2016 Toyota Prius Engine Fails @ Just 73,000 Miles. I Thought These Were Good! Full 2ZR-FXE Teardown

[@JayLopiccolo]

If there was a leak in the head gasket, the electric water pump running while the engine is off could flood the cylinder. Engine tries to restart, and boom - literally.

[@joshmanis9860]

Usually when a engine turns and then hydro locks it shears some starter teeth

[@silicon212]

@@joshmanis9860 No. A friend 'fragged' his 4.6 in his 2006 F150 when an intake gasket failed and filled #1 with coolant (unbeknownst to anyone). When he started it up, he said it made a lot of noise and started running real rough. #1 rod chucked through the side of the block. It did not damage the starter or flexplate.

[@centauri61032]

@@joshmanis9860 No starter or teeth on this baby to check. The electric motor certainly could have caused this damage if trying to start a hydro locked gas engine.

[@joshmanis9860]

@@centauri61032 yea I thought it had the normal starter system but it’s a 26hp electric motor which certainly will bend a rod

[@claytoncoolidge992]

@@joshmanis9860 actually no ive personally intentionally hydro locked well over a dozen engines both intentionally and unintentionally and swapped out 100s of customer engines and none of them ever damaged the starter or ring gear or starter unless it was damaged when uncle rodney left the chat

[@joebersani8068]

Having the clamps off and still cutting the hose, it’s the little things in life lol, thanks for another great video Eric

[@MontanaDirtRoads]

Ya he chose violence on that one

[@RowanHawkins]

​@@MontanaDirtRoadsbut not the one on the back side of the intake manifold. Eric is capricious like that!

[@CheezeCracker]

👍 "122hp, which is more than enough to get to the left lane on the highway and make somebody mad on their commute home" That needs to go on your Merch

[@austinburgess9779]

What he said

[@Kidd-nq4fg]

Dude I was about to comment this too 😂

[@kathysarmcandy1992]

nailed it.

[@Dirtyharry70585]

Yeah even better when the turd crosses three lanes to block left lane then slow down to 55 in a 70. LED 6k head lights fix that problem.

[@chadgailey6832]

I about spit my coffee out when he said that. I’m pretty sure Eric was suppressing laughter afterward.

[@stuffandjunkandthings364]

How it bends a rod is pretty easy to figure out. The 2nd motor in the E-CVT also functions as the starter motor, so however much coolant was in the combustion chamber was introduced to the piston/rod assembly via a 26HP (I think) electric motor capable of moving the car in reverse. It takes almost NO coolant in the combustion chamber in that style hybrid to bend parts, because the "starter motor" has more than enough power to do so. It ain't a little 12v motor via the ring gear, it isn't going to stop in the event of a hydrolock (unless it's 2 or more cylinders, and even then it would probably still brak parts).

[@chubbysumo2230]

Mg1, aga the starter and evct regulator gear is capable of 42KW, or about 56HP.

[@KollinsPlays]

That's a plausible explanation. The confusing part s that the I.C.E. in a hybrid is even further removed from driver input than a typical fly by wire and everything is highly computer controlled. In an old car with no computer and direct throttle, nothing stops you from hotrodding the motor and blowing a head gasket. In a computer controlled non-hybrid with indirect fly by wire throttle, the computer usually makes it harder to blow the engine, but it's still possible. In a hybrid, the engine is so far removed from driver throttle input that it's hard to see the computer letting you over rev or over heat the engine enough to compromise the head gasket. I mean I've never jumped in a hybrid and just stood on the throttle to see what it does, but I can imagine the computer would just ignore throttle position before letting the engine rev to the moon.

[@joshmanis9860]

You somehow made two typos in one word now that’s impressive

[@TestECull]

Yeah that was my thoughts too. I've fixed a hydrolock on an engine that didn't bend rods; starter couldn't even try. Cause was drowning at idle. Got lucky. Any sort of revs in it and it probably would have bent a rod from inertia when it took a swig of rainwater.

