Another Gen 3 bites the dust...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Sammy B, Aug 17, 2017.

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  1. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    Some of you followed my post about the engine troubles I had 10k ago. Engine now has 190k on it and things just went really far south. The short of it is that after many years of oil heavy engine consumption (about a quart every 300 miles), my engine started to violently shake at start up. I discovered a lot of oil in the #2 cylinder, and a filthy EGR/ intake manifold. After cleaning out the intake parts and adding some stop leak to the radiator due to the probable head gasket leak, my problems were solved -- for a short time.

    A few days ago, my engine developed an annoying rhythmic ticking/ flapping sound that was only heard when the engine was under load. Gradually, the noise got worse, and the engine lost a lot of torque. About ten miles before I got home, the check engine light turned on, which was shortly followed by the 'check hybrid system' light. The old Prius was able to limp home, but barely. The trouble code was P0037, which was an an O2 sensor. Further inspection revealed that the steel gasket between the header and first cat had blown out. Unfortunately, the exhaust gases partially melted a string of hybrid system wire harness. I can replace the gasket, but not so sure about that damn harness! Not sure why the gasket blew, but it may due to the cats being so gunked up with oil from that #2 cylinder.

    At this point, I'm about ready to rid myself of this beast. Since I don't have the interface for the hybrid system, I may bite the bullet and spend $135 to have Toyota tell me what's wrong with it.
     
    #1 Sammy B, Aug 17, 2017
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  2. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    ouch... good luck! we all would like to know what's the result of this issue.
     
    #2 NutzAboutBolts, Aug 17, 2017
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I think you should save the $135......"I'm about ready to rid myself of this beast"
     
    #3 JC91006, Aug 17, 2017
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  4. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
     
    #4 NutzAboutBolts, Aug 17, 2017
  5. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    You should be able to locate an inexpensive used engine complete with harness. Hopefully the complete engine harness can be easily disconnected like the 2nd generation Prius harness.
    Has anyone had any experience with 3rd generation engine harness removal and replacement?
     
    #5 IMkenNY, Aug 17, 2017
  6. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Hmmmm... Sorry for your problems, but then again, it's an opportunity to get a Prime.
     
    #6 jerrymildred, Aug 17, 2017
  7. mjoo

    mjoo Senior Member

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    Now that's what I call driving until the wheels fall off!

    The bright side is that the harness could be a very easy fix with the motor out of the way depending on the extent of the damage.

    If you know that the rest of the car and hybrid system was maintained well and not giving you problems it could be worth your while to buy a motor & cat. You probably won't come ahead in resale but: the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know...

    Prii are usually reliable. With the recent insights on Priuschat into EGR and PCV problems and the new workarounds (PCV catch can, periodic EGR system and intake cleaning) the engine problem would be very unlikely to happen again.
     
    #7 mjoo, Aug 17, 2017
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2017
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  8. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    Just found out that my commute to work will be substantially less, so I'll probably end up selling it or parting it out. Either way, I may still have it looked at. May end up pulling it apart just to have some fun with it.
     
    #8 Sammy B, Aug 17, 2017
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  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Oooh a part out in socal......I'm ready
     
    #9 JC91006, Aug 17, 2017
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  10. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    Haha... I'll let you know.
     
    #10 Sammy B, Aug 17, 2017
  11. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    IMG_1664.JPG IMG_1666.JPG

    Some pictures of the collateral damage. First shows the old gasket next to a new one. Second picture is the melted harness.
     
    #11 Sammy B, Aug 17, 2017
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  12. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    Thanks for this Sammy B.

    Toyota uses these fiber donuts at the header on many models and they are prone to age/mileage related failure. I've done 2 of these on our '05 Sienna at only 165k miles. So this is yet another somewhat serious failure to keep an eye out for on the turd gen :rolleyes::eek::D.... I'll probably just do a preemptive swap.
     
    #12 m.wynn, Aug 18, 2017
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  13. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Wouldn't you hear a leak like that? Or is it too small to get your attention?
     
    #13 jerrymildred, Aug 18, 2017
  14. MyPriusLol

    MyPriusLol New Member

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    Sammy! As soon as I poured the head gasket sealant in the tank, on first startup the knocking was eliminated. I am currently just driving around the vehicle(a few weeks in) fingers crossed! I am sorry to hear about your gasket failure and I think she would have kept on going if that hadn't happened! Best of luck
     
    #14 MyPriusLol, Aug 18, 2017
  15. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    MyPrius,

    Glad that the leak stop helped. I'm sure that it will be just a temporary solution, but if you get a few more miles out of it, then better for you.


    Jerry,

    You bet I heard it. At first it was just a ticking sound and I thought that it was something in the valve train, but it progressively got much worse.

    I'm going to reinstall the gasket and see what happens. Either way, I'm probably going to dump it one way or another. Not getting another Toyota any time soon.
     
    #15 Sammy B, Aug 18, 2017
  16. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    #16 Sammy B, Aug 21, 2017
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  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Pm sent
     
    #17 JC91006, Aug 21, 2017
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  18. Sammy B

    Sammy B Member

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    Sold. Thank you, priuschat.
     
    #18 Sammy B, Aug 22, 2017
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  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Well the car is home.....and it starts. That's about all it can do LOL
     
    #19 JC91006, Aug 22, 2017
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  20. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Time to update your sig again.. amazed at how quickly it has changed in the last 3 months (y)
     
    #20 SFO, Aug 22, 2017
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