ICE running when stopped

I have no idea on your first question. Someone with more experience and knowledge will chime in I'm sure.

As to the oil change intervals, I think the service tech is correct. It's perhaps overly cautious, but a couple of $30ish oil changes is good insurance for the work you just had done. Better safe than sorry in that regard, imo.

 

piston rings are a big job. was it expensive? there is probably metal from break in that needs to be removed with the oil changes.

 

Do they ever replace piston rings on a customer's engine, I'm wondering. Is the more likely scenario they take the engine out, replace with rebuilt, and send the customer's engine to rebuilders?

 

only in bucharest.

 

Look thru Gen 2, on engine running. I think Pat posted about this. I believe it was brake pedal adjustment, but that should be brake lights. Anyway I do know when this happens to me and I am waiting for a light, if I press the brake harder, sometimes the engine display will stop.

 

I once had small local engine workshop replace the rings on one of my cars. It was quite a long time ago on an old Mazda 626 that I used to own.

They did it without removing the engine from the car. From memory I think that they removed both the sump and the head, then working from below they removed the big end bearings (which attach the piston rods to the crankshaft) then withdrew the pistons (with the piston rods still attached) up through the top of the engine block. The also fitted new big end bearings when they reassembled.

These days this type of engine repair is very uncommon because of the relatively high labor costs compared to just buying and fitting a secondhand engine. So yeah, the type of repairs that are economical to undertake definitely depends on where you are located and what the labor costs are like there.

Now days you can't even get a head gasket replaced economically around here. I remember years ago head gasket replacement was a very common workshop procedure, and I had it performed on more than one car. These days I notice most people completely scrapping their engines instead of even just a simple head gasket replacement.

 

1. I don't think that low cylinder compression would cause a difference in the engine stopping or not. If the traction battery state of charge was low then the engine would run more than it otherwise might.

2. Since the engine has been overhauled and debris may have been deposited from installation of the new rings, it might be a good idea to replace the engine oil at a shorter duration than normal, perhaps at 3,000 miles.

If the cylinder head gasket is leaking, this probably is due to the head and/or block being warped. That can easily happen on modern engines made of aluminum if the engine overheats.

There is no point in replacing the gasket unless the head and block are first inspected to ensure the mating surfaces are flat. If either is damaged, it would be necessary to totally disassemble the damaged component for machining.

Since the failure rate of Toyota engines is low, there is little demand for used engines, hence the used engine prices are low, typically mid three-digits in the US. That makes it cheaper to install a used engine vs. repairing a failed engine with relatively expensive labor.

 

Yeah I knew that. In the past when I've had head gaskets replaced it always included skimming (machining) the head to make sure everything was flat before reassembly. It still used to be something that was quite commonly done, but now days not so much.

Yes it all comes down to labor costs vs availability of secondhand engines.

 

head gasket blew on our ford windstar, head was warped i think. $1,800. repair, over 10 years ago.

 

Yeah that sounds about right DanT. Unlike in the US, probably not so many used Prius engines readily available in Romania. So replacing the rings makes sense.

 

Hi DanT. Be aware that some amount of oil consumption is not all that uncommon with the Prius. So don't assume that you'll have zero oil consumption now that the rings have been replaced.

Hopefully the oil consumption will be considerable reduced. However it may take some time for the new rings to bed in, so don't make any assumptions, and keep on checking that oil level regularly.