Ran across this video this morning. Even though it's a Lexus its same engine as Gen3, as he mentions. Good info and is recent.
I kind of stopped watching when he said the head gasket rattle/misfire knock was the transmission planetary gears...$6500 is a rip for what he's doing to this. Could have saved money just by buying a Hybrid Pitstop Gold package engine that was fully assembled instead he spent 90% of the gold engine on that "New" short block. I guess with a sheepish grin and calm demeanor it's easier to sucker customers with.
I addressed this video in a Lexus CT200h thread but... This guy is a decades long dealer Master mechanic who just last year opened his own shop. When it comes to gen3, a year ago he was a fan of these cars. But dealer mechanics rarely see high mile gen3s, many are even junked when serious engine problem occurs. Now he sees youtubers and everybody else who wants Toyota/Lexus repairs. He has seen many of the gen3 problems and finally realizes what is going on. He was even embarrassed a bit because he underestimated this car's problems. Meanwhile taxi companies, uber drivers and other commercial drivers are willing to change engines to stretch the car to 400k-500k miles. This car was run way too long with a hg leak and has coolant in the oil. Most gen3 head gasket fails do not get this bad, ever. The majority leak so infrequently and so little at first, the owners do not realize a few drops of coolant was burned and replaced with combustion gas. He does talk about the egr mimicking a blown head gasket BUT only if the egr valve sticks open causing exhaust gas flow to the cylinders at low rpms. Completely the opposite of the clogged scenario constantly discussed by some. Even a stuck open egr scenario is different, it won't clear in 10 seconds. It will seem ok at higher rpm because an open egr is normal and expected at cruising speeds. He has another video where he simply blocks the easy to access egr tube with a metal shim. Bottom line cold start shake rattles that go away quickly, usually for days or weeks, only to return, is not an egr. People who often spend $1000 installing plugs, coils and sometimes injectors often achieve "success" for two weeks before the hg rattle hits again. In fact they wasted their money, often at the direction of local mechanics or forum advisors. Egr cleanings are ok but won't solve an existing rattle. Another $800 down the drain if done by a dealer, particularly sad since a required head gasket job is the time to clean things. He also shows the "clutch" damper which is not a controllable clutch but is a slip mechanism that causes the rattling when hg leaks cause misfires which then cause the severe metal to metal rattle. He also discusses excessive oil consumption caused by low tension rings. The purpose of revised egr software is stated to increase flow in hopes of flushing some carbon. Finally he makes an argument that the revised head gasket will protect the engine better than the original. A better argument is long intervals between coolant and oil changes is a factor as is excessive oil consumption and blowby. He is still learning as we are or should be.
This guy is pretty good and gives advice based on experience. I did a head gasket once on a Toyota truck. I did it all myself. Scraped main areas of the head and block, ground the valves in. I have a lot of experience grinding and polishing to optical flatness so used this experience. The head had some low spots and was overall flat to specs, but since the truck cost $200 I left as is. Using a Felpro gasket set I was surprised everything ran great. Still runs great uses no oil. An original gasket is made for an original surface quality, which I definitely did not have. Part Details
I went through this last year, his pricing is on par w/ the 4 shops I talked to (2 indy and 2 dealers). Prices skyrocketed in the preceding 6 months or so at the time, bc of the quick increase in demand for used priuses (and junkyard motors bc of gas prices), the overall tide of used car market, and rise in hourly labor.
Eric Clapton recounted he and Jimi Hendrix were seeing a lot of night club bands, and how they could have seen a terrible performance, but afterwards Jimi would say how he like some riff they did, something like that. I'm thus with the Car Care Nut, just cherry-pick good tips, tune out the guesswork and bluster. Customer could have save at least a grand by reusing intake manifold and EGR components, if Car Care Nut had just passed them over to customer for DIY cleaning. Or perhaps he even has ultrasonic cleaning tank? By my count this is the THIRD thread started, to link this video. Interesting point. Quote from the link: DESIGNED FOR IMPERFECT SEALING SURFACES -- Engineered and manufactured specifically for the repair environment to help seal imperfect sealing surfaces The Car Care Nut notes the Toyota head gasket has been revised, and it definitely looks it. Maybe they're making it more along that philosophy, a little more forgiving of unevenness, for install in a used engine. I see on the US Toyota parts site, current iteration of 3rd gen Prius head gasket is: 11115-37061 And there's two supersessions: 11115-37060;11115-37051
I suspect the truth is more complicated than his conclusions, or any one of the prevailing "forum theories."
