Awesome Service, had to share Gasket Masters Inc. - Five Stars

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Vinylrobot, Jul 1, 2021.

Page 1 of 2
  1. Vinylrobot

    Vinylrobot Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2019
    24
    17
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four


    I got my 2012 with 115K and drove it for Doordash till 160K, the stop and go finally killed the head gasket.
    These guys started doing all the SF taxi's and can do this job in their sleep! and they have AWESOME customer skills!

    They have full videos on youtube of the job, even one that is timed and they are trying to for a record? these guys are clearly nuts, and know what they are doing regardless.
    They offered mobile service, and 1yr (mobile) warranty, for me it will be anywhere in CA (so statewide mobile), which is awesome, versus a shop I'd have to tow car back to shop, these guys will come out wherever the car is! so WELL WORTH IT for warranty alone, mobile job --> mobile warranty!

    They were 45mns late, AND CALLED! you are lucky if people call you now a days.

    They inspected the vehicle pretty fast and got a feel for the job they needed to do, full swap or rebuild.

    The job was done in a few hours, they worked extremely fast and outside in the street in a space with good shade.

    The head was bent so we also replaced that with a replacement, they had those ready to go also.

    They are expanding to LA(socal really?) riverside area?

    The service was five stars so far, and I'm super annoying and picky lately, so they put up with me and gave me awesome service! Had to give them a shout out, and I guess Jack? the mechanic who did the work.
    If you need motor/head gasket job, I'm pretty sure these guys are the best, or one of the top people I'd trust to do the Prius job, fast and efficiently and awesome warranty.
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 Vinylrobot, Jul 1, 2021
    Francisco Vasquez, Samuel Williams Jr, taupehat and 4 others like this.
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,962
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Clean your Exhaust Gas Recirculation and intake, or you’ll be needing GM’s on speed-dial. More info:

    Bad Flywheel | PriusChat
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Jul 1, 2021
    Samuel Williams Jr, Grit and bisco like this.
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,343
    4,140
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    bam!!! Just like that! (y)
     
    #3 Grit, Jul 1, 2021
    Samuel Williams Jr and Mendel Leisk like this.
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,971
    6,787
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Cost?
    I'd also be a little more curious about what they did to keep the new head gasket from failing.
    Also, heads tend to "bend" (warp) from high temp events, often caused by coolant issues from the gasket failing but it also usually requires a little help from the operator.
    Connecting rods tend to bend from hydro-locking, which is a fancy way of saying that water got into the cylinder bore - something that the head gasket is supposed to prevent.
    I'm not reading as many warped-head posts in the forum as I am bent-rod posts, so I'm a little curious if they replaced the head or the whole motor.

    So....
    Prius Head gaskets (UNlike their timing chain cover gaskets!!) are generally not faulty.
    They fail for a REASON.
    Did they explain what they did to prevent the new one from failing, or are they just hoping that it lasts a year before the thing that caused the old head gasket to fail takes out the new one?

    Good Luck!
    Glad you were pleased with their service!
     
    #4 ETC(SS), Jul 1, 2021
    Merkey, mikey_t, Mendel Leisk and 1 other person like this.
  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    9,116
    5,522
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    59 minutes 15 seconds is unbelievable. With a good head swapped in. Plenty of company with the 2010-2014 cars. Design flaws.
     
    #5 rjparker, Jul 1, 2021
  6. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,971
    6,787
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I'd want somebody to take a little more time with my car.

    THIS is why they don't have "world record times" for open heart surgery......
     
    #6 ETC(SS), Jul 1, 2021
    Mendel Leisk and Valiant V like this.
  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    9,116
    5,522
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    The best surgeons are fast
     
    #7 rjparker, Jul 1, 2021
  8. Valiant V

    Valiant V Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2021
    239
    161
    0
    Location:
    Winnsboro, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I think they gave that up with amputations in the bad old days before painkillers and antibiotics.....
     
    #8 Valiant V, Jul 1, 2021
  9. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,343
    4,140
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    but put together a netflix tv series for that, we’d be all over it.
     
    #9 Grit, Jul 1, 2021
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,962
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    They HAD a couple of more instructive videos, not just fly-on-the-wall cam style. If I’m not mistaken, they’ve resurrected one of those, the one in the cab lot.

    (I’ve salted away both…)
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Jul 1, 2021
    Valiant V likes this.
  11. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,686
    4,731
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    What was the total cost for such speedy service?
     
    #11 PriusCamper, Jul 1, 2021
  12. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2016
    1,028
    771
    2
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Cost??
     
    #12 Johnny Cakes, Jul 1, 2021
  13. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,686
    4,731
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Maybe it was free in trade for posting about it on PriusChat? :)
     
    #13 PriusCamper, Jul 1, 2021
    Johnny Cakes likes this.
  14. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,971
    6,787
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    If you have to ask….
     
    #14 ETC(SS), Jul 1, 2021
  15. Vinylrobot

    Vinylrobot Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2019
    24
    17
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Cost is a tad under $2k, and when they open an LA shop under $1500. They take their time! I just posted their "fast video" don't think every job is a speed job? Wth are you guys thinking? use your head..
     
    #15 Vinylrobot, Jul 3, 2021
    bisco likes this.
  16. Vinylrobot

    Vinylrobot Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2019
    24
    17
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I drove the car on Doordash, 125miles, so the stop and go on the head gasket is what kills these, and the motor has 160k, so the head was also bent. It is the stop and go, and nothing changed till the 2014 from what I'm learning, so you just need to deal with it on the earlier models.
     
    #16 Vinylrobot, Jul 3, 2021
  17. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,343
    4,140
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    In your opinion, would engine temperature cooling during stops contribute to the head gasket failures? Such as thermal expansion to engine head causing head gasket leaks.
     
    #17 Grit, Jul 3, 2021
    Samuel Williams Jr likes this.
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,962
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    <Deleted> This is maybe be a trick question... :censored::sneaky:
     
    #18 Mendel Leisk, Jul 3, 2021
  19. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    9,116
    5,522
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    This gasket masters head gasket video is pretty detailed and narrated. Obviously it is edited to 37 minutes. I think they normally take around 3 hours when doing mobile service.

     
    #19 rjparker, Jul 3, 2021
    taupehat likes this.
  20. taupehat

    taupehat Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2014
    42
    17
    0
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    They're pretty rad. I've been leaning hard on the video @rjparker posted (download it - they set it private sometimes for unexplained reasons) and the one in Baltimore. Got a quote from them, $1750 if they did it here in Sonoma County, $300 less at their shop. Couldn't afford that sadly but the job isn't that hard, just tedious.
     
    #20 taupehat, Jul 4, 2021
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 2