head gasket and bent piston #1 connecting rod

Out of curiosity, it sounds like you installed the original piston onto the new connecting rod. You didn't have any concerns that the piston may have a crack(s)? Or the wrist pin hole may be out of round?

 

From what I read, Toyota says you need to head the piston/rod assembly to press out the wrist pin.
Maybe that was from the 2010-12 model years?

 

Is there any advantage to doing this though; is the Corolla part cheaper, more readily available? If either will do, perhaps they’re actually the same part, including part number?

Fortunately it’s cylinder one that is usually having the failures, lol.

 

OR that the piston scraped the cylinder walls ?
And are the bearings top and bottom a part of the rod assembly ?
If not, did you change them too ??

 

great info. thanks, well done!

 

Thanks for this valuable information, which I have not read on here before!

 

that's pretty cool if you to share, thanks !

 

Are you saying they're both the same part number, and you just found an arbitrage opportunity between different eBay listings for the same part?

 

I would find this to be totally believable. It's amazing how two identical things can bring in totally different prices. Merely for example, advertise an HV battery module for a 2007 Prius, a 2007 Camry or a 2007 Lexus. All the same module but ebay used to be crazy different prices.

 

Someone on a desktop could more easily check the part no’s. Just thumbing on a phone here.

 

If we had legit consumer protection laws, these types of pricing scams would be illegal... Alternatively, we need an online service that specialises in cross referencing parts and measuring and testing so you can find the most reasonable price, rather than the jacked up price depending on how expensive your car is...

My latest interaction with this racket is the trailer wiring "kit" for Prius... Most people end up spending $60-$100 for a "kit' that's designed for their car and the adapter box I bought on my trailer wiring kit a 1/2 dozen years ago was malfunctioning and there's no way I was going to buy $5 of wires for $60 just to get the adapter box. Instead I spent $15 on this: United Pacific 90623 Trailer Light Converter - 4 To 5 Wires | eBay and it was easier to wire up than the so called kit.

I'm grateful for Priuschat helping us figure out workarounds for all the many pricing scams that prey on the uninformed...

 

I own a shop that specializes in Toyotas. Ive down a lot of Prius head gaskets as well as complete engine rebuilds. Cylinder 1 is for sure the easiest to get too. Ive also seen the rods very slightly bent causing the piston to not move back and forth in the cylinder. Also use a straight edge and make sure the block and head are straight.

 

Great thinking. Excellent share.
Many times a manufacturer will place a different part # on the same part allowing different appplications. Regardless if the part number is the same or not between Prius and Corolla … the firmest worked. Report back as mileage climbs and keep us in the know.

 

Leave the oil pan in place, and drop the entire crankcase instead. This gives you access to all four connecting rods and pistons without having to remove the engine.

 

I can't stop wondering about the rear main seal in a procedure like that, though.

I mean, there isn't even a separate rear seal retainer on this engine. When you install a new rear seal, you just drive it into the round bore that's formed by the semicircular openings in the block and 'crankcase' coming together. Breaking that apart, spinning the crankshaft and now-loose seal around some for access to all the rods, then just putting the 'crankcase' back up against that old seal seems like it could be asking for trouble.

 

It is certainly not ideal, but by design the seal sees more friction from the block than from the crankshaft, so it stays put while you rotate the crankshaft to get different pistons to TDC. And when the crankcase assembly is hoisted back up into place and torqued to spec, it engages the seal at the same position that it did when first installed, so there really should not be any leakage.

I personally haven't seen any in the 36,000 miles since the last rebuild.

 

I also had a blown headgasket on a 2014 prius plug in. I went through the headgasket replacement only to put it all back together and have the same issue. I should have realized why at top dead center, piston #1 was 1/8" lower and never reached the top top of the cylinder. After replacing the engine with a JDM, i tore the old motor apart and sure enough. Piston #1 has a bent rod. Not sure if its worth replacing the rod, but at least i know what happened. After learning how to do a head gasket and an engine replacement. Jeeze!