Head Gasket Repair - Anything else?

Wanted to check and see if there is something else I should be considering before diving in to fixing the head gasket.

I found a well-rated shop that ball parked me what seems like a reasonable price for the work, including sending the head out to a machine shop to check for any issues. I figured that if I do it, I'll also ask them to replace the EGR cooler and the water pump. My car probably also needs plugs.

I'd like to check the traction battery health before sinking thousands into the car, I guess the Dr. Prius app is still the best way?

Car has been running well overall, still got 50+ mpg commuting last week. Just ran into a real rough start over the weekend + P0301 code and now see the coolant is low.

Anything else to consider here? Car is a 2013 with 172k miles. I realize the suspension is probably wearing out at some point, and there is still the brake booster lurking as well, but I don't think I've seen any value in a pro-active brake booster replacement. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the responses. Now I see why replacing the whole motor becomes attractive.

I'll talk to the shop owner I guess and see. Even if they weren't making money off parts, I could see a pro not wanting to mess around with cleaning out the EGR stuff.

 

Maybe. I dropped the car today, he mentioned checking the EGR system as part of this. First step is confirming it is indeed the head gasket by looking inside with the borescope.

 

So the mechanic gave me a quick update, with the intention of following up more on Monday.

He does not think there is a blown head gasket. He says there is no coolant in the cylinders, they pressure tested the cooling system and it is not leaking. Just saw oil/fuel in the cylinders indicating the spark is weak. The plugs are overdue for replacement.

So he is proposing plugs/coils and cleaning out the EGR system. He also priced a replacement water pump, probably because I mentioned it as something I'd do with the HG. Guess I might as well do it anyway at this age/mileage?

It does not explain why the coolant was low though. It went somewhere, although it has been a long time on the coolant.

 

Unless you mean a continuation of one of the many other head gasket adjacent threads, no. It was just me preparing to need a head gasket repair based on the symptoms I saw all pointing to a head gasket on a 2013 with enough miles where the head gasket would not be a surprise.

I dropped it off, the mechanic wanted to verify it was a head gasket before starting, and the update is him saying it is not. I could have sworn I read a thread like this, so I'm looking for that in the interim. Can't remember if it was just people changing plugs/coils hoping they didn't need the head gasket.

 

I've only seen a P0301 once when it was a particularly rough start, which has also only happened once.

I guess the thing that doesn't make sense is how does it pass a coolant system pressure test if the head gasket is leaking? And it has been at his shop since Thursday AM, can assume it was not moving anywhere, it should have coolant in the cylinder right?