Ihave seen a few 2nd gens that suffers a head gasket leak. Is this common at high mileage? what cylinder is affect the most?
I have been fixing cars for many years (just not many prii until recently) and until I started at this forum a year and a half ago I have NEVER even heard about any Toyota having a head gasket failure. Can't day that I have much of anything in the Gen2 forums either. Oil consumption? -lots. Lean run conditions? -sure. General ignition or injector misfires?- a bunch. Not too much else for the ICE. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Overheat the engine bad and it may warp the aluminum head and blow the gasket. Quickest way to do that is never change the water Pump belt. But based on what I read here with back yard mechanics I would never rebuild a Prius engine. Cheaper and more reliable to just replace the engine. In a G2 easier to replace the engine and trans together. Lots of used engines out there.