[@TestECull]

@@KollinsPlays Heh. Part of why I prefer the old school stuff. No computers in the way. I hate the interference day-to-day and I'm smart enough to watch my gauges, not push my luck when things are out of spec, so I don't really need or want the computers between me and my engine. Part of why I love my 71 C10. Ain't nothin' there except a simple ol' points fired, carb fed straight six.

[@planetwisconsin9901]

You never want your engine to have "Eric, Save" written on it.

[@georgeperkins4171]

"Eric the inquisitioner"

[@daewooparts]

2:56, when a engine says "Eric save" you know it's going to be something that needs to be seen

[@clbcl5]

It is really ...SAVE ERIC.... Like Ferris..Bueller..Bueller..Bueller

[@gvet47]

When you say a part is good and then you intentionally throw it, there is probably someone out there that could have used it. You say the new part is not that much but if you are are young man trying to work on an engine they just may not have that extra dollar. A free oil pan just may help him or her out.😢

[@OldManBadly]

Who is this Eric Save guy?

[@CaveyMoth]

Eric had one job!

[@TheWolfiet]

The water pump in these is built similar to the ones used in industrial sealed fishtank filter pumps, and tend to die for the same reason. The plasticy bits swell, as you said, and they just kinda burn up and die.

[@amazoidal]

Yes, the plastic in the water pump impeller area expands and shrinks then explodes. Not unlike BMW plastic parts under the hood. Change the Prius water pump at 100k to be safe.

[@tompiper3]

We have 35 Priuses right now and have sold off or ran another 15 into the ground. Had one head gasket on one with 245,000k miles. Weve replaced one high voltage battery on another with over 200k miles when it was 15 years old. Had a transaxle/generator on a 2nd gen with 80k miles and the Toyota dealer we use had never seen that before. Other then those major repairs, shift modules and catalytic converters have been done on a couple other high mileage priuses. The synergy drive system is far superior to any other hybrid system for cost and reliability. 3rd Gen and newer ones have no maintenance items besides filters and oil. Brakes last 200k miles. For those who haven't driven one, they will spin the tires and are far faster then 4 cylinder pickups commonly used by those who can easily just use hatchbacks. The Ford Maverick uses a leased hybrid system just like the Prius. The v6 hybrid highlanders were like 340hp. We save over $250k a year in fuel driving them for our line of work and with the cars going $300k miles easily we really can't fathom going back to ford rangers or chevy colorados. I got two guys standing at 6'7" and they fit in a prius better then a lightduty truck.

[@bensonak47]

common issue on the 3rd gen prius. the coolant sweeps into the cylinder overnight and causes a misfire in the morning that goes away after a few seconds. depending on how bad the head gasket is and how careless the owner is, repeated starts will bend the rod.

[@knurlgnar24]

This. Toyota made good stuff back then but they were not perfect.

[@samoliver3242]

I had an Audi A3 with the trash Bosch injectors that hydro locked when it leaked fuel into the cylinder overnight. Started it in the morning and bye bye. Because it's Audi they wanted 20k for an engine replacement on a 7k car

[@zoidberg444]

Headgaskets failing on an engine of this mileage and age is really bad. Are they all like this?

[@trungson6604]

​@zoidberg444 -- Head gasket failure is common in 3rd gen Prius.

[@bensonak47]

@@zoidberg444there's speculation that a bad/weak water pump is to blame. I have the same gen engine and changed the water pump around 100k. 160k now on original head gasket

[@monomille1]

I have had two of these cars and they both are still running fine for other family members with over 150k miles each. Oil and filters at recommended intervals incl plugs at 100k. Takes a new 12v battery every 4 to 5 years. Brakes at 100k because regen braking extends life of friction brakes. Zero other problems. I couldn’t ask for more from any car.

[@donniev8181]

You may want to proactively replace the water pumps, extremely easy job. The suggested replacement interval is from 60-100k miles on these particular pumps, the EGR cooler and pipe as well.

