Blown Head gasket rebuild....@297k

If you buy a 2015, they have the upgraded piston rings, so you should not get into the same head gasket issues if you clean the egr thingy as necessary. Buying an engine though probably will cost less.

 

The better solution is a rebuilt low mile gen3 engine from a quality rebuilder, not the local mechanic. Which includes new pistons and rings along with complete disassembly, inspection and head rebuild. The local shop is ok for the install. Gen4 swaps are frankenstein custom with some parts off the gen3 to make it work. A "low mile" gen3 used car is often just as problematic and odo rollbacks are easy. In fact Priuschat allows guys to advertise rollbacks! Junkyards typically remove vins on engines so there is no way to verify. LKQ is the only salvage yard I might consider but even a certifiable used gen3 engine still comes with issues.


Some have Hybridpit in California ship them a rebuilt engine.

 

COpy. I will check out the hybrid pit. TY

 

I will just use this thread.
Is a blown head gasket visible also in the state of the spark plugs? So, for example if the head gasket leaks into the second cylinder would the state of the spark plug in this cylinder be visibly different from others?

 

If you've got the spark plugs out, boroscope inspection is the go-to: a cylinder with coolant leakage will look markedly cleaner.

 

Right, but I do not have boroscope available.
So I just checked the spark plugs. They all looked exactly the same.

 

Try using your cellphone to take pictures down the cyclinders ...use another torch to light up the inside. maybe post them here.

 

No. In fact a borescope test needs to use a high quality unit preferrably with two cameras. Otherwise you end up with fuzzy inconclusive images. Inspection while the coolant system is pressurized is best.

The symptoms alone on a Prius are usually conclusive. The problem with waiting until you can detect it in the coolant or by a leakdown test is further engine damage is likely.

 

While you have the plug out 1 cylinder at a time step over to the side of your engine in the fresh air and smell the plug do you smell antifreeze do you know what antifreeze taste like I thought all guys did anyway I do I just touch my finger to the plug touch my finger to my tongue and I know that this plug does or does not have traces of ethylene glycol or engine coolant on it then I moved to the next plug If you look with a magnifying glass the traces of the coolant will be small little droplets my eyes are old and failing if you're young and what have you you may be able to see this without the glass If not take a look use your phone blow it up if you're scared to test it with your body parts but there will be a cylinder that is getting some coolant and that will narrow it down pretty quickly boriscope great I mean I'm not sure exactly what you're oh you're looking for a scores on the cylinder wall at 300,000 mi I would expect some That's just normal wear.

 

Can you just quickly list them:
coolant disappearing
small judger under light acceleration
anything else?

 

Occasional severe cold start rattle that clears in 20-30 seconds. Weeks between rattles at first. No codes at first. Some forum convinces you to clean the egr and change plugs. Clear for another couple of weeks. Comes back. No obvious coolant loss and no overheating. Mechanics do a compression, leakdown and gas in the coolant test all negative. Finally severe rattling at stop lights as well. Slight loss of coolant.

Occasionally the uninformed use sealer somewhere in this three to six month progression. "Fixes" it for two or three months. Rattles come back along with more chance of overheating because of the sealer. Radiator, thermostat and heater now at risk.

 

Yeah cleaning the EGR and intake manifold after the head gasket has started leaking, does not turn back the clock.

that rattle, at least in part, is likely to be the damper between engine and transaxle. Owners have reported broken springs down at the bottom: there’s a plastic panel at the underside of that interface, that can be pried off for a look.

 

Nice work! You make it look easy!

 

You think that center section main hunk of metal is all good with that bent rod in there being in there whatever That's exactly what I had until I didn't. Mine look like the rod was or the piston was actually trying to roll over and it's bore I guess after the rod bent it still went up and down I guess yours did too and it literally stressed that whole center section you know with the crank and pistons in it and hold back section started to come apart.

 

If I had the plugs out I would do a leak-down test.

Additionally...borescopes used to be a highly specialized tool costing hundreds of dollars, but now they're less than $20USD.
My advice: Get one of those too.
Depending on what part of Slovenia you're from either of these tools might be more widely available than a reputable Prius mechanic!

You're coolant is going SOMEWHERE.

Good Luck!

 

Or you add the sealer and the “fix” works immediately and your problems are gone for 90 days and then BAM!, your Prius has windows in the block and a busted piston.


A throwback to 2018 when I was dealing with this exact scenario.

 

And/or this:

 

I'm pretty happy with my $20 borescope—so happy, in fact, I bought a second just like it—but it only has the one camera, not a side- or up-facing one.

It has a rinky-dink angled-mirror attachment you can clip over the camera to supposedly get a view to the side. I have never been able to get a recognizable or useful view of anything with it.

 

The new head gasket has no black coating anymore. They are all full silver color metal. Not sure when it changes but I believe it is the 3rd revision for 2015 or newer Prius. The 2013 model still has black coating but a bit thicker lips.

 

Yeah and these metal head gaskets almost require you to have your head sanded or some people call it shaved they don't really fly cut an aluminum cylinder head anymore they put it valve side down on a big carbondurm belt sander. And the belt just goes round and round and round and they pick up the head they're holding it while this is going on then they pick it up flip it over look at it make sure it's all silver and the scratch marks from the sandpaper are all running in the right direction and looking good and that's it then it goes back to the person who has the valves out and all of that stuff they get blasted and cleaned off any that don't look to spec get replaced and lapped reassembled sprayed bagged up and back to you. If you don't do this with a lot of these aluminum heads you risk pouring coolant right into the cylinder on your initial build that's why a lot of people put these up dry when they're building an engine now they don't load up the engine with coolant and whatnot until after first start to make sure things are running if an engine's put up dry rings can seat the first few strokes up and down the bore that's loaded up with build oil and whatnot not so much after that happens for 10 20 40 seconds fill her up with coolant pray to God that everything is sealed up reasonably well restart let it rip open deck is a weak design engine it's modular supposedly easier to work on etc but when things get compromised they need to be replaced not so much rebuilt like your old Chevrolet 350 and things like that it is a different animal.