Radiator, low mpg, and dielectric grease? Advice?

On a regular car I would say you were good with 4 flushes. That thermos thing kind of throws a wild card into the mix. I don’t think a little bit left would hurt anything.

 

can't judge the mpg on short trips. get it running and calculate at the pump. then address mpg if necessary

 

Not all "green" coolant is bad for modern aluminum engines.
Probably don't need to be paranoid about getting it all out.

And then how exactly do you think the engine "utilizes the stored hot coolant" ??
I don't understand that statement.

Some anti-corrosion material applied to the battery connections certainly wouldn't hurt........IF you do it after the connections are all tight.

 

Maybe just drain as much as possible, refill with pre-mixed Toyota Super Long Life Coolant, recycle all the drained fluid responsibly, then repeat the process once more, say in a month or two.

I'd stay away from dielectric compound on the bus bars, just get everything clean, torque to 48 inch/pounds (4 foot/pounds).

 

Please don’t tell anyone to equate 48 inch pounds with 4 foot pounds. You need 2 different torque wrenches for that torque.

 

I know. What worries me: it wouldn't be the first time, someone read an inch/pound value as foot/pounds.

 

ACF 50 make a good grease for battery terminal, or any other electrical connector. The spray can for things you can’t get to easily. Been using it for years on cars and bikes, every connector I take apart gets a dose, no problems commuting in winter salt. Connectors look as good as new after winter.

 

The big thing is getting the air out of the cooling system, check it for full at the radiator and fill it there. When it stays full between drives then you can go back to topping it off at the overflow tank.

Good luck on your project.

 

Really ? It must be REALLY well hidden.
Or maybe you are talking about the overflow bottle where you add coolant.......which has NO function in the operation of the engine.

 

Infront of the D/S front tire, under/behind the left headlamp.

You can pull the hose(s) off of the mixer valve to drain much of the coolant in the "thermos", but it seems unlikely to be worth the effort.

Patrick has a VERY good "how to" on bleeding the engine side cooling system. I would add that a tall funnel (6" plus) stuffed into the RADIATOR fill neck, where the radiator cap goes, and adding coolant so it is well higher than the radiator is a big help. You can also squeeze the upper radiator hose with the funnel nearly full to burp out even more air, before starting Patrick's procedure, which will make it go faster in my experience.

 

I think they only use it in North America on gen 2 Prius. There is a warning in the owners manual about it. Page 324 in the 2006 owners manual “Coolant heat storage system”.

 

The CHRS bottle is behind the front drivers headlight. Its a rather large bottle. Its purpose is to inject hot coolant when the car is started up first thing cold thereby improving emissions. That CHRS injection is controlled by the 3 way coolant valve that switches the bottle into the coolant loop.

They deleted it in European G2 Prius.

 

Another great idea/experiment that turned out to be not so great after all.

 

Based on what data?

They do a GREAT job of improving engine warm-up performance, are nearly bullet-proof and help reduce needless emissions.

 

Exhaust heated coolant, introduced in 3rd gen, continues with 4th gen, so has past a hurdle: surviving to the next generation.

One advantage I can see with exhaust heated coolant: regardless of how long the car has sat, you still get the same warm-up help. Thermos bottle OTOH, is less effective the longer the car sits.

 

They usually don't stop doing things that work great.
My guess is that cost might have played a large factor in the decision.
Benefit not worth the cost.

 

it was great until they came up with a better idea.

still great when looking at historical engineering ideas