag went off is the steering wheel airbag. So I assume that after I replace that air bag and Clock spring, do I need to reset the ECU and also do I have to change any of the crash sensors in the vehicle? All, some, or none? They have no visible damage. Also is the fact that an airbag has been deployed, a safety feature for not letting the vehicle going to ready mode? Yes the 12v battery was completely dead when I got it as well, it is holding a charge but I'm skeptical on the reliability of it. I read all over the forum that the 12v battery can cause a ton of issues.

3-all the warning lights are lit, including the red death triangle. Again, being in a crash, bad battery, ect, could cause this? I have ordered a tech stream knock off from eBay, so when that comes in I will be able to pull codes.

4- got the salvage yard to throw in an extra key fob. I'm very excited about this because I heard I can program this(?) to work with my car. Do I have smartkeys or do I have just the regular Fobs? I thought all of them had smartkeys...I do have the small unlock push buttons on the door handles.

Ok here's some pictures. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP. Also I fully understand the ra ra ra that some have with a salvaged car, I am an adult and have bought several, just no prii before.

Photo 2

Let the madness begin. The garage has now been taken over by the prius wreckus Maximus .

Fender and rad, condenser, bumper cover, supports, headlights, ect out. Not as bad as I thought...

Only actual structural damage! Just the front bumper post mount. Easily pulled out! Yea!

 

I did have my foot on the brake, but my buddy had that "issue" before. My thoughts are the same...never a good idea to run a car without coolant. It's always hard to get the smoke back in the electronics after it comes out...

Two questions- I do have the smartkey. I acquired an additional key from the junkyard, but it does not have the silver logo. Can I program this to work with my car as a back up key?

With the airbag deployed in the steering wheel, does this mean I must replace the clock spring? And with tech stream I assume it will tell me if one of the crash sensors is bad?

Thanks!

 

Just as a pass on, this guy on eBay is selling manuals for less than ten bucks! Item number 271263956305 ...thank you Brit for the advice. I am going to buy the clock spring as the wires to the airbag are damaged.

 

Do I need to replace the front airbag crash sensors "automatically" since the car was in a frontal crash? Or will a dtc scan reveal this?

 

I got most of the parts coming. Wrestled with the radiator support and got it out.
Thanks for all the advice. Can't wait to get the scan tool in and pull the codes.
The drivers seat belt activated, I ordered it.

Do I really need high voltage gloves to pull the orange interlock in the trunk?

 

My probation officer said no knives...

How the heck do you get these stupid spring clips off? Tried for an hour with the sst an no dice! $())&@&!!!

Wire cutters it is, I am just going to buy a new clip

 

Frame straight!

 

Rad support and rad in!

 

When getting ready for paint I hooked up the battery. The horn is stuck on. The airbag is new, as well as the clock spring. Am I missing something?

 

Well I have a car all back together now and I even got started yesterday the red triangle death is off. However this horn problem is perplexing me because I cannot figure out where the short. I remove the dashboard and from the wiring diagrams have traced it all the way back to the driver's-side junction box. When I disconnect that connector my meter indicates that from the relay connection back is not shorting to ground. However if I metered the connection from the junction box back to the steering column I'm at zero ohms to ground which tells me it is shorting somewhere. Anybody with technical experience know a common place for this short? I followed it to connector number one and can't seem to find any shorts however there is a lot of wires!