Should I stay or should I go? (Repairs vs selling)

none of these are absolutely necessary to keep driving the car, and you'll probably continue to make repairs after all this is fixed. sounds like they are more than the value of the car. i would say go.

 

Sounds like a lot of money for a car with 215k miles. I would get a quote at the dealer or another mechanic. I don't know of any mechanic that marks up parts more than 100% of the actual cost

SM-N900P ?

 

If you have backup transportation and a place to work on it, order the problems, order the parts, and fix it yourself. If this is your only transportation, you're in a tough spot.

Read the sticky about who should own this model car and rate yourself. Personally, I don't see anything on the list that will keep you stranded by the side of the road. Although the belt is important, it makes sense to buy the spare and carry it in the car with the tools to replace it. Then combine belt replacement with the A/C shim fixed in a parking place or 'rent a bay.'

The suspension parts are another thing because I suspect it requires heavy duty tools and a lift. I've not done it but IMHO, the ride might be a little snaky but tolerable. But I used to drive a Model A Ford and 'farm' equipment. I'm not a good judge.

Bob Wilson

 

The air gap can easily be adjusted by removing some shims between the pulley can the clutch.

 

As others have pointed out, there's an easy fix that has nothing to do with replacing the compressor or opening the sealed system in any way. As the clutch wears, the gap is adjusted by adjusting the shim combination between the clutch shaft and pressure plate. Where did you get the spec figures you quoted? The actual ideal gap given in the manual is 0.5 mm. They allow a deviation of ± 0.15mm so maybe that's where the quoted number came from. Of course that really means 0.35 to 0.65 mm should be ok, and your 0.783 is somewhat too large. I'm not sure I'd say "way too large" as mine didn't even cause any engagement trouble until it hit 1.34! But if yours is causing engagement trouble now, sure, go ahead and adjust it. It'll take about 10 minutes and if you buy a whole new shim set at the dealer it will lighten your wallet by a dollar and twenty-one cents. You can do it with all four wheels on the ground, just steer to the right and drop the plastic engine under-cover on the right side.

Please don't adjust it just by blindly taking out shims. Instead, measure the total thickness of whatever shim(s) you take out, add half a millimeter, subtract the 0.783 travel you measured, and what you get is the thickness you want to aim for with your new shims. The dealer kit contains a 0.1 mm, a 0.3 mm, and a 0.5 mm so you just choose whatever combination will make the thickness you need (within 0.15 mm either side). In my case there were two combinations that would be within ± 0.15 and I ended up using the fatter one, as the skinnier one did leave my clutch dragging slightly.

It sounds to me like what you've really got is an A/C clutch shim adjustment and a belt replacement, which should both be easy and cheap and what I'd consider normal maintenance (they schedule the belt every 4 years), plus a couple of shocks (or all 4 if you want to work in sets). The question seems to boil down to whether a Prius at 214k is worth putting shocks on.

If it were me and I could do it for ~ $300, I think I would. Just the hassle of shopping for a replacement vehicle would probably strike me as exceeding that. Pace Bob, I don't think you need especially heavy tools or a lift to get at the struts. Good jackstands and a breaker bar ought to do it. If you don't have a spring compressor (or you have a cheap one and aren't sure you trust it), you can take the new and old struts into a local shop just to have the springs transferred. As Bob said, it does matter whether you have a way to get around while working on it....

-Chap

 

X2

This seems to me like a no brainer.

AC - fix with $2 shim kit
Drive Belt - Cost $15 and easy to install
Struts - Front struts $60 each plus $50 at a shop to swap over springs
Shocks - Rears $70 each
Hobby space rental - local rate

 

Give it a go, in order of priority.

 

Of course polling folks who already own and repair their own Prius might give a different result than if you asked the same question in "DealersChat.<model>.com". <grins>

Bob Wilson

 

Yeah, "gasket kit"'s a funny name, but you can check the number in the photo here.

For some reason, the new PriusChat forum software doesn't always take you straight to the right post following a post link, so you might end up looking at some other spot higher up the page. But if you just wait for the page to finish loading, put the cursor in the URL bar and hit Enter, you should jump to the right spot.

-Chap