Possible Blown Head Gasket? Help

Doing nothing might work, if the head is still within planar specs.

 

Most of our HG replacement jobs do not need new heads, but we always check them to be sure because now and then one is warped.

 

Someone with better understanding of Gen 3 please comment, for two reasons. Not Sure what was meant by coolant not bubbling and also not sure if it's the brake reservoir or coolant reservoir(s) that should show circulation.
Is there supposed to be visual circulation of coolant in the coolant reservoir(s) with the car in Ready Mode?

 

I think you're confusing inverter coolant with engine coolant. There is no swirling of the engine coolant. Brake reservoir doesn't swirl either and has nothing to do with coolant anyway.

In a blown HG, the oil won't necessarily turn creamy, at least right away while the leak is still small. The coolant would need to leak badly enough to not get vaporized and sent out the tail pipe. Some of it needs to get past the rings and into the crank case. When the leak gets that bad, the oil gets all weird looking. At that point, you have a lot of rattling going on and I think you're on the verge of a bent or broken connection rod.

Edit to add: it is possible for a gasket to blow between the oil and coolant passages, which would mix the two fluids. Others can happen, too. But the most common place on a Prius is between the cylinder and the coolant on the #1 cylinder.

 

I also missed the second sentence is the PS for some reason.

Still kinda wondering if the EGR pipe cleaning was done before or after the misfile codes and or startup rattle.
Might want to dig a bit deeper into the EGR system if the startup rattling was lessened after the pipe was cleaned.

 

That's a nasty looking hole in the block.
So sorry to hear of your bad luck and non of us here being able to help you save your engine.

 

That's sad. I recently saw one with three holes in the block -- front, bottom, and back sides.

My guess is that the rod got a crack in it from the hydrolock that was happening before the new head gasket. Eventually, it failed under normal use. It was probably already bent, too. Sometimes they bend but don't break, but you still have major work to do either way. Whoever did the HG replacement may have neglected to measure the piston heights to check for a bent rod. They need to do that, and also check the head for warpage, and clean the EGR cooler, valve, and pipe along with the intake manifold -- especially those little EGR ports. I use a little bottle brush on those ports after the carb cleaner and pressure washing.

 

Do you recall the miles?

159K miles and a hole in the block? Toyota's intentionally got their head in the sand on this.

 

I have only cleaned the EGR valve pipe by hand once about a week ago or so, and nothing else. Do you think its worth me replacing plugs and coils and doing a deep clean on the EGR or just assume its a headgasket? Have limited money so want to make sure im putting it where it counts!

 

Try the advice from my first paragraph in post #17, regarding swapping the plugs/coils, doesn't cost you a dime.

A full EGR cleaning is always good (info in my signature), but at your miles may currently be "closing the barn door after the horses have bolted". Try the aforementioned leak-down test and boroscope inspection first, to check head gasket. The EGR cleaning is best DIY'd; leak-down and boroscope maybe by competent professionals.

 

Blown Headgasket.
Check the coolant. Is it low?
Mark where it is

Another toy bites the dust.
Total junk engine design.....
These cars are a nightmare

 

It was a Gen 2 that had been sitting for a couple years. Owner knew nothing about it and got it on the cheap; brought it to us on a flatbed tow truck. It was cover in green algae. Not sure of the miles, but the neglect was pretty extreme. We put in a used engine and a used hybrid battery (never refurbished, but always tested and balanced) along with a new 12V and she was good to go in her white with green streaks Prius.

As has been said already, swap the plugs & coils around to see if the problem follows them. Why buy stuff before you know if you need it? And, by the same token, don't assume it's a head gasket. The first step in a screwup is almost always an assumption. It probably is the head gasket, but replacing it without cleaning the whole EGR circuit is is like painting over the stain on your ceiling without fixing the roof leak that caused it. You clean it out AND replace the HG. Either one without the other is a total waste of time & money. But do the tests to see if the gasket is OK or not. Either way, you need to clean the whole EGR circuit to have any improvement.