spark plug replacement

I always use electrical tape on the socket to the extension. Easy.
TomK

 

I got like a 40-yr old Craftsman plug socket set has some rubber in there to grab it ...worked fine

 

That rubber is to grab the plug itself, this is to hold the socket to the extension as they come apart often when removing. Sounds like my Craftsman set is 20 years younger than yours!

 

I just snapped a bolt because I didn't realize the units had changed from ft lbs to in lbs... I suggest converting all to ft lbs so nobody overdoes it like I did

 

Just had the plugs on my 2004 replaced for the first time at 213K miles. No problem with the car, but thought it was time. They came out without a problem, and still looked good. Mechanics at the shop where amazed. I did replace with Iridium... hope they last as long. Also still on original brake pads... rear drums still have about 50%. Got to love regenerative braking. Over 50% of the miles are around town.

Hybrid Battery went to 193K, purchased replacement from Toyota - new one did fail 53 weeks later, but Toyota covered part and labor for 2nd replacement.

2004 Prius
Purchased new in Dec 2003
Scottsdale AZ

 

I'm wondering if the battery failed or the used ecu that was switched over

 

My 2004 is at 183k and still running fine on original plugs. The hybrid battery is still the original but seems to be showing early signs of wearing down. Has been going on for the last year but hasn't gotten worse. Once in a while the battery will drain overnight and then jump to fully charged fairly quickly. Also seems more sluggish on acceleration. Mileage is down from about 48 to around 44. Brake pads are still original. Given it's age and mileage I'm very pleased with how this car is running.

 

Greg_M, you sure got you moneys worth. I think I would have had to do the plugs just because they are cheap and are not supposed to last that long. Brake pads I can understand not changing if not worn out. Are you talking about the HV battery or 12V that is draining overnight?
TomK

 

I've changed the 12v battery 3 times, wife makes a lot of short trips and my understanding is that the 12v battery is charged very slowly. The last change out was probably a bad battery. That one only lasted 18 months and was replaced for free under the warranty.

The HV battery will sometimes be almost completely drained (down to like 2 bars) overnight. Then the prius will do it's thing where it devotes most of the engine power to charging the battery resulting in very sluggish acceleration. However, after only a few minutes it will show a charged battery and work normal after that.

Like I said, this Prius has been great and saved me a ton of money over the Mazda 626 it replaced. I love the Prius so much that I just replaced our Sienna with a 2013 plug-in Prius. WOW, this one gets much better mileage and love how it stays in electric mode better then my 2004. I'm talking about when it's running as a hybrid instead of all electric.

 

Never knock the Mazda 626. I had a 1993 with the 2.5L and that thing took a beating and never let me down and sold it with 236,000 miles on it. Liked it so much I bought two Mazda Millenias after that with the 2.5L. Although, it only gets about 27 mpg not close the the Prius.
TomK

 

Replaced the Spark Plugs today at 95K They come out easily not like they were seized or anything. The plugs looked great considering the mileage. I check the gap and they were all around 44. the new plugs were pre-gapped at between 42-43.. I left them alone. These plugs could have easily gone 120K with not problem.. I was becoming concerned about them not wanting to come out.

I don't think I will have this car (2008) beyond 200K so I just wanted to get it done. Next I'm going to replace the Coolant for both the ICE and the Inverter. I think I'll skip the PCV Valve but I do have the Transaxle Fluid arriving later today. In the future I plan to clean the Throttle body and Mass Air Flow Sensor. Then I'm done except regular oil changes which I plan on doing myself (switching to Mobil 1 0-30 Synthetic).

 

I learned today that this is indeed not the worse thing that can happen. I broke the porcelain tail on the last plug I was removing. I had a major synapse misfire as I failed to notice that my 5/8" plug socket did not come up from the previous plug hole (i.e. it stayed in the hole while the rest of the assortment of extensions came up) and I ended up putting down the whole assortment of extensions (universal extension plus two short extensions) into the last hole without the socket. Doh! I made a partial turn and broke the porcelain tail right off before I snapped to what had happened. Uggh. This is an easy job that gets much harder when you do something like this. Fortunately, I was able to vacuum up the porcelain using one of those fat clear plastic transmission fill tubes hand adapted to my vacuum cleaner hose. And then I pulled up the old plug with a magnetic wand (as spark plug socket only works with a complete spark plug). I installed the new plug in with no additional problems. You can learn from my mistake.

 

I don't know if this thread is still active but I have a plug problem. Just bought a 2007 Prius today and the guy didn't keep up with maintenance very well. I changed the oil and filter no prob. I got the 2 right spark plugs changed (NGK Iridium). When I got to the 2nd from left the plug was difficult to remove (all 3 I removed had rust on the threads). All 3 up to that point were hard to unscrew. But when I trid to put the new plug back in, it won't line up straight. It sits at an angle no matter how I try to line it up. Its as if the tip was touching something inside the cylinder and the threads wern"t even touching the hole threads. I looked inside with a dental mirror and it looks like there is a bolt with a screw in the center of the hole. I flipped the mirror around and used the magnet end to see if anything came out but nothing. Not even metal shavings (thinking it could be cross-threaded/stripped coming out). I tried putting the old plug back in and had the same problem.

Any ideas what is happening?

 

Compare to one of the other spark plug holes, for example remove the spark plug from cylinder 1 which is closest to the passenger side fender. If in fact you have debris in the cylinder 2 hole you need to do something about it. If necessary, remove the cylinder head cover for improved access to the spark plug holes. If you can't retrieve the debris you will have to remove the cylinder head itself which will not be fun.

Also you can improve your access to the top of the cylinder head by removing the cowl tray that runs across the back of the engine compartment (the windshield wiper motor sits in that tray.)

Compare the spark igniter taken out of the cylinder 2 hole, with one of the other spark igniters, to see if any part of the cylinder 2 igniter had broken off.

 

If you are clear about what you might have in the hole, I would suggest getting some small tubing, duct tape it to the end of a crevice tool attached to your vacuum. If it's not wedge in there you should be able to suck it out.

Otherwise if this fails, then as Patrick suggest, take the cylinder head cover off.

 

Magnetic grab-it tool might work too.

 

Could you describe that "bolt with a screw" in a little more detail?

 

It's probably part of the spark igniter that broke off, or some such thing.

 

It would be magnetic? Could check with one of the others. If it's magnetic, and just fell in there, it's gotta be extricable.

 

Like mendel says I would stop and go buy a magnet on an extender. Or like hchu said the taped up vac works great too. Clearly something fell in the hole.
I have the extender magnet that’s an invaluable too. A while ago I bought a borescope too from Craftsman as I had some points. That thing is really cool. It’s the $100 one I now see everywhere there all the same model.
Led on the long end. You have to keep your wits about you on a sparkplug change.
Step one is compressed air blow out the spark plug wells.

If your seeing corrosion in the spark plug well that means water has gotten in there. Usually caused by 2 things the windshield cowl dam drain is clogged with leaves and or the rubber seal that seals he cowl area has failed
And is no longer glued down. Water then overflows the cowl dam and lands right on top of the engine.

If you fill up that dam with water the water should pour out of the drains. One each behind both front wheels.

If real bad will short out the ignitor. You may be chasing a misfire. If you just bought a 07 you need a hybrid capable obd code reader asap.