1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Gen #3 engine head gasket blew at 254,000 miles and engine hydro-locked

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by GustoGuy, Nov 5, 2020.

  1. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    7,566
    4,437
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    But the engine still ran on three cylinders! Who could ask for more? Seriously most of us could and should. Toyota did replace piston rings for those with excessive oil consumption while still under warranty. So their engineers knew they had dropped the ball but most engines had no issues while under warranty. The good news is it only cost $3k. You should easily get your moneys worth out of it.
     
    #21 rjparker, Nov 28, 2020
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2020
    GustoGuy likes this.
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,662
    38,207
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Toothless gesture though, since runaway oil consumption usually starts past the 60k mile cutoff.
     
    GustoGuy likes this.
  3. GustoGuy

    GustoGuy Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2017
    46
    38
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five

    That is my 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT. The Prius engine died at 254,000
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  4. Stangar

    Stangar Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2011
    174
    173
    0
    Location:
    Palmdale, CA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I'm impressed. $2932 for an engine and replacement is a great deal. Good luck!
     
    GustoGuy likes this.
  5. MikeV

    MikeV Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2020
    95
    20
    0
    Location:
    philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Did you have the dealer or a run of the mill garage install and purchase the replacement engine? Can you do a zoomed in shot of the catch can thanks
     
  6. Ultimate_Combination

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2020
    53
    43
    0
    Location:
    Durham, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    @GustoGuy, which site/importer did you get your $1149.00 JDM engine from?
     
  7. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2018
    1,417
    1,525
    38
    Location:
    Evansville, IN
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    2010-2017 TOYOTA PRIUS V JDM 2ZR-FXE 1.8L HYBRID ENGINE Clean JDM ENGINE | eBay

    Here’s one on eBay right now.

    There are quite a few on there right now. 1100-1200 range both with and without shipping included. I think the Gen 4 swap has helped normalize the pricing. It was 1400-1600 when I was looking 3 years ago, and now 1200 will get you the engine and trans on several of the listings.
     
    #27 cnc97, Dec 4, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2020
    mikey_t likes this.
  8. GustoGuy

    GustoGuy Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2017
    46
    38
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I bought my engine on Ebay. It was delivered just 4 days after I purchased it. The engine runs great and I have put on nearly 4000 miles and it has not consumed any oil. The oil catch can I installed shows about 1/2 inch of wetted area on the dipstick when I clean and insert it. I will dump the can at 5000 mile oil changes. DallasJDM on Ebay
     
    #28 GustoGuy, Dec 6, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2020
  9. GustoGuy

    GustoGuy Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2017
    46
    38
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    An independent automotive repair center which my 2nd cousin started. He has been in bussiness since the early 1980's and he just retired recently and is still a part owner. They do great work for a reasonable price. I seldom go to the Toyota Dealership since they are very expensive on maintenance
     
    mikey_t likes this.
  10. Ultimate_Combination

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2020
    53
    43
    0
    Location:
    Durham, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    A few hours ago, I purchased a Gen4 off of a seller on ebay with 27k miles from a 18'
    Oh it's gonna be fun making this work on my 10' :eek:
    I'm going to be heavily referencing "Fix That Prius!"s videos and the many posts here to get this baby running!:LOL:
     
    Mendel Leisk, mikey_t and tony_2018 like this.
  11. tony_2018

    tony_2018 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    204
    58
    0
    Location:
    78717
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thinking the same thing, a 17-18 engine with a low mileage 2012 tranny, or 13-14 tranny. Just gotta make sure these local yards don't try to pull a fast one and give one from a C or a V.
     
  12. GustoGuy

    GustoGuy Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2017
    46
    38
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I heard that a few people have put the 2016+ Gen 4 engines in the Gen 3 Prius but you need to do a fair amount of modification to make it work. I bought a GEN 3 engine for my GEN 3 Prius because it fit without having to re-route coolant hoses and emission control parts. Just put in a catch can for the PVC system since Prius GEN 3 engines are known to ingest lots of oil through the intake manifold and clean the GEN 3 EGR cooler every 50,000 miles or so seems reasonable. I will post some picture when I clean my EGR cooler. Here is a thought would a de-carbonizing product like BG 44K possibly help to reduce carbon buildup in the EGR circuit if used in every 3rd tank or so of gasoline?
     
    mikey_t likes this.
  13. tony_2018

    tony_2018 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    204
    58
    0
    Location:
    78717
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I'm at a crossroads. Just bought the 3rd gen prius, a 2012. Leaking oil front and back of the engine. The PO installed a homemade oil catchcan, but he was still losing oil. I'm assuming since the amt of miles he really hasn't replaced some seals and the timing chain cover hasn't been resealed. That would mean resealing the bottom half of the engine as well. That would require pulling the engine to reseal it.
     
  14. tony_2018

    tony_2018 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    204
    58
    0
    Location:
    78717
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    This will only work in the engine.
     
    Grit and Mendel Leisk like this.
  15. Ultimate_Combination

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2020
    53
    43
    0
    Location:
    Durham, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Oh believe me, another Gen3 engine (low miles and a prayer from JPN) was how I'd wanna do it, but I've noticed a rising trend in the last 2 years of my lurking in these forums: besides the rising reports of HG is also the rising cries of Oil Consumption issues. :(

    I've done all the cleanings, tunings and catch can/mods except for the Piston Soak myself and saw that on these earlier Gen3 engines that it doesn't matter much.

    I figure if I'm gonna do all of this work to swap an engine, might as well shoot for a Gen4
     
    mikey_t and Grit like this.
  16. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,112
    4,039
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    was this notice before or after buying it?
     
  17. tony_2018

    tony_2018 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    204
    58
    0
    Location:
    78717
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    After, I was in the process of removing the harness and it was oily all around the bottom of the engine.
     
  18. tony_2018

    tony_2018 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    204
    58
    0
    Location:
    78717
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Inspecting a bit more today and a couple part removals I found the hose that the PO used for an oil catch can setup was loose at the PCV and that the oil leak was around the timing chain cover. So for the whole area under the intake manifold to be soaked with oil I can understand where it came from. When taking pics of the back of the engine that was facing the firewall I notice it was only oily around the timing chain cover and ALOT around the oil filter area. I would have to pull the timing chain cover I might as well dig into it and replace parts in there but the cost of parts really got me moving toward a low mileage 4th gen prius engine. I'm not too concerned with any egr modifications.
     
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,662
    38,207
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Using the original pcv hose (cut in the middle, and connected with hose barb splicers to fuel line (to run to the OCC), is maybe less likely to leak. That's @danlatu's credo in his thread, and it's worked fine for me. The two cut ends are elbows which maybe puts less strain, and the hose is a softer rubber, with snap rings to cinch the connection.
     
  20. GustoGuy

    GustoGuy Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2017
    46
    38
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Changing my oil tonight. I trapped 1 and 1/4 inches of oil inside the oil catch can. The oil was still on full after 5000 miles. Imagine all that oil going into the intake manifold gumming up to piston rings and forming deposits inside the cylinder. In 100,000 miles without a catch can that would be over 20 inches of oil! 20201213_220304_resized.jpg 20201213_220455_resized.jpg 20201213_222919_resized(1).jpg
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.