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2010 Prius Leaky Gasket

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by M-Dawg55, Mar 7, 2023.

  1. M-Dawg55

    M-Dawg55 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2016
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    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Hey everyone... long time member, but haven't been here much in years... now big problems with the 2010 Prius I have.

    Sounds like common leaky gasket issues and having some misfires. Dealership quoted me $4k for just the gasket (which sounds like a ticking time bomb anyways) and $8,500 for an engine replacement with 100k on it. One year warranty, but I don't know if it's worth it at this point.

    Any thoughts on what this should be at an independent mechanic these days? If I don't go the route of repair, what should I be mindful of in parting it out? Cat obviously, relatively new tires, has new brakes in the back, so I sunk some money into the routine things only to have this pop-up.

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Yeah read all the threads here JDM engine about $1,300 delivered to your door generally in most places on the East Coast You should be able to find somebody to swap that out for you for around $800 something like that and you're not anywhere near any kind of $8,000 anybody's quoting you JDM engines don't come from these shores and have lower mileage than anything you're going to find in the States generally speaking You could possibly get a Gen 4 engine and do the Gen 4 changeover whatever your poison not too big of a deal really unless you're just would rather get a newer car
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    For data/learning:

    what are the miles?

    was the EGR circuit ever cleaned, and if so at what miles?
     
  4. M-Dawg55

    M-Dawg55 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2016
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    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Just shy of 225K miles. To my knowledge, it was never cleaned. I've always done the routine maintenance packages but learned my lesson the dealership probably isn't doing a great job. Never had any oil burn issues then magically in the last 3000 miles I was burning oil all the way below the dipstick. Oil light never came on either.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  5. Priipriii

    Priipriii Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2022
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    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    May i suggest adding an oil leak sealant solution first. They sometimes work and theres many videos on youtube with people testing different brands effectiveness.

    But if you are burning oil internally then its likely it could be piston O rings that are not expanding properly because they are clogged. In that case, you would want to try and unclog them. If you are lucky, you can do it without taking the entire engine apart. People swap the engine oil with transmission fluid and run the engine in maintenance mode for about 40 minutes and pour new oil. You can also try taking out the sparkplug and pouring vinegar inside and leaving overnight then sucking it out with a syringe the next day. Vinegar destroys rust and was most successful in loosening O rings stuck by rust. But carbon, i have no idea how well it does against. This should be a last ditch effort as its hard to say if it will even make it down to the third ring unless your piston walls are bored out already by the knocking. Theres also brand stuff you can buy that you pour into the oil and they claim to fix your o rings but its a waste a money if it doesnt work in my opinion.

    Also try a thicker viscosity oil on next oil change. Less likely to leak or burn if it cant seep through.