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Any Gen 4 Owners Out There With Blown Head Gasket ??

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by AmazingFacts, Jan 14, 2022.

  1. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I believe it was to keep the soot out of the EGR cooler and the intake ports. At least that was the result. But, as @bisco observed, the materials don't seem to be up to the job in the new super hot environment.
     
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  2. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    With metal parts that are stamped and assembled with welds, the leaks usually develop at stress points from improperly designed weak points and the welds themselves.

    The assemblies are subjected to a high range of rapid heating an cooling cycles and expansion and contraction.

    That is equivalent to bending a paper clip back and forth until it breaks.
     
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  3. N khan

    N khan New Member

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    Hi does this mean my 2017 gen 4 prius head gasket is blown i am losing coolant and open water pump and is organish
     
  4. N khan

    N khan New Member

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    Hi
    I opened my water pump after many coolant loses and water pump looked orange whT does this mean
    When water pump is orangeish ?
     

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  5. Doug McC

    Doug McC Active Member

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    That is good old fashioned rust, a clear indication that the coolant should have been changed a LONG, LONG TIME AGO.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    How many miles on her?
    Have you followed the maintenance schedule?
     
  7. AmazingFacts

    AmazingFacts Member

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    4th gen head gaskets are starting to show up in large numbers. Fourth generation Prius head gaskets are starting fail.  - YouTube

    I just picked up a 2016 Prius Eco project car with almost 300k miles with blown head gasket. Engine turns over and hoping that the piston rods aren't bent. HG failure symptom are there from milky oil, rattle upon startup, and using up coolant fairly quickly.

    Any threads here on a head gasket replacement for 4th gen?
     
    #167 AmazingFacts, Aug 7, 2023
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2023
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  8. AmazingFacts

    AmazingFacts Member

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    Let me start a new thread for the above comment...
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    It’s virtually the same engine as 3rd gen.

    it could have an exhaust heat recovery leaking coolant.
     
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i hope it's not the rings or egr
     
  11. AmazingFacts

    AmazingFacts Member

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    Yes thanks Mendel.
    And yes Bisco, I plan to check the EGR and curious to see if it will be fully clogged (at least couldn't see through it) like my gen 3 was at 250k miles. How would I check if rings are bad? Compression check?
     
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    [QUOTE="AmazingFacts, post: 3376307, member: 194746"]bad[/QUOTE]
    Runaway oil consumption would be my criteria.

    ^ Fixed quote above
     
    #172 Mendel Leisk, Aug 10, 2023
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2023
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  13. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Let us know what you find. I cleaned a 300k+ mile Gen 4 EGR cooler a while ago. It was almost pristine. But what a PITA to get out of there! Way harder than Gen 3. But since you will be pulling the head for tha gasket, that should make the EGR cooler a lot more accessible.
     
  14. AmazingFacts

    AmazingFacts Member

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    Thanks Mendel.
    And yes Jerry, will report back what I find.
     
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  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Fixed quote in post #172
     
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  16. Nico3d3

    Nico3d3 Junior Member

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    That's bullshit, the exhaust gas heat exchanger is part of the emission system, so it's covered for 8 years / 100 000 miles. Call Toyota and file a complain. I got mine replaced freely this summer, I was losing coolant so they ran a diagnostics and they ordered a brand new heat exchanger. All paid by Toyota, no question asked.
     
    #176 Nico3d3, Sep 14, 2023
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2023
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  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    better yet, call your atty generals office, or whoever is in charge of warranty laws
     
  18. Nico3d3

    Nico3d3 Junior Member

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    When they do replace the heat exchanger under warranty, do you know if they use an updated part with better design? I got mine replaced in July at 70 000 miles / 112 000 km. I just hope I won't have to replace the same part later on. I'm planning to keep this car for a reallllyyy long time. At least, I got a coolant flush for free, they simply drop the old part, let all the coolant drain and they refill afterward.

    Edit: I do wonder if those gen4 with head gasket failure we see are all caused by bad heat exchanger. In my case, the reservoir was right at the low mark. if I hadn't noticed it while I was topping windshield washer fluid, it would've have been a catastrophic failure. Instead, it became a matter of buying a jug of Toyota coolant and checking it every few days until the part got replaced.
     
    #178 Nico3d3, Sep 15, 2023
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2023
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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there was an updated part at some point, but you'd have to try to find the changeover date
     
  20. sschmid

    sschmid Junior Member

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    What are the symptoms of that. Do you actually see a leak?