Cylinder misfire. Help!

Main Head gas kit

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Pretty bad white smoke???

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Aaron, how did you guys prove it was the head gasket leaking vs. the egr cooler itself leaking into the engine? I would think that either would produce the same symptom.

I'm just curious since I haven't worked with this problem before.

 

Aaron,

I think what @mjoo is getting at is that the EGR cooler (remember, the engine coolant loop runs through it to create this "cooled EGR") could actually be "blown" and leaking coolant from it's internal circuit, back into the exhaust manifold. From here it could be getting into the combustion chamber via open exhaust valves when the engine is off. Then when the engine fires, it's going to burn coolant and misfire. Any coolant remaining in the exhaust manifold will be smoking/steaming out the exhaust, too. All of this combined with obvious coolant loss from the reservoir might impersonate a blown head gasket quite effectively. This is an excellent theory, IMO. The EGR circuit could be behind much more trouble than simply the "missing under light throttle" nuisance we've thought it to be.

 

I should clarify that I'm not saying these blown head gaskets aren't indeed blown head gaskets. I'm just saying that of all the reports we've had here, I don't believe we've had a single instance of verification of cause. What if an entirely different system failure is throwing up apparent HG failure symptoms?... And one that's easily fixable for a few hundred bucks... I think you and your dad could be the ones to tell PriusChat what's up with the "coolant usage" issue these engines are having!

The oil burning in these engines is a piston, oil control ring issue and unrelated, IMO. It's been long documented even since the 90's with Corolla owners. The control rings stick tightly with carbon coking and the piston oil return holes clog completely. Lets the oil blow right by and into the fire. This is why good quality full-synthetic is a must and 5k miles OCI good insurance against the problem developing. Toyota was late to the 10k mile OCI recommendation party and I bet they never would have shown up if not for CAFE pressure. I'm flame suit on here, but whatev.

 

To expound on @m.wynn 's point, you and your father will have a great opportunity to help the community out.

Would you be able to do the following after the "new" engine is in the car and operational:

1. Save the old engine
2. Harvest the egr cooler and save it and the valve for pressure or water testing
3. Harvest the water pump

Set these aside for testing later.

Curious if 12v load is applied to the water pump what happens and if the impeller is spinning or not.

Water test the egr cooler by hooking up hoses to the water side (depending on overall cooler cleanliness on the exhaust side) and see if you get water out of the exhaust gas side. You'll need a couple of hoses, easily obtainable.

Keep us posted.

 

Let me tell you the solution if you have engine check light on with code p0301,2,3,4 means one of the cylinders misfires get the tune up done also clean up the intake manifold,EGR pipe and pcv valve. If all of this doesn't make it go away then could be your fuel injectors. Coolant loss could the water pump or maybe leaks check for that as well check for any leaks. Two symptoms if your head gas kit is out is mix of coolant in oil plus white smoke and engine check light with misfire engine

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No peer pressure, of course...

 

If I were closer, I'd offer to help. It's always good to test and get data.

 

If you were out here tomorrow, we're having a meetup. There will be at least 4 of us: 1 Gen2, my liftback and 2 PIPs.

Where I work there are a lot of Jeeps and urban assault vehicles. When I told them I was racing around Sonoma for the Prius Challenge they asked in what. I told them in a Prius and got this response:

But out here I am in good company.