Mechanic did a coolant change, what to check if done right?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by thomassster, Feb 16, 2016.

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  1. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    so ive been through many threads on here. A machanic I chose did an engine water pump change and did a refill to do the job. He claimed he used a vacuum pump to do the job. I assumed this got the air out of the system. But I don't know for certain he took care of the chs. The chs is now louder during startups, or from what I read, could be normal. I have techstream but am not familiar with most of the functions except for health check which brought up no codes after driving 20 miles. I have sllc and the lisle no spill. What are some things I can do to check to make sure mechanic did a good job?
     
    #1 thomassster, Feb 16, 2016
  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Typical issue is you hear gurgling if the cabin heat in on. Put the heat on for a while. Open radiator cap (caution as usual for heat) and look to see if full, if not fill up. You need to see the special Toyota PINK solution for Prius. If another brand was used, as for details as it needs to be special type.
     
    #2 wjtracy, Feb 16, 2016
  3. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    I specified to them the sllc stuff so I'll confirm that. I don't hear no gurgling which probably confirms them using the vacuum fill. I think I'm mostly concerned about the chrs. Should I get my funnel and fill it up with sllc on radiator cap and run my chs pump a bit?
     
    #3 thomassster, Feb 16, 2016
  4. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Myself I just dump it in the open radiator, usually it is full. Also put some fluid in the overfill tank.
     
    #4 wjtracy, Feb 16, 2016
  5. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    Check for cabin heat, as well. If that's running full bore, they probably got it almost right. Run the CHRS a couple of times, then run the engine to operating temp, let it cool down, and check the radiator level. It's pretty easy to bleed air off the top of the radiator with the bleeding screw and some tubing. For the next week or so, keep an eye on the reservoir and radiator level. BTW, you can access the radiator cap by only removing the two right-most splash shield fasteners--no need to remove all six.
     
    #5 andrewclaus, Feb 16, 2016
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Would level holding steady in the reservoir be a good sign? I was just watching nutzaboutbolts video (3rd gen tho), and as long as there was pockets the level would hang, then drop a bit as air worked out. When it quit doing the drops he dubbed it done.

    (took 3 tries to post this itty bit of text :()
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Feb 16, 2016
  7. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    The reservoir works on the siphon principle. An air pocket could disrupt the siphon, I believe.
     
    #7 andrewclaus, Feb 16, 2016
  8. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    So I opened up the radiator cap. 2 days in and it was still full. I ran the pump about 30 times with the spill free funnel and some extra coolant in there to see if levels drop. Running the pump dropped the level a small amount which probably meant air was in the CHS. I truly believe now that I can't trust any mechanic to do this step on my Prius, unless I specifically ask them to. It's probably not a guarantee that the dealership will do this step either. Luckily I didn't get any dtcs but who knows what kind of damage was done with a tiny amounts of air in the CHS.
     
    #8 thomassster, Feb 16, 2016
  9. M in KC

    M in KC Active Member

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    Good for you for doing some research and recognizing your CHS pump was not sounding normal. As you have discovered, regardless if you use an Airlift/vacuum filling device, a Lisle type funnel or neither you still have to cycle the CHS either at the relay or with Mini VCI-Techstream to purge entrapped air from the cooling system.
     
    #9 M in KC, Feb 17, 2016
  10. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    CHS still sounds like a screeching medusa for 5 seconds during cold starts so that didn't clear up, but it's an improved sound versus what I had before. It's a better piece of mind knowing i got more air out of the system than what the mechanic did. I had to stop my OCD self at running the pump 30 times cause even at 30th run of the pump, it was still dropping level coolant. I felt enough air was out of it where I felt better.
     
    #10 thomassster, Feb 17, 2016
  11. M in KC

    M in KC Active Member

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    If you can run the CHS with the vehicle on jack stands or at least the pass. side that can aid in removing trapped air in the system as well.
     
    #11 M in KC, Feb 18, 2016
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