Coolant loss, leaking head gasket?

welcome! just curious, how many miles on her?

 

If you have ever overheated it than a leak in your coolant system is a good possibility. I would never recommend using one of those "instant fixes" unless you are just looking to get your last 10000 miles out of it. THese gunk up the system so bad, and taking a chance on water in your oil is not worth it as you can add serious wear to your components. Take the time, do it right.

 

My thought is the check engine light is coming on because the oil pump is having a hard time pumping the "cream".

My concern is driving around with that stuff in your oil will quickly make the decision for you on what you need to do.

And the previous poster suggested overheat becasue really that's one of things that takes out a head gasket. The egr blockage issue causes very high head temp. Dont bother with the liquid
fix in a bottle. You most likely have a warped head. Either take the head off send it to a shop to check it and deck it or buy another motor.
I would buy a used motor it will be cheaper.

 

What in the egr circuit did you clean? What was the condition prior to cleaning?

 

The coolant is likely leaking into at least one cylinder which in turn is causing the spark/misfire issue. If you pull the plugs it should be obvious which cylinder is compromised.
If you would be paying a shop to do the repair , compare the head gasket replacement cost to replacing the motor with a low mileage salvage unit.
Head gasket repair compounds get very mixed reviews, I have not personally ever tried one but please let us know your result if you try this route.

 

You’ll have more work ahead.

What needs to be clean is the egr cooler, egr valve and ensure the openings from the egr return into the intake manifold are clear. If one of these is not clear, the problem continues .

It sounds like all the symptoms of a failed head gasket though. Are you the DIY type? Does your Prius consume oil?

Keep us posted .

 

I have had head gaskets blow out, and my recollection is that when they blew from a water channel to the combustion chamber, the result was a misfire and a whitish, fluffy type of coating on the center electrode of the sparkplug for,that particular cylinder. When the gasket between the water channel and the oil channel blows, there is no misfire but the water is frothed up with its load of antifreeze inside the oil system, resulting in the creamy foam on the oil filler cap, possibly the oil dipstick, (and, in the old days, on the oil breather cap.). Therefore my opinion is that you had the head gasket blown both to a combustion chamber and to the oil system.
If you have serious engine skills , and a lot of time , and an engine hoist, and a machine shop that will mill down the head to be absolutely flat again, and the block itself is not unduly warped, you could DIY fairly cheaply assuming too much damage has not already been done. But buying a used engine to transplant into your car as suggested by others , is much , much easier.
If you can borrow a Scangauge II, use it to watch the ICE coolant temperature. My Gen 3 runs at 195-198 degrees Fahrenheit when fully warm. If the gasket is blown to the combustion chamber, you may see temps higher than that. You may also see odd contaminants appearing in the coolant reservoir. Good luck!

 

@Joele3 has used a similar seal recently and might be able to share his experience thus far.

 

My pleasure .

If you’re thinking of DIY and want to do the head gasket while the engine is in place, @leeb18c just did that .

Hope that helps .