I"m new to these forums. Is there a section for local inquiries? I have a Prius diagnosed as needing a new head gasket, and have one estimate which seems very high. I'm wondering if there is someone I can take it to here in Maine who will reliably come up with a firmer diagnosis and a more reasonable estimate. Opinions welcome, including if I should simply take it to a dealership. Thanks in advance... Lisa
That’s quite a bit. But the “Toyota Way” says drop all the powertrain out the bottom, and then disassemble the head and replace the gasket. The gas engine is no different then any other front wheel drive gas engine. The hybrid components are in the transaxle. The orange cables and battery don’t need to be bothered, except for the orange plug on the battery. An overhaul gasket set is about 200, and the head bolts(Toyota says you can reuse, but I wouldn’t) are about 116 for the main ten bolts. 40 for oil and filter, 40 for coolant, and 32 for plugs. 430 in parts give or take. The rest is labor. The “guy down the street with the riced out Civic” could do the job, but do you trust him with your car? Check YouTube. There is this video. It’s not a hard job, these guys are not as careful as they should be, but get it done.
welcome! how many miles on her? 2010 is notorious, but you need to research egr cleaning for the future as well. no local inquiries, sorry. but your header should catch local attention. you may want to throw in the nearest big city. as an aside, it is often much cheaper if you can find someone to install a salvage engine. more like 2k or less.
Bisco makes an excellent point -- since just replacing the entire engine may be an viable option, let's take a step back. You're being told that you need a new head gasket for $4.5K. What are your symptoms? Was something going on that you took the car for repair and this was the diagnosis? Or did you take it in for something else and they just found this problem also? Since we are talking engine replacement anyway, another option to consider is running the current engine into the ground depending on the symptoms and if the car is currently running. Cost = $0.
Here is the issue with a salvage engine. Every salvage yard in the country knows that Gen 3 Prius engines burn oil or blow head gaskets or both. So they are priced at a premium. A salvage engine will either be closer to failure then the one you have, or not as close. The only way to know is to tear it down for inspection before installation. The Gen 4 swap is less costly for the engine itself, but does have extra parts and labor involved over the Gen 3. As far as the do nothing approach, Murphy’s Law says that if you do nothing, this engine will fail at the absolute, worst possible time. You can put a bottle of stop leak in the engine, as I did late March of last year. If you are as lucky as I was, it will buy you 90 days. You could get more or less time, but it will only buy you time. If you get lucky, the stop leak will not harm the water pump, heater core, heat storage tank, coolant flow control valve, or thermostat. It is your choice how to proceed, but if you check locally, maybe one of the local adult trade schools needs a car to work on. The one here near me takes in projects all the time. They don’t charge labor, your only responsibility would be providing parts.
Thanks for your feedback. What I need more than anything is to find a really good prius mechanic around here! I"m thinking about all your information.
try google, and look for hybrid repair shops. but for a head gasket or engine, any really good mechanic can do it.
I'm still wondering whether OP's mechanic has correct diagnosis or just itching for a big payday. To OP: you indicate minor misfire at startup... All the time or what percentage of cold starts? How long does the misfire last? After the misfire clears up, does the car run fine? Very important -- does the misfire happen if the engine is warm?
Or, mechanic throws out high dollar repair estimate hoping OP will throw the car away for next to nothing. Snap it up, fix it, and flip it.