[@living4christ]

@@donniev8181 How much is it to replace these water pumps?

[@donniev8181]

@living4christ not too terribly much, maybe a few hundred dollars if you have a good local mechanic. The dealership may charge around double that, you could do like I do and do it yourself?

[@donniev8181]

@living4christ just look up exactly how many hours of labor are involved with replacing the water pump on your specific car. Go to RockAuto and search for a Aisin water pump, they manufacture OEM Toyota pumps. I just recently purchased a new Toyota, I will be proactively changing parts on my car. Make sure that you change your antifreeze every 60-80k miles, your antifreeze gets acidic over time and can slowly eat away at your cooling system.

[@bme7491]

I have a 2012 Prius plug-in with 150,000 miles and no issues whatsoever. Purrs right along.

[@ManOfScarab]

The engine shuts off if you are stopped and starts back up when you touch the gas, I can see a scenario where the head gasket blows while driving due to a faulty water pump and then you stop at say a light and the pressure in the system fills the cylinder with coolant. The light turns green, engine starts, and boom hydro locked.

[@kcstein5956]

Sadly, these don't hydrolock. The E-CVT also functions as a starter. So this isn't no 12v starter, it's gonna push through it whatever is inside, bending and breaking shit.

[@wearethelandrovers9014]

Um, no. The Toyota hybrid is NOT one of those auto start-stop things. Yes, the motor can shut off if you are stopped, but it can routinely shut off when you are driving down the road. It also does not automatically start by touching the gas pedal. It only starts when the battery needs it or if you need more throttle to accelerate faster. I have had hundreds of times in slow traffic where the motor didn't run for half a mile or more.

[@davidmiller9485]

@@wearethelandrovers9014 all of you are sorta right. The synergy hybrid drive system works on speed. If you are doing less than 7-8 MPH it runs off battery. if you push your foot down it will activate the engine. So light throttle (assuming the battery is charged) won't "start" the engine. I own a 2nd gen with almost 300k and i have no issues with keeping up with traffic. the car's power is fine. People on the other hand.... Well i can't help people who can't drive.

[@wearethelandrovers9014]

@@davidmiller9485 I had a Gen 2 and traded up to a 2010 Gen 3 Touring model. I did a lot of commuting in and out of the DFW airport 30 miles to home near Ft. Worth. Running daily in traffic, it routinely ran 30mph on battery for a block or two before starting the engine. After a few blocks of charging, the engine would shut off. Rinse and repeat. It was easy to get 55 to 60 mpg in town. It wasn't just a city car; we took it on several BIG road trips of 4-5k miles or more. I'm talking Texas to Minnesota, Montana, California, Utah, and more. Those were all separate trips and sometimes more than once. We drove at least 30k miles at 80 mph or faster. (Some of our Texas roads have 85 MPH speed limits.) Never a problem in 118k miles and lifetime fuel economy was 47 MPG. (I have been keeping logs on my cars for over 50 years.)

[@Arman-tm1kz]

Hey bud how you doing I'm a Toyota mechanic and these engines only have headgasket issue and EGR issues, though its not quite that common like the previous generation 2ZR (with steel valve cover instead of plastic). Toyota's recommended service interval with coolant is 150k kilometers or every 10 year, whichever comes first Thanks for the informative video, it's my first time seeing a bent rod on any Toyota (except highly tuned engines like the JZ's)

[@CoryRwtfyt]

I worked at a Toyota dealer for years. These had carbon buildup issues, but otherwise they are solid engines if taken care of.

[@sriss1414]

You nailed it. I keep a strict regime of EGR and cooler cleaning every 25- 30k km. I want take my prius above 500k km

[@LoveLikeaHurricane]

they didn't have D4-S at that time?

[@marathoner43]

Thanks for my Saturday night entertrainment Eric. I hope you got lots of sellable parts off that one, and hope you have a great rest of your weekend.

