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Head Gasket Replacement on Gen 3 prius

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by prius@noob, May 14, 2022.

  1. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Video does not work.

    What to look for? Simple, is smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe in the back of the car? What color and smell?

    Or is it oil burning off the engine or steam coming off the engine?
     
  2. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    To the best of my knowledge it’s coming from exhaust manifold. Marked it out in the picture.

    The coolant levels went slightly below low, but holding there.

    the last time I turned it on, the knocking seems to have improved. Should I drive it around for a mile or so?
    Too bad mechanics are closed due to long weekend.

    edit: oh, no white smoke from the exhaust pipe in the back. Smoke from behind engine is burning smell, not sweet. The exhaust manifold is getting pretty hot within minutes. I did spill a lot of coolant onto the cover under engine due to thermostat housing leak and some fuel while removing the fuel line (weeks ago).
     

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    #62 prius@noob, Jul 2, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2022
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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  4. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    Wish I could.

    So I turned on the engine again, to capture where the smoke is coming from, and noticed it’s gradually decreasing. Definitely not as bad as last night. Knocking and vibration went away and left the car running for a good 5 mins. No major smoke unlike last night and first time today. I did notice something leaking (here’s the video) check at 0:46 mark. There a kind of hose right below the passenger footrest panel. Don’t know if that should be connected (did not go near that area).

    Now noticed the coolant leaking from the front right side (driver side). Hoping I simply forgot to tighten the coolant valve. Coolant level has dropped completely again. Coolant leak video

    Below are more videos from last night
    Video 1
    Video 2
     
  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    That is your ac condensate dripping in the first video. Normal.

    Second video is a real leak from the radiator, hose or valve. A blind man could find that one.

    Third and forth video from last night... oil and coolant burning off the exhaust.
     
  6. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    thank you for pushing me.
    The smoke is almost all gone. The coolant was leaking because I didn’t tighten up the valve.

    coolant levels are holding. Engine doesn’t seem to rattle at all. There’s still check engine light on, but maybe it’ll go away once I clear the codes?

    video after topping off coolant again

    time to take it for a drive.
     
  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Clear the codes.
     
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  8. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    Update:

    i think it’s done! Drove around 30 miles and no rattling!

    The handling seems stiff though. Or maybe its because I haven’t driven it in a while. Will do more research on that.

    For now I think it’s done. Thanks to @Mendel Leisk @ASRDogman @rjparker

    Edit: Also thanks to @ttou68 @Tombukt2 @bisco @ChapmanF and everyone else who helped! Sorry if I missed anyone.
     
  9. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Maybe its early but... Victory.jpg
     
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  10. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    Haha! I'm being cautiously optimistic... :)
     
  11. Half Vast

    Half Vast Junior Member

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    Congrats on getting it done. Thanks for posting your follow-up. It may help others.
     
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  12. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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  13. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    Sadly I got a check engine light back on. Felt the acceleration was sluggish and mpg dropped slightly (from 48 to 45mpg).. Went to autozone to get the codes. The issue seems to be in the Power Train System

    Code: P0016 IN. DVVT System Phase Difference/Range Malfunction. Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation - Bank 1 Sensor A

    Most Likely Solution: Replace Variable Camshaft Timing (VCT) Solenoid.

    I've looked up for solutions and came across this video. But that seems to be about variable valve timing solenoid.
    Most articles and solutions seems to be about VVT too. Couldn't find aby info on VCT. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

    Edit: Let me know if this should be it's own post. Thanks!
     
  14. ToyXW

    ToyXW Active Member

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    Have you double checked cam timing? My first thought is one or both cams are off a tooth... I'd also check to make sure the solenoid wiring connection & nearby ground are clean & solid.
     
  15. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    below post of mine has the picture of the camshafts and harmonic balancer. (The pictures were taken at the same time).


    After that it was valve cover installation and other components.

    Would the cam timing go off after starting the engine from that point?

    I’ll check the ground bolts tomorrow, I didn’t clean them or anything, just draped it over and bolted them.

    the solenoid wiring is the long trail that goes around the valve cover right? I’ll check that too (although I’m confident I got it right).
     
  16. ToyXW

    ToyXW Active Member

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    From your earlier pictures, you set the timing marks correctly. My first question is whether the tensioner and/or the chain is worn enough for the chain to have skipped a tooth since then. In some cases, a stretched chain that is installed correctly might still cause the cam & crank sensors to mismatch - especially of you machined material from the head during the head gasket replacement.
     
  17. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    Understood. There is a possibility the chain could've jumped a tooth, I did reuse the old chain. I can distinctly remember timing chain installation as I took time to get it right. It did feel like it was slacking a bit, but after timing cover and tensioner installation, it was snug; and I did rotate the crank about 8 to 9 times and didn't notice any slacking.
    Again, it might've jumped a tooth, but verifying cam positions would mean a far bigger job/fix for me. So I would like to give smaller jobs a try and see if that fixes the issue.

    Also, I was under the impression chain jumping the tooth isn't an issue as long as all the crankshaft and cam marks are aligned?

    Couldn't find an issue with the ground bolts or the Solenoid wiring. Although the wiring was out in the open for about 1.5 months while I was working on it. Maybe some dust got in there? Is that a possibility? If so, any tips on how to clean the sensors?

    Edit: Found a video that details how to check if it is the faulty solenoid. Link to video
    Is that a good place to start? Is VVT the same as VCT in this case? Because that threw me off and confused me big time.
     
    #77 prius@noob, Jul 6, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2022
  18. ToyXW

    ToyXW Active Member

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    VVT and VCT are often used interchangeably. I doubt the sensor is the problem unless it was super gummed up or something. A mechanical issue is more likely and I'd lean toward timing chain stretched. If you have good diagnostic software, you could probably log the outputs and verify before going through the hassle of opening things up to visually inspect.

    This is for a 4runner, but should be a similar process (with the exception of having only 1 bank):
     
  19. prius@noob

    prius@noob Junior Member

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    Update:
    Got around to removing the valve cover to check the marks for cams and harmonic balancer. (Link to video)

    it looks right to me, the cam marks are where they should be corresponding to the harmonic balancer. Am I missing something related to the P0016 code?

    Edit: Rotated the crankshaft until the links lined up too, which they did (link to video).

    Any ideas on what else might be the issue?
     
    #79 prius@noob, Jul 24, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2022
  20. ToyXW

    ToyXW Active Member

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    It looks okay, but I wonder if it is possible the chain link on the crankshaft timing gear is in the wrong position even though the pulley appears to be lining up. I can't remember if it possible to see the crank gear just removing the crank pulley or do you have to remove the whole timing cover?

    If the links line up, I think it has to be either a bad tensioner or stretched chain (I'd replace both since labor is the worst of it)