High mileage DIY maintenance week

Thought I would post here, in case anyone has further thoughts or recommendations, or in case this is helpful to someone in the future.

I picked up my prius about a month ago (after putting in a new catalytic converter and an oil change) and am already in love with it. Just got back from a 1k (mountainous) mile road trip averaging 49mpg...and it still fits everything for a 10day camping trip!

I'm sold on the vehicle, so now I'm prepping for some TLC/preventative maintenance. It's at 210k. Here's what I have on my list

 

Unfortunately, I can't share links because my posts haven't exceeded four. I'll try to add them later, so for now I'm leaving in the "guide here" language even though I know the links won't work.

-Spark plugs (Denso 3324 $22.68 for four) and PCV valve (Toyota 12204-21011 $12). Also check out cleaning the throttle body and/or MAF? How-tos here and here

-Serpentine belt (Toyota 9091602570 $12). As far as I can tell from service records, this vehicle is still on it's original and it seems like an easy $12 fix. How to here.

-Air filters, lots of options on rock auto, I got (ACDELCO A3685C $4.50 and Denso 4531013 $5 for the cabin)

-Engine coolant (Toyota SLLC $20/gallon) change and coolant control valve replacement (Toyota 1667021010 $80) Even though my year is after the TBS for these valves, I've been seeing P1121 off and on, even after topping off coolant with Toyota SLLC in the radiator and overflow tank. I found this video for the CCV and this forum for the engine coolant change. Somewhere along the way I downloaded an awesome PDF (attached) but I can't track down the original post. Thank you and sorry to not credit whoever made this wonderful guide!

-Inverter coolant (Toyota SLLC $20/gallon) change and inverter coolant pump replacement (Toyota G9020-47031 $110). I travel frequently/far away and have read enough reports of these pumps failing in 2008's that I don't want to be caught in rural Wyoming with an overheating inverter. Plus I'll have the car open already for the ccv. Found this post for the inverter coolant pump and another wonderful guide for the inverter coolant change. Ordered the gasket recommended in the guide (90430-18008), even though Toyota says it will not fit my vehicle? We'll see...

-ATF drain and fill (4 quarts ATF WS and two new washers, still haven't purchased). Guides here and here

Suspension
-New struts (KYB SR4514, SR4513, SR4224, SR4223 ~$445 total) with prius off-road spacers (rough roads in Laramie and many dirt roads for camping and climbing trips). Clean HV battery fan while I'm in there. Alignment after? (~$100). I liked this youtube video.

All the boots and gaskets for the CV joints, ball joints, tie rod ends and sway bar end links are in good or great condition with no rips or dry rot. I'm not hearing any clunking while driving and though the car is new to me, it seems to handle well. When the car is jacked up, there is little-to-no play when I push on the wheels at 9&3 and 12&6. Based on that, am I right to think I probably don't need any suspension work besides new struts?

I also really benefitted from this thread called "DIY visual inspection for dummies" to familiarize myself with the car when I first got it.

No burning oil so far and based on my mpg it seems like my battery is still in good condition? I'm considering getting Dr. Prius (I have a mac and an iphone so techstream and Torque are out) to study the battery more, but I think I've got plenty on my hands for right now. I'm also still deciding about flushing the brakes, as it seems like I will need to take it to the dealer unless I get Techstream?

Lastly, I'm planning on a good cleaning and scrubbing to get rid of salt build-up and rust. Perhaps treat and/or paint some of the components too? I'll post pictures of where the most rust is when I get it up on stands.

All told about $1200.

 

Retrying with links! And some edits/updates.

-Spark plugs (Denso 3324 $22.68 for four) and PCV valve (Toyota 12204-21011 $12). Also check out cleaning the throttle body and/or MAF? How-tos here and here

-Serpentine belt (Toyota 9091602570 $12). As far as I can tell from service records, this vehicle is still on it's original and it seems like an easy $12 fix. [Edit: found out it was replaced at 79,000 miles But I should probably still replace it because it's been 131k since?]. How to here

-Air filters, lots of options on rock auto, I got (ACDELCO A3685C $4.50 and Denso 4531013 $5 for the cabin)

-Engine coolant (Toyota SLLC $20/gallon) change and coolant control valve replacement (Toyota 1667021010 $80) Even though my year is after the TBS for these valves, I've been seeing P1121 off and on, even after topping off coolant with Toyota SLLC in the radiator and overflow tank. I found this video for the CCV and this forum for the engine coolant change. Somewhere along the way I downloaded an awesome PDF (attached) but I can't track down the original post. Thank you and sorry to not credit whoever made this wonderful guide!

-Inverter coolant (Toyota SLLC $20/gallon) change and inverter coolant pump replacement (Toyota G9020-47031 $110). I travel frequently/far away and have read enough reports of these pumps failing in 2008's that I don't want to be caught in rural Wyoming with an overheating inverter. Plus I'll have the car open already for the ccv. Found this post for the inverter coolant pump and another wonderful guide for the inverter coolant change. Ordered the gasket recommended in the guide (90430-18008), even though Toyota says it will not fit my vehicle? We'll see...

[edit: I found the service history for my car and see that the “HV Electric Water Pump (0400032528) was replaced in 2013 under C0U warranty at 85,000 miles. From what I can tell, this is the same pump as the inverter coolant pump, though they have different part numbers…Should I still replace because it has been 125k on the previous one, or can I consider the problem “fixed”?

-ATF drain and fill (4 quarts ATF WS and two new washers, still haven't purchased). Guides here and here

Suspension

-New struts (KYB SR4514, SR4513, SR4224, SR4223 ~$445 total) with prius off-road spacers (rough roads in Laramie and many dirt roads for camping and climbing trips). Clean HV battery fan while I'm in there. Alignment after? (~$100). I liked this youtube video.

All the boots and gaskets for the CV joints, ball joints, tie rod ends and sway bar end links are in good or great condition with no rips or dry rot. I'm not hearing any clunking while driving and though the car is new to me, it seems to handle well. When the car is jacked up, there is little-to-no play when I push on the wheels at 9&3 and 12&6. Based on that, am I right to think I probably don't need any suspension work besides new struts?

I also really benefitted from this thread on DIY visual inspection for dummies to familiarize myself with the car when I first got it.

No burning oil so far and based on my mpg it seems like my battery is still in good condition? I'm considering getting Dr. Prius (I have a mac and an iphone so techstream and Torque are out) to study the battery more, but I think I've got plenty on my hands for right now.

[Edit: I'm taking my brakes to the dealership to get them flushed in a week]

Lastly, I'm planning on a good cleaning and scrubbing to get rid of salt build-up and rust. Perhaps treat and/or paint some of the components too? I'll post pictures of where the most rust is when I get it up on stands.

All told about $1200 (not including the cat).

Huge thanks to the PC community who have helped me navigate all of this and make me feel more confident about my new-to-me prius. Shout out particularly to Patrick Wong, Galaxee, and the user who made all the excellent fluid change pdf guides.

 

Wanted to update for anyone else checking this out

Engine coolant and CCV valve: The forums I read and the pdf I attached about replacing engine coolant didn't include instructions on how to jump the relay for the heat storage pump, which I found really helpful. Doing that and using the bleeder valve, I got as much new coolant in as I had taken out, without running the car. I have a gallon of coolant and a funnel in the car now just in case though. How to jump the relay here:

Struts: Struts were not that bad but required getting the stabilizer links off. This car is quite rusty and the 6mm hex inside the link head stripped immediately. I cut the links out and replaced them. In the whole process, I accidentally ripped by tie rod end boot, so I did those too. Then I figured why run almost all new suspension parts and an old ball joint? So I replaced that too (had to remove CV axle, ABS sensor and ring to access the castle nut with a socket, which broke off the "turrets," so that got cut off too.). The old suspension components didn't have in-out play but they were definitely looser than the new ones. Still can't say I'd recommend it...

Edit: should say that I was also able to check the CV joint and wheel bearings while I was at it, and everything feels solid.