Is every Gen 2 DIYer on a collision course with an engine swap?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by T.S. Elliot, Jan 10, 2026 at 9:29 PM.

  1. T.S. Elliot

    T.S. Elliot Junior Member

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    I will not consider any car other than a Gen 2 for any reason. I am not a mechanic, but I am an avid DIYer and try to do what I can and learn something along the way. I had an '07 with a completely known history of full synthetic oil changes every 5k miles going back to day 1. I ran it myself from 90k to 240k miles and it never burned a single drop of oil. I replaced it with a rust free Copart '09 that had 150k miles. I've since ran it up to 195k. I've kinda felt it out by now and it seems to burn about a quart of oil in 5k miles. Disappointing given what I had to put into the car, but not too bad yet? Obviously plan to keep it topped off, but assuming the worst am I eventually looking at an engine swap? So many questions that would bring up, and I admit I need to do more research on my own. What is the best source for a block? Should I be looking to find a low mileage rear-end totaled Prius on Copart and just stash it for later for the block? Seems like the 60k JDM blocks are too good to be true. Just how involved is an engine swap? Do you keep most of the stuff on the block and pull it as a whole or strip first then pull the block? (everything else being equal). How is it connected to the transaxle? How do the motor mounts work? How do you get the exhaust off? What is going on with the fuel? Do you need a working Techstream to prime fuel or fiddle with ignition? I've never even had to replace a brake actuator or do the speedometer fix on one of these yet so in the grand scheme of things I'm still a baby. (I've never done an engine swap on any vehicle).
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Lol... Just keep driving your Gen2 and don't worry about it. Not only does the engine have classic simple long lasting Toyota durability built into it but because its a hyrbid you use the engine way less often than you would in a regular car. What's more you've yet to drive one past 300K miles and the engines usually don't fail until you get close to 400K miles.

    Lastly, if you ever do have to replace an engine its an easy job... These two dudes did it for first time in one evening after they got home from work:

     
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  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    195 and 5K to run low youll make 400 plus.. on that same usage .nothing to fix . Let it go ..
     
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    more like every gen 3
     
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  5. T.S. Elliot

    T.S. Elliot Junior Member

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    Thanks for chiming in guys. Good to hear I am overthinking it.
     
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  6. jonsey1886

    jonsey1886 Junior Member

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  7. Albert Barbuto

    Albert Barbuto Active Member

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    Valvoline "Restore and Protect" has gotten good press for reducing oil consumption. Inexpensive to try... :)
     
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  8. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Best if the car is driven quite a bit. Word of mouth is that it takes several oil changes for this to really make a difference. I'm trying it, but at one oil change a year (we don't drive that much) it may take years to see a change. Especially since last I checked it was only burning 1 qt in 3k or 4k miles, which is well within "normal" consumption. Someone driving 20k miles a year would find out much sooner.

    Also, try as I might, I have not been able to find out what sort of conditions are optimal for this product to work. Highway driving, stop and go, the car just sitting off so that the chemicals can work their way in at low temperature? The manufacturer probably knows but isn't sharing.
     
  9. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Keep checking the oil level and top off as needed. Until it reaches a point where oil consumption causes "problems", what would you gain by replacing the engine now?
    My 06 was using a quart every 4-5k at 160k, still uses the same at 250k.
    The industry "rule of thumb" for consumption is up to 1 quart every 3k is fine. Some OE's allow 1 quart every 1k for certain "high performance" models.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  10. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Just keep oil in it.

    Most shops keep the JDM accessories attached which makes the swap easier. I have seen it done in one day by an experienced mechanic and a helper. Based on your questions you would need to be the helper. First timers might take a week, have to buy tools and still end up with problems.

    A gen2 JDM has unknown miles and model years. However it can't be newer than 2009 which is old even if it was sitting in a pile in Japan for ten years. However if your engine was blown (bent rod, hole in the block, etc) I would use a JDM over a US salvage yard engine.

    No oil or flush will solve a Toyota low tension ring oil burning problem.

    These engines normally can not be rebuilt but can have new rings installed, normally an engine out procedure with far more cost and labor than a swap.

    Gen3s are better candidates for JDM engines. A gen3 JDM can be as new as 2021 since they were sold new overseas through 2021. Therefore some gen3 JDM engines can have all the updates; some can be very risky 2010-2014 models. They have guarantees but the labor is the costly part. If you live near a city with a JDM engine distributor you can try to cherry pick the engine.
     
  11. Hayslayer

    Hayslayer Active Member

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    Thought Toyota spec is 1 quart every 600 miles to meet excess consumption threshold.