Head gasket blown. Pink/orange tapioca. Have a few questions as to cleanup before proceeding.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by weapon, Jun 22, 2026 at 3:13 PM.

  1. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    Backstory: After reading up on here, I have been getting things ready to do the egr clean/replacement maintenance for my two 2010 prius(s). I have collected a bunch of manifolds and coolers from the pick n pull yard and was in the process of cleaning them in my ultrasonic and in various other solution baths. My plan was to keep one extra each on the shelf for the future maintenance. They are all clean as factory new now.

    First car (My boy blue) has had the rougher life, came from the midwest and has 174K miles. Did the first attempt swap but I must have messed something up and it threw a ton of new codes. I think i had a gasket unseat or incorrect torque specs leading to a leak. Took me about a week of rewatching videos to get up the confidence after the first attempt and get it all back together correctly.

    During this exact time, I was driving my second (Big Red) and it has been running perfect coming close to 200k. I was using it as a reference for tube routing, correct bolts and such. That is when I noticed my fluid was orange. Pulled off the cap and it was tapioca (photos). Grabbed the turkey baster and transferred it to a cup. Thick, greasy, and disappointing. There was no overheating, no death rattle on start up, but did get a p0102 the previous day.

    I have watched hours of rebuild videos from all creators (especially the one recommended in the sticky) and think I am ready to start. But none of the videos had my exact situation.

    Here is the questions:

    How do I go about cleaning the goop out of everything?

    Where else will this tapioca be? Inside the radiator? The cylinders?

    Has anyone else run across this style of blowout before?
     

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    #1 weapon, Jun 22, 2026 at 3:13 PM
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2026 at 3:23 PM
  2. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Did you acqure 'Big Red" new or used? If used, is there a chance a stop-leak chemical was added to the coolant? Or an incompatible mix of coolant types?
     
    #2 CR94, Jun 22, 2026 at 10:02 PM
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  3. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    I have had it for over 10 years. Regularly maintained. Never used a stop leak. This is a brand new issue. Always used toyota super long life from the dealership.

    It is def oil mixed in with coolant.
     
    #3 weapon, Jun 22, 2026 at 10:57 PM
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    What were you swapping, engine?
    How long have you had it? Sounds like a stop-leak product. There’s a link in my signature, thoughts on that. (On a phone turn it landscape to see signatures)
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Jun 23, 2026 at 9:32 AM
  5. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    was supposed to be a reply. Cleared due to error.
     
    #5 weapon, Jun 23, 2026 at 11:28 AM
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2026 at 12:24 PM
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  6. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    I was getting ready to swap egr cooler and clean the manifold in both. I have cleaned extras from the scrap yard.

    Have owned it for over 10 years. No stop leak has ever been in the car.
     

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    #6 weapon, Jun 23, 2026 at 12:23 PM
  7. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    Dumping the goo from the reservoir. The amount of oil mixed in is crazy. My engine has burned oil for years but it never went into the coolant before.
     
    #7 weapon, Jun 23, 2026 at 8:26 PM
  8. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    Safe to assume this goop is all inside my radiator and water pump too? None in the secondary inverter reservoir though (perfectly pink).

    Removed the coolant reservoir and trying to clean as much out of the system as possible.

    Suggestions? What would be a cheap alternative coolant to use for flushing?

    Did pick up a Combustion Leak Detector today to make sure that a blown head gasket is the issue. Only $27 this month at HF.
     
    #8 weapon, Jun 23, 2026 at 8:30 PM
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2026 at 9:32 PM
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Water? With say last two rinses using distilled. Then, assuming there's residual water in the systemadd a compatible, full-strength* coolant, 1/2 the system capacity amount spec'd by Toyota, then top up to B line on the reservoir, and run the car in maintenance mode till all hoses are hot (hoses accessible from underside are the last to heat up, indicating thermostat has opened).

    upload_2026-6-24_8-36-21.png

    *Note, the recommended Toyota brand coolant "Super Long Life", ONLY comes pre-diluted with water (50/50 in the States, 55/45 in Canada). One full-strenth alternative would be Toyota brand coolant "Long Life", if available. There are likely other full-strength options: I haven't looked into them.
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Jun 24, 2026 at 11:41 AM
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2026 at 4:20 PM
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  10. weapon

    weapon Junior Member

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    Water is good. haha.

    Are the systems (inverter and main) on different loops? The main coolant reservoir was full of the goop so are the tubes leading to it. But the inverter coolant reservoir is clean and fresh. I am unsure at this point on how to check the radiator. Oil seems to be not be affected either.
     
    #10 weapon, Jun 24, 2026 at 1:16 PM
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Yes. Small blessing.
     
    #11 Mendel Leisk, Jun 24, 2026 at 4:14 PM
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    One thing with the (full-strength) Long Life coolant, it's service life is half of the (pre-mixed) Super Long Life coolant. Accordingly, and doubly so considering the mess that's in there now, I'd do another drain-and-fill, with the Super Long Life coolant, at most two years further down the road.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Jun 24, 2026 at 4:25 PM
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