Thanks for the advice -makes sense. I will pass it onto people I know that change their own cartrige filters. I had planned to keep changing my own oil after I sold my house to a relative because they are letting me keep my tools there. But that adds time and complexity to the job and would only save about $30 anyway. I do not have as much free time as I anticipated.
I have found that the Toyota Dealer only 4 miles away gets me out in less than 45 minutes away does a great job and does not try to upsell me and only charged $62.95.
Do you have the correct replacement fluid? The Prius has a different ‘transmission’ than other non-hybrid Toyotas, and I bet it uses different fluid. Make SURE you have the correct fluid. I’d buy it from the dealer.
Valvoline MAXLIFE ATF is what I use. Compatible with Toyota WS. Used it in a previous Camry that was shifting just fine at 185K miles when I got rid of it out of boredom.
The Prius has a CVT transmission so I doubt it uses WS ATF. Check the owners manual first.
What are you calling a fill plug? Are you talking transmission here? Give us a turn signal if you change lanes here.
The only thing to go on the rubber o-ring and the threads is motor oil and you should put that on both. The threads are on the oil side of the o-ring so anything else will contaminate the oil. I would also make sure the interior side of the filter housing on the block is well oiled as well because during installation, the o-ring slides along this interior surface while under compression.
In a spin on oil filter, the gasket is compressed as the filter is tightened. The correct way to tighten this type of filter is NOT with a torque wrench or hand tight. The correct way to tighten spin on filters is to turn the filter the specified fraction of a turn after the gasket makes contact.
The gasket is made of a rubber formula that has an ideal compression factor that provides maximum sealing. Typically this is 30%, but could vary depending on the rubber formulation. The gasket is manufactured to a specified thickness. The thread pitch will compress the gasket a specified amount per turn. The thickness of the gasket, its ideal compression factor and the thread pitch determine how far after contact the filter should be turned.
None of this applies to the Toyota filters as the rubber is compressed when captured between two parallel surfaces.
It is WS. I am not going to start an ATF thread, but I was reading the label for the Castrol ATF in WM today and it is compatible with a ling host of manufacturer ATF’s, from conventional to CVT. So I guess it is all in the additive package.
Now, can @PriusDIYnewb let us know if the oil filter housing came off?! And if so, what worked