blown head gasket...where do I go from here?

Two choices, change the head gasket or get another engine. Both are big jobs so you might shop around.

 

Did you ever clean the EGR and manifold?

 

Does it matter?

 

It does if your trying to keep this from happening

 

You have 3 options:

1) replace the head gasket (which should also include resurfacing the cylinder head and new valve stem seals). If the engine has no damage to the bottom-end and does not burn oil this can be viable option. Cost should be $2K - $3500. A new engine water pump (Aisin brand or Toyota $300-$500) is also a good idea.

2) If the engine burns oil or has bottom-end damage (I.e. bent connecting rods), then a new short block from Toyota ($2k) will also be needed. Combine this with the cost of the head gasket job and some additional labor and your bill will be $6K-$8K.

3) Find the lowest mileage used engine available, preferably from a 2015. There is one near me with 48k miles where they are asking $2k for it. Labor to swap the engine is probably $1-$2k.

 

That is strictly your opinion (and maybe a few others).

Besides, the head gasket is already blown. Let’s focus on getting the OP back on the road instead of sidetracking the discussion.

 

Have you ever seen an EGR at 100k miles??

 

Yes, and I am well aware of how they look. Not all of them are clogged. It really depends on the driving conditions that the vehicle was subjected to. Mine was not plugged at 180k either.

We have had this public discussion many times. This subject adds zero value to this person’s situation.

 

Well I guess your one of the few! Thanks for letting us know. This is the type of information we can all benefit from.

To OP hope it all works out for you, replacing with a used motor is going to be cheaper.

 

Before you get the head gasket sorted, since inthe Tampa area, have you healed with Todd at @TampaPrius.com ?

Worth a shot, but the head gasket is gone.

Good to know your options before the next steps .

 

I think he meant "dealed" as in traded your Prius or checked with the guy for mechanic recommendations. There are some small shops that can do Prius work for less than a dealer but obviously you want someone with a good track record. Home - Tampa Hybrids Inc.

 

Healed = checked.

iPhone auto correct.

Good luck .

 

At the risk of being relegated to FHOP, that dang iPhone auto correct could start a war, lol.

 

It’s come up with some creative ones over the 3 years I’ve had it.

The worst one is when it shortens “the” to “te”.

Easy to miss when typing a response .

 

Jessica,

The Critic is right.
You have those three choices, and it really all depends on how much you want to spend.

If I woke up in your shoes, I would probably spend the $3-4K and replace the engine with as low mileage a unit as I can find using a local non-dealer mechanic.
This is because something MADE your head gasket fail that will not be addressed by simply replacing the head gasket, and that something might have also over-stressed other parts of your motor that might fail later, so really, doing an engine swap is the only sure-fire cure.
The downside is that it's about twice as expensive as what I would do if I woke up with your problem and I were in MY shoes
Which would be....
If you have a really sharp local non-dealer mechanic, and that person can be trusted then you might roll the dice and just do a $2k head gasket replacement but then we're going to have to have a frank discussion on why this all happened in the first place.
Later.
Before we go through all that I would tell your mechanic to also clean the EGR circuit while he or she has your top end apart....and maybe install an oil catch can.
Also when and if you get the car back running again I would start doing oil changes every 5,000 miles instead of 10.

If you get the car back on the road then start looking at long term maintenance and repairs (battery, inverter/coolant maintenance, transaxle fluid changes, etc....)

You have a 10 year old car with almost 180,000 miles.
You can do $2k worth of repairs now and maybe spend 2K in maintenance over time and get another 70,000-100,000 miles out of this car or you can start making car payments again.

THAT'S your real choice.
Your call!

Good Luck!