Don't Buy a 3rd Gen Prius! - Blown headgasket at 233k

How are you monitoring temperature? Just an aside: it'd be REALLY nice if Toyota could include a coolant temp gauge on these cars.

 

The OP bought a very used and already broke 2010 Prius with 233K miles on it.

 

Did you clean intake manifold too?

 

The "Torque To Yield" bolts you're referring are the cylinder head bolts? Attached is a TSB for piston/ring replacement, and they put those bolts in an "as needed" category; not sure what that means. There's a revised part number for them too. IIRC you're looking at around $100 to replace them. Maybe cheap insurance??

 

Torque-to-yield fastener - Wikipedia

Wiki suggests to replace though (see "disadvantages" in the above. What would define the bolts as being TTY? Just that it's common for cylinder head bolts? The distinctive torquing method?

 

Well...

You bought a high mileage, used Prius. In those cases, you don't know how it was driven or maintained.
Hardly fair IMO to disparage the build quality of Prius and Toyota, when you are dealing with a vehicle you bought used and have less than month experience with.

 

If the hg is an issue on these motors it might be well worth a new set of tty bolts and seal up the engine with silicon glass sealer at 230k miles. Nissan altima's back in the mid 2000's grenaded 4 cylinder engine like crazy because the aluminum was too soft and not repairable. The biggest cooperates in most hg failures is when the thermostats stick closed for too long. There is a video on youtube of a prius with a bad coolant pump which still ran but didnt turn so it might be good to throw those away at 200k too.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Here's a good thread, head gasket replacement morphs into complete rebuild, by our resident rebuild wizard:

Blown Head gasket rebuild....@297k | PriusChat

He applies a copper spray to the head gasket, here:

Blown Head gasket rebuild....@297k | Page 3 | PriusChat

 

I used a coating of “Indian Head” gasket maker on both sides of my head gasket on reassembly. Just because.

 

It seems that aluminum engines with aluminum heads are more prone to head gasket problems than the old cast iron versions. They certainly don't handle overheating as well. All in the name of saving weight.

 

Repair Manual says just a couple of dabs of "seal packing", at leak-prone points I assume:

 

Just buy a $15 subscription to alldatadiy. It will have all of the info you need for 12 months. Use coupon code AZREWARDS.

 

Here is another cheap source of information and is owned by Snap-On Tool.

Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Manuals - Mitchell 1 DIY

 

At the end of the "day," -- in the very long run -- the whole car is, in essence, consumable. Yes yes, I know the practical meaning of the term. My point is that, as some others have suggested, at this mileage, almost anything can happen.

I just went through this with my Gen-2, worth about $2k by the book, but needing over $7k in work (severe brake system damage). Sure, a head gasket is a major job. But it's also a relatively simple one at least in concept (I wouldn't want to try one myself...). You just have to make the decision -- fix or scrap. . . I hope you find a good solution and wish you well.

 

Old cars and non DIY people don't mix well together.

 

Pictures!