[@exNRGista2]

It's 4:25 a.m. here in Italy, should I go to sleep? Obviously not, Eric has just uploaded some interesting shit 😆

[@ibiro868]

Go have babies. Your population is declining.

[@JayScott-ze8mc]

Anytime is "Eric" time!

[@kenhitchcox5750]

No comment on the teardown other than it seemed like a pretty straight forward one. I'm very sorry about your pup. They are family, sometimes more than blood family. RIP Lucky.

[@abpob6052]

Just salvaged my 2010 with almost 300k miles. Head gasket started to fail at about 250k. Managed to nurse it another 40k miles with head gasket sealant. The biggest issue is the pressurized coolant system. It keeps the head gasket under constant pressure from outside-in when the car is parked. If you are able to remember to remove the coolant cap when you park and then put it back before you start it again I think the car would survive the failing gasket for much longer. It still got 48 mpg when it died and would use about a qt of oil every 1k miles if you ran it on the freeway. If you only drove it locally and slow it didn't really use any more oil than normal.

[@jacquesc3166]

...and that's probably a Win for the engineers on this one. Beats the vast majority of car ownership experiences.

[@jerrydavidnichols6735]

I have 2 2010 Toyota Prius's both needed head gaskets at around 200000 so that's a problem with them. It's the start stop technology getting hot to cool all the time. Also the EGR cooler plugs up and can blow a head gasket.

[@thiswillprobhrt]

Pressurized cooling system is the norm. If you get a HG breech between a cooling passage and a cylinder on any car you have the same issue with coolant being pushed into the cylinders.

[@solderbuff]

Oh, interesting. My car burns oil on highways too.

[@amazoidal]

The 2010-2012 were the worst on head gaskets.

[@garyganser2451]

I was told that factory Toyota plugs have a letter on the tip. My daughters new to her 180k Toyota 2GR FE had such plugs. It still ran fine even though the gaps were huge!

[@spenserchalkley7013]

Friend of mine has an 06 Civic that we replaced what had to be the original NGK plugs on it around 194k miles. Much like yours, it seemed to run perfectly fine, but the gap was pretty far beyond specifications 😂😂😂

[@HomelabExtreme]

A simple collab til The Car Care Nut would really be awesome in a case like this.

[@nopy99]

The actual colab we need is scotty kille😂 14:14

[@TheRealAndrewDeanhardt]

I drove a Prius for work last year. I probably used all 122hp to get up the highway hills of Northwest Oregon.

[@The_Future_isnt_so_Bright]

3:20 - Fun fact: The brown rings at the base of the porcelain on the spark plugs is combustion gases that manage to escape between the metal and porcelain .

[@brianallen9810]

Neat water pump, it's like the water pump on my aquarium. The only moving part is the impeller...very reliable.

[@rook2043]

Exactly

[@amazoidal]

Except the heating and cooling cycles deterirate the plastic impeller parts. When the plastic ring around the impeller breaks, it jams the impeller. Then the head gasket is toast. Change it at 100k.

[@BrainDamageBBQ]

That water pump is basically a brushless fan motor like you would find in a computer. I'm sure it reports back the rotational speed of the armature and a few other things including coolant temperature. Electronic components on the circuit board are unlikely to fail even with a locked armature condition. Catastrophic electrical failure is unlikely - you probably won't see scorched parts on the circuit board. Look for things like cracked solder joints especially around larger components which are subject to vibration. Bearings, etc. could fail as with any other mechanical device. In 20 years, the electrical failure of capacitors becomes likely, but for this reason most automotive and aerospace electronics are built to avoid electrolytic capacitors where possible. I am sure lots of otherwise excellent cars are being scrapped because of electrolytic capacitor failures causing all sorts of weird issues especially in the fuel injection and ignition systems. Electrolytic capacitors fail simply due to age but are cheap and easy to replace if you know what you're doing with a soldering iron. Used and New-Old-Stock parts will not be helpful, as the capacitors will be just as old as the ones in the part on the car. Your local antique radio club is well-versed in troubleshooting capacitor-related problems and will happily help repair the ECM in your Buick Grand National or other car...

[@Bywater-S]

So similar to a flux capacitor? Lol wonder if Doc knew this with the DeLorean? Haha

[@chubbysumo2230]

Looks exactly like my pcs water cooling loop d5 pump.

[@raoulrr]

I replaced the caps in my old Mitsu 3000GT's ECU for a few bucks in new caps and 30mins of my time with a soldering iron, vs buying a "refurbed" ECU for $500

[@Bhughe4]

You are 100% correct on this. I am a very seasoned automotive technician of 20+ yrs and daily drive a 1993 F-150 300 I6 cause, well, im smart and that truck will probably outlive me. Anyway, a couple years ago I almost sent that F150 to the scrap yard in the sky for exactly the reasons you said. It was the first time for me encountering the leaking capacitor problem and I didnt know about it. I actually do have a Ford OBD1 scan tool so I was seeing all kinds of weird, electrical values in real times that would for no reason at all clear up and go back in spec before I could get a meter on the sensor or circuit. Also at times the truck would run like shit, id run and grab the scanner, see what sensor value was skewed and proclaim that "This! This must be whats wrong. Im seeing it right here ha ha!" Then on the next key cycle everythings fine. I went round and round chasing ghosts until I traced the problem to the PCM using the OEM wiring diagram. Over 20 years ive replaced....maybe....6 or 7 PCM's. Ive seen techs condemn perfectly fine PCM's all the time using the patented parts cannon diagnostic strategy. Its never the PCM. After double checking I went and got a PCM for that truck. I wanted to know what happened so I did an auto autopsy on one core before I returned it. Result? 3 capacitors had started to leak acid on the circuit board causing all sorts of issues. The PCM was original to the truck and was 28 yrs old at the time.

[@StormyBoi]

I have an '18 with a quarter million miles on it, never given me a whiff of a problem, mind you I maintain it, very diligently.

[@freddyhollingsworth5945]

I personally know 4 people that blew head a gasket on newer 4 cyl Toyota vehicles. I'm shocked Toyota hasn't improved the quality yet. Luckily they were all still in warranty and got new free engine replacements.

[@mystisith3984]

🎯 I'm not surprised. People need to realise that Toyota 2024 & 2014 are 2 different animals in terms of quality & reliability. And that's valid for 🇯🇵 automakers as a whole. A lot of problems. If I wanted to buy "cheap Asian cars", I'd go Hyundai or even certain Chinese brands. That being said, there's no perfect brand & you really have to do your homework for any model that interests you before buying anything. 😔

[@jacquesc3166]

@@mystisith3984 Makes me wonder about the 2020-2021 AWD Camrys I'm looking at... I've been running VQ's (3.5, 3.7) for 14+ years and the AWD Camry is the only thing I'd replace my trusty G37xS sedan with. I'm not so sure now.

[@solderbuff]

@@mystisith3984, look at Mazda with 2.0 and 2.5L I4. Very conservative engines in a good way.

[@derekmeyers5966]

​@jacquesc3166 What I usually do when I'm looking into getting a car is look at the forums for those cars and watch them for a few weeks. Take note of common issues, uncommon issues, strange behavior, and fixes for known problems from current owners to get a gauge of what they're like. If you see quite a lot of posts about the same thing, you can safely assume that the issue will affect 5-10% of the total population of the model and year range you want. For example, last year I bought a 15 Silverado 1500 4.3l. Known issues: AFM Lifter failures eating Cams, 6L80 Torque Converter shedding and eating the Trans. But for about 1700 you can fix both and get even better performance. Also, my V6 version is quite a lot more reliable than the V8. But basically just look at what current owners say and not review sites.

[@1MiketheMechanic]

Have a 2011 Prius currently waiting for an engine. Coolant seeping into cylinder #2 from the head gasket. 183K the owner decided on an engine.

[@marc-oliviercabot3380]

I'd say headgasket.. but i'm surprised that a 2nd gen 2ZR-FXE died at such low milleage. We see some of those around here with over 700 000km chugging around just fine... we changed a couple of waterpumps and headgasket but mostly on 2010-2015 units.. anyway, i'd put a new rod and headgasket, shave the deck and head a bit and it would be new..

[@gillesvanleeuwen]

where are located? In NL very little people drive past 300.000km of course commercial vehicles, but not private individuals.

[@marc-oliviercabot3380]

@gillesvanleeuwen Lévis, Quebec City's south shore. The crazy high units are courrier type cars that delivers medical stuff. These guys are basically living on the road.

[@AntonOliinyk]

It's not a 2nd gen, 2nd gen had no EGR.

[@b0bsaget007]

"No, Patrick. Mayonnaise is not a lubricant." "Horseradish is not a lubricant, either."

[@Shade_Tree_Mechanic]

Lmao, I love it 😂

[@philipershler420]

Butter Scotch pudding is only a good lubricant if it’s fully synthesized. 😂

[@centauri61032]

I have a 2010 Prius (yes, one of the oil eaters), with just under 300k miles. Had to replace the head gasket at about 220k. Also replaced the EGR valve at the same time due to intermittent 401 codes. And I rebuilt the hybrid battery myself this summer, upgrading it to lithium. Otherwise, no other issues to report, other than routine maintenance. (Including the original water pump.) I just keep feeding it gas and oil, and it stays happy.

[@DavidHaile_profile]

I also had a 2010 that had 215k miles when it was crashed. It used about a quart of oil per tank of fuel at that point. It had been using oil since 90k miles. I figured the oil rings were gummed up and stuck. That EGR system was in bad shape. I had blocked it off at the intake. We were glad when someone ran into that car. It was otherwise trouble free even had original brakes all around.

[@donniev8181]

Nice! Did you check out ChrisFix's ev battery rebuild video?

[@SplosionMovies]

How's the rebuilt battery? That's super cool to upgrade to lith ion. I presume they started life with NiMH?

[@ranchorelaxo2287]

Be aware that the lithium cells require better monitoring and charging control than the NIMH cells. Most of the kit suppliers just use the original charging system and supply the cells. I'll try to post a link if I find it.

[@amazoidal]

I have a NEX Power lithium battery in my 2008 Prius. No problem after 2 years. About $2500. Faster acceleration, lighter weight and easy to install. Half the blades and uses only the connectors on one side. Uses the original case.

[@richardgraham1167]

Happy Saturday!

[@kepamurray1845]

FFS Eric. Don't apologize about lost audio. You are giving all of this knowledge for free. Thanks again from Australia. I'm picking up stuff We rarely see here. If you ever head out here, I want to buy you a beer. That's not nothing, Albo is getting his pound of flesh with each schooner.

[@AlrienJ]

It's not free, he makes money on ads

[@SkyPilot-v8g]

My daughter has a 2015 with over 400,000 still going strong! Take care of the things you want to take care of you!

[@unavailablenumbers]

First of all, so very sorry to hear about your dog. It's never, ever easy to say goodbye to our four legged family members. Maybe the hardest of all. :( But on to the geekery, yes? The interval on the plugs for these is allegedly 120k. They also insist you should only change the oil every 10,000 miles but reset the maintenance reminder every 5,000 miles. (I'm not making this up. This is explicitly stated in the official Warranty and Maintenance Guide. Oil every 10k, but make sure you just reset the reminder.) Just like Corolla CVT fluid replacement is "never." Yeah. Sure Toyota. And the 3.6 Pentastar doesn't have any design defects, and Stellantis didn't cut costs past the breaking point on the 5.7 for MY22. (Keep an eye out - inadequate metallurgy for the cams, take 2!) And that head gasket is actually TERRIBLE. See those shiny silver spots? Yeah, those are ALL blowouts. The head gasket is supposed to be completely black and smooth on both sides with no silver showing at all. Everywhere you see silver is an existing breach. If you want to confirm, just pop down to your local Toyota dealer and ask them to show you the replacement part - they'll have it in stock, guaranteed. And with every Prius, all those blowouts are in the coolant passages from the wet jacket. It was dumping the entire wet jacket into that cylinder. Just how bad is it? Cylinder 2 is completely gone. Cylinder 3 was pushing water into 2 through the fire ring. And cylinder 1 was getting some water and about to let go. You can tell by the plugs; 2 was flooded to non-combustion, 3 was way too cold from water getting in, 1 was going cold, and 4 was still okay.

[@kathysarmcandy1992]

I'm retired from Toyota after 30 years. The reason given on the inside, for the high maintenance intervals, was their answer to passing emissions certification for a given year. People can do whatever they want; dump your Amsoil in and change it every 15K or five years. Change the plugs for Cobra Fangs...."Not tampering with the engine for extended intervals, off of factory spec, ensures it will stay in certification the longest." When do you change you oil? By having it an analysis performed. Finding out the oxidation and wear metals values, what whether the ZDDP is depleted. Want sludge and oil consumption, early timing chain failure and vvti actuator rattle? Change it every 10K. As far as the head gasket issues on Prii, that's not uncommon at all. Or in any other product line that's gone to "Floating core cylinder liners." As you see, not attached to the main block material like an iron block. 1 and 2ZZ, 2AZ, GRs, any aluminum block Toyota has. It'll leak over time from core shirt, or get it hot just one time, and you have an expensive boat anchor. If the core varies from true, from the outer rim of the block more more than .0015", it'll leak at some point. And it takes more milling that that to true it. So then the valve timing will become retarded. And you may or may not get timing codes. And it will be down on power. Subaru has the same issue. My neighbor had a Forrester. She drove over and it occured to me to ask if she'd ever had head gasket problems. She said no. Idling there for five minutes, it stalled. It restarted sort of, and poured the white stinky out the back. Called that noise right in my driveway. Cheaper materials, cutting corners on design. Reliability going down the drain. The way of the future.

[@amazoidal]

Using a Group 3 Synthetic in a Prius for over 5k is asking for stuck rings.

[@therealdojj]

Glad you are back on the normal timeslot, heard about your dog 😔

[@I_Do_Cars]

Thanks for the thoughts. It’s still tough. 😞

[@Kanesgarage]

@@I_Do_Carssorry to hear about your pup. It’s definitely not easy 😔

[@dirtfarmer7472]

My Boston terrier is 8 years old.and I’m certainly not looking forward to the day when I have to start looking for another. Got him when he was 6 weeks old it’s been a long time.

[@axispowerdiesel]

Cutting the rubber hose after pulling it off was amazing

[@litz13]

For whatever it's worth -- the head bolts dinged at an almost perfect D# (6). (yes, I used a tuner; :-) )

[@johnrowley4993]

You’ve started something 😂 Eric needs to buy a tuner 👍

[@litz13]

@@johnrowley4993 it dinged, and my ear went "wow, that's almost exactly on pitch". So I fired up a tuner app and rewound the video. Yep, almost perfect D#. And then all the rest of the bolts were exactly the same, too. Probably says something about the lack of actual overheating in the engine, 'cause none of the torque values drifted.

[@johnrowley4993]

@@litz13 Eric needs to include this in all of his videos 😊👍

[@1963TOMB]

I though it was Eb😀

[@litz13]

@@1963TOMB all depends on one's point of perspective.

[@litespeed7715]

Calling The Care Care Nut! AMD will probably know the history of the issue, how common they were, and probably fixed a bunch of them.

[@budlanctot3060]

I mentioned this before, but I'll do it again anyway. You can buy a good straightedge from Goodson for not much money. I bought mine a couple decