Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos

Once you see 140 mpg average for 21 k miles, you'll want to try it.

Not sorry we did, especially since we have solar panels to boot.

Makes it even more worth while.

 

Well....no car payment and/or 30K+ more in my pocket makes what I have now worthwhile. At this point I might as well wait for the next gen!

 

Thank you Nutz and Boltz for the videos. I did the following yesterday and this is one of the easiest cars I worked on. Changed Engine oil and filter, cabin filter, Tranny oil, coolant, PCV valve and spark plugs for the 120K maintenance.

 

Did you perform and egr circuit cleanse while you had the windshield wiper cooling off ?

At 120k miles, sooner rather than later I'd prioritize that work.

But a good start on getting the other work done.

 

So I just got my first oil change done at home with the help of NAB's video and my dad, but I do have a question...What is the purpose of this thing I circled in my screenshot from his video?

I have a cap wrench I got from Advance Auto that's just like a generic one, and all that metal tab thing there seemed to do was get in the way of the wrench? Would it hurt anything to leave it off, since we were able to get it out? Also it may be just a year-version difference, but that piece was also a quarter-turn counter-clockwise on mine compared to this.

There's also a certain irony in how I buy a new floor jack because the one dad has wouldn't get the car high enough off the floor to get the plastic cover open, or even to get my chubby self underneath the car, but then the new jack doesn't want to fit under the bumper to lift from the center front jack point so we still have to use dad's on one side to lift it up enough for that.

 

You can take that clip off, it does nothing.

Honda's automotive oil filter socket (14 flute, 64.5 mm face-to-face) is heavy gauge stamped steel, and doesn't extend far enough to hit that clip, fwiw.

That size is common to Honda, Toyota and Mazda.

 

If the clip did nothing, it wouldn't be there.
I remove mine and the wrench fits perfectly. But I use a 5 inch wrench to "snug it up.
Then put the clip back in. It's very simple. It is supposed to fit against one of the tabs
and keep the housing from backing off from vibration. But because it's angled, removing it
with the wrench moves it out of the way. That is why mine did. Can't say for anyone else though,
only what the socket I use does.

If you put the jack on the bolt that holds the rear part of the control arm, passenger side, I "think" that is the one,
then you can jack it up enough to fit a jack stand for safety and you can slide under from the front
to remove the drain plug and filter/housing. Plus the engine is tilted toward the drain plug so more
oil will drain out.

You will probably get a lot of people putting there own 2 cents worth in about the clip.
You can do with it as YOU please. I believe 18ft#'s is the torque, it is doubtful it will work it's
way out. But you may have a harder time removing it next time.

Just think if this, WHY did Toyota put it there? Did they have extra metal? And extra time to design it?
Or did they put it there to screw with peoples heads so they would argue about it????

"IF" I remember in 5000 miles when I change my oil, I'm going to try to take a photo, or video of mine.
And I will post it. But it's not a priority for me. I KNOW what works for me, and that's what I do.
What works for someone else, is what they will do. As long as the housing doesn't back out while you
are driving down a forgotten road, you will be okay!

 

Pretty much.

 

I'm laughing and crying. The clip, cover flap, and filter housing were all designed with optimism.

 

I told ya! Never fails....
You kids today....

 

The reason that housing is sitting in my vice: I removed it from the car, replaced with spin-on style.

 

Yes, that clip is meant to prevent the housing from backing out if its loose. That clip will never be used though since you'll tighten the housing hard enough that it'll never get loose.

 

I think it's pretty ironic that they put a retainer clip on something that usually seems to need a four-foot breaker bar to remove. Better safe than sorry, right?

 

You don't wear a belt and suspenders at the same time.

Maybe the filter housing designer should have consulted with the egr designer.

 

It was the first time the Prius used a canister type oil filter housing, so it was better safe than sorry I guess.

 

Here's an overview of what my prius went through for the Nav. map update.

 

Just replaced my turn signal

 

Dang! After several years of putting it off, I finally bumbled my way through this replacement ten days too early.

Fortunately I broke only one tab, holding a cable in place. A nearby tie wrap now performs that function.

 

yeah I finally had to replace it today and I’ve been holding it off buying it because it costed 160$. I found a 30$ one and I bought it last week. Hahah

 

My driver side housing took a rock over the turn signal portion several years ago. I put clear packing tape over the hole, and that actually held up a couple years before needing a refresh.

Somewhere in there I acquired a take-off pair from someone who modded his car with different lights. Unfortunately they came without a connector on the LED wires, he clipped those to reuse on his new lights. Between that, and not knowing how to remove the bumper, I just put off doing the replacement. For several years.

... until the day after recently finishing the intake manifold cleaning (final step of EGR circuit cleaning) and PCV valve replacement. Also thanks to Covid-19 semi-lockdowns. I bumbled through the partial bumper disconnect, and re-used my old LED connector with twist-on wire nuts, then filled them in with caulk to hopefully handle the wet environment.

If anyone on PC near me needs a passenger side turn signal / DRL unit, minus the connector to the DRL LED, I have one available. Otherwise it won't go on to craigslist until I replace this car with a PHEV.