troubleshooting rough start

Anyone have thoughts on the head gasket sealers? Or the price for an engine swap? I've never considered replacing an engine before.

 

We tested the compression of the cylinders like you would on a normal car, by pulling out the spark plugs and testing each. Which from what I gathered on this forum, should work just fine though it is not the standard process for the prius. We did this one at home, and dropped new spark plugs in while they were out.

The oil looked better then, and the cylinders tested well. It started right up with any roughness after we changed them, but it didn't improve all the issues, and there was still a coolant leak. So I took it to a shop monday. Shop found the coolant leak (something on the bottom of the engine, and the reservoir tank as well), and have concluded the head gasket is going after a test (I don't recall what test) that showed there was hydrocarbons in the coolant. It's been spitting codes pretty much daily the week before I got it in, for a variety of things, including misfires on all cylinders. I'm fairly convinced it is in fact the head gasket that's going, especially with how common the issue seems to be to these cars.

With as high of mileage as it is, a lower mileage engine sound like a good idea compared to an almost equal cost just to replace the head gasket. I have no idea what the ballpark cost of an engine swap should be though. Is that $5500 high or low? That is the engine and labor both.

Of course, unless they approve me for financing, I don't have the money for it anyways, so I'm looking at the temp fix of head gasket sealer as an option. I haven't seen many attempts to use something like that on these pages. There's only one other thread that comes up when I do a search for Blue Devil head gasket sealer, and it doesn't mention the results. If I'm looking at engine replacement anyways, it seems a worthwhile attempt, even if I just get another 6 months from it.

 

At a guess, I'd say the EGR valve was not part of regular maintenance. I've only had the car for 10k miles, so I was still getting to some of those items. With as clogged as some people have reported those getting, I was definitely planning on looking at that next.

Another car is an option on the table. This one has a lien against it, but if I can make a temp fix work well enough, I was considering trying to trade it in towards something else. However, $5500 to fix this car is still probably the cheapest option, instead of $8k(?) for a new car, plus $3k towards what's owed on this one. My credit sucks though, so whatever option is approved is the one that works. Still looking at a prius anyways, even with these issues they are pretty hardy little cars.

 

Got it back from the shop today. Decided to go for the Blue Devil head gasket resealer. I expect this to be a temporary fix, but since there were few results of doing so on these forums, I thought I'd put my experiences on here as well. Process was applied at 266,000 miles. Immediate result seems positive, the rough start/misfire seems quieted. Figure it can't hurt if engine replacement is the next step, so whatever more miles I get out of this one are free miles. I drive 100+ miles a day, so it shouldn't take long to get to a fair result. Did an oil change as well, and I get those every 5k, so I'll have them check it out again then.

 

*sigh*

Drove it fine 110 miles last night. No codes.

Drove it this morning, drove fine for an hour+... until it hit 105 degrees out. Got a code, check hybrid engine, engine shut down. Towed home.

Result is not looking good. Going to try driving again tonight, see if it's just overheating in our hellish Phoenix summer sun.

 

Just heard back from the mechanics. Code was b2613, with a history of p0301.

They are saying it's the water pump, which they say looks like it's original. Quote of $1120 parts and labor to fix. They say it's unrelated to the previous fix.

 

If it was just my transportation to work, I'd agree. However, it's paying the bills entirely. $1000 to keep the business going a few more months is worthwhile.

However, it does need a new engine. $1000 to fix it enough to trade it in for $6000 towards something else might be worth it. I kind of have to work with what I have, I'm less concerned about my credit.

Double however, he said the pump itself was something like $250, which is in the realm of DIY.