Head gasket needs to be replaced: $3k+ estimate

You can probably find a dedicated one NZ engine for about $500 on the open market even a low mileage take out from yaris send your Prius head out to be redone and put it stop the Yaris engine if that's what ya have to do . I believe that can work . Or you can look around and find somebody more private to do the head gasket job there's slot of folks out they're . If you're going to have your head off you'd be silly not to send it out and get it redone about 300 bucks that'sall the magic . Then if everything else was decent with your motor you could put the head right back on it and go. I would think the labor on a head gasket job should be about $800 plus 300 or so for the head . Gasket set frl pro is about 88 bux . The head bolts can be clean and retorued don't over torque.

 

might be worth calling around some private mech's for pricing. you're driving an 18 year old car though, expensive repairs are bound to happen.

 

You might try Pine Hollow Diagnostics in State College PA if he is close enough.

 

PA car - how rusty is it? Need to consider "body likely to rot out in N years" in that environment.

Other than maybe the bumper, those are all wear items with varying expected replacement intervals. Bumpers aren't exactly a wear item, but they definitely have a large probability of being damaged, often while the car isn't even moving.

 

Please explain this further. How does a head gasket leak drip into a sparkplug?

If you mean the valve cover gasket seals are allowing oil to drip into the sparkplug wells, that's an entirely different story from a head gasket leak, and is a relatively common repair that can be performed or worked around.

I'm pretty skeptical of it being a head gasket issue if they're saying oil is getting into the plug wells. Makes no sense.

What codes were provided by the dealership diagnostic? Maybe you really just need new spark plugs ($8 each) and/or insulator boots ($5 each).

 

I think he means the dealer ran a borescope through the spark plugs and saw dripping coolant into the cylinders.

As I suggested above, he should get a second opinion from Pine Hollow Diagnostics in State College, PA.

 

Dang, you're much better than I am at sorting that out! That would make more sense, but I'd love to see a photo of the dealer write up/invoice.

 

Those are the codes, typically seen with a head gasket based shudder. Plugs alone could cause it but coolant in the cylinder is definitive for head gasket leaks.

Usually they want to see the problem themselves since customer descriptions can be variable. Once they see it then a borescope inspection takes time on these cars because the whole wiper assembly has to come out for access. On other cars it might be a five minute job to remove the plugs but on a Prius it's an hour of disassembly and later reassembly plus the borescope inspection.

But once they witness coolant dripping into a cylinder it is conclusive. Gen2 Prii are not known for head gasket problems but they do happen.

What is surprising is a dealer would quote a head gasket job rather than a rebuild.

When they said "Cyl head will need checked for warpage along with block surface. Additional repairs may be needed depending on condition" they are leaving themself a major way out of your $3k estimate.

Most Toyota dealers go for engine replacement or suggest trading in the car as their only options, rather than risking alienating the customer with an additional $5k up charge in the middle of the job.

Which is why most people find other shops for this situation.

However Pine Hollow Diagnostics in State College, PA is sure to be more accurate and likely to be less money for repairs. Dealer mechanics are not the best techs out there but are readily accessible.