2010 Head Gasket replacement - questions before reassembly

Just gotta put it back together now and hope it runs well. It ran pretty well when I bought it, and I even drove it home about ten miles without any weird behavior other than the death rattle on startup. I am a little worried that the head will seal completely though -- when I was test fitting it before applying the RTV and torquing it down, I marked it a tiny bit with the alignment pegs. I have been doing all my own wrenching for 20+ years now but this is the first head gasket I have done all by myself. I'll feel better when it's running, that's for sure!

 

Been unable to find time to work on it for the past two weeks. Today I got it all cleaned up and ready to put the timing cover on. I get out my Permatex ultra black RTV and get the bead halfway around. Then my fingers feel gooey all of a sudden and yup, my tube of Permatex has popped in my hands. I had to wipe all the RTV off before it dried. What an absolute disaster.

 

Got two tubes of FIPG and got the job done in one this time! Got the timing cover on, water pump and OFH. Now it's just getting the tensioner on without losing time, and reassembly. Looking forward to driving the baby.

 

Question for the brain trust - since I have only driven my prius once, for 15 minutes, driving home on the highway (and hoping it wouldn't break down on me):

When I get this this put back together, sealed up, full of coolant, and everything plugged back in, what happens when I press "start?" Is the ICE engine going to start immediately and stay running or should I put it in the maintenance mode to make sure it keeps the gas engine on? Should I leave it idling or should I drive it around? Any other suggestions?

 

Cool, that's comforting. I am still learning a lot about these cars. Having fun though

Got the timing chain tensioner on tonight, and the valve cover. Probably will have it ready to start this weekend or maybe earlier, if I'm lucky.

 

SURPRISE!!! ANOTHER DUPLICATE POST

 

Alright, brain trust, help me out again. I got this thing all buttoned up but there is an extra connector here (pic attached).

Oddly, the connector is the exact same five-pin connector that connects to the water pump! There are TWO five pin connectors that are exactly the same which end up in the same place. One is on the harness that droops over the intake manifold from the driver's side, and the other comes from the small passenger side harness, which only has three or four total connectors. I believe the first one is the correct one for the water pump just based on the routing and length, but either one can plug into the water pump without strain. And I cannot find anything else that isn't plugged in!

 

Ah! Solved it! I watched two reassembly videos for an hour trying to figure out where this connector went. And then as soon as I post here, I figure it out. It actually goes to the wiper motor! But I had the cowl off so I couldn't see it. Looks like I just need to put oil and coolant in it, double check everything, and then find out if I did it all right!

 

Ok it starts and idles! Sounds right when it runs, but it did make the death rattle sound a couple of times while it was idling. Hopefully that will work itself out.

One question, when the car is in park and the engine is running, if you push your foot on the gas, the engine is VERY slow to rev up. Is that normal? It does rev up eventually but takes a few seconds.

 

Rats... throwing a crankshaft/camshaft correlation code... I assume that means I got the timing off. I haven't driven it yet, only idled, and it's hard to tell from the sound since I have only drove this car for 15 minutes before pulling the head.

 

Pulled it out of the garage and then back in... reset the code once but it threw it again after a bit of idling... the camshaft/crankshaft correlation code is P0016 and there is also a P3190 now too. It said "Check hybrid system" and then stopped running. Google says there may be a vacuum leak, so I'll check that first and then the timing.

 

So the cam marks should always line up between the two cams, just the crank will be off after rotation. Is that right?