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Replacing engine after I blew it up

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Falken, Aug 13, 2015.

  1. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    I drive the adult sized Prius (G3) and I presumed that the C-type would take the same oil (0W20) but in truth there's not going to be $0.05 worth of difference between the two as long as whatever you put into the sump is rated for 10K miles if you use that change interval, and you can probably use whatever you want to with a 5K OCI.

    Probably 90-percent of any abnormal lubrication related damage that occurs with Prius engines comes from the owner confusing a 10,000 mile oil change interval with a 10,000 mile oil CHECK interval.

    Good Luck.
     
  2. YYR123

    YYR123 Junior Member

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    Cool....

    Yeah I run the synthetic and I run it out to 10k for sure.

    I must have read the manuals but I don't remember what Toyota suggested
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    why do you use 30, heat?
     
  4. YYR123

    YYR123 Junior Member

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    Most common type down here in Texas. So yeah you could say heat, yeah
     
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  5. Falken

    Falken Junior Member

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    An update on our journey...

    I called a salvage yard because I couldn't find anyone local that would replace a Prius engine and shipping it to OH seemed like a financial wash at best. The guys at the yard were extremely helpful and called a shop they knew near my car and those folks said they could drop a new engine in it for me. Price for a 80k prius engine at the salvage yard? $200 :LOL:

    So I had our car towed to that shop after calling them twice to make sure they were able to put the engine in. A few days later they gave me a quote for $2000 (after marking that engine up to $700). I said sure, go for it. The mechanic called back 15 minutes later and said that he had talked with a friend that does Toyota work and was no longer comfortable swapping out the engine for us. Basically said he wouldn't do it.

    After that debacle we decided to just go new and are currently trying to land a 2015 Prius v Four. We're having a tough time finding the colors/package we want and the prices seem higher than they should be. If I look on Truecar they're saying 26,600 for that package but I haven't found a dealer willing to go under 27k yet. Does that seem high for a Prius v Four? So much for good deals due to cheap gas and the model year turnover!
     
  6. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    If you go through the AAA (who uses Truecar) or Truecar buying process don't you get three dealers & their prices? One should be the lowest price, one should be the closest dealer, and the third is the highest volume dealer.

    The v Four has a MSRP of $30834 with a selling price of $27225 around here. Truecar's chart shows prices are dropping. The thing about model year leftovers is that they are leftovers. Unless you are looking for a common combination (or will settle for an unpopular combination) finding what you want can be somewhere between difficult & impossible.

    Holman Toyota doesn't have any Prius--Liftback, c or v. Liberty Toyota has one silver v Four (3 total). I know Burlington is a drive from Pittsburgh but it's a nice drive, just don't try driving through Philadelphia while the Pope is here.
     
  7. Falken

    Falken Junior Member

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    Thanks Jim, I'm definitely seeing what you refer to with the leftovers. A lot of undesirable colors and packages out there but not much else.

    I had some pretty good responses today to my offers though and hopefully will have a deal done on Monday. I'll post my final numbers back here to help other potential buyers out.
     
  8. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Hope you find what you want at a fair price.
     
  9. HOWFAST

    HOWFAST Junior Member

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    Fix it. Generally these are some of the most reliable cars out there. I would take it apart first and see what you need. Then order and fix with a low mileage engine. Good luck.

    Gus//
     
  10. Falken

    Falken Junior Member

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    I wanted to come back to this thread one last time to update in case it helps anyone. I ended up emailing a ton of dealers looking for a black/black Prius V Four but there was only one within a few hundred miles. Despite that I found a great dealer to work with and bought it at the end of September for $26,300 (after $2000 rebate but before tax/title/tags which were about $300 total). We're very happy with the car and are glad we went with the 4 package.

    Our poor old Prius? Sold to a salvage yard for $600 :(

    I did all of the negotiations via email and highly recommend that route. Once the deal was set we just paid a deposit and showed up to the dealer to pick it up. Definitely how I'm buying cars in the future.
     
  11. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    To all viewers:
    If your car is over 90,000 miles you need to change the belt. This belt drives the engine water pump. if it breaks there is no warning. The only warning you get it when the engine is so overheated it throws a check engine light. To late as its super hot and usually takes out the head gasket. Thats if your lucky and it doesn't lunch the whole motor.

    It's really expensive.
    So $10 belt......or $2000 engine repair or replace?
     
  12. Melchior

    Melchior Junior Member

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    FWIW this was the belt on my 2007 Gen 2 last summer with just shy of 207.000km (128,000 miles) on the clock. Goodness knows when it was last replaced, if ever.

    [​IMG]

    It was VERY easy to inspect and change and VERY cheap to buy.
     
  13. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Gates Rubber Co. is a leading supplier of replacement serpentine belts. They say:

    Be System Smart
    Inspect at 60K Miles and Replace at 90K Miles

    Be System Smart

    I replaced my 2004 Prius belts at 100k and at 200k miles at the same time that I replaced both major coolant pumps and the coolant fluid (also done at 150k and 250k miles). A bit risky on the belt but conservative on expected pump life.

    Then again the belt manufacturer does have a vested interest in us replacing belts often.

    JeffD
     
  14. Falken

    Falken Junior Member

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    Definitely follow the advice of the three prior posters. If I had done routine maintenance on the belt I would have saved myself a ton of hassle and money. What edthefox said may happen above is exactly what happened in my case (water pump failed, head gasket blew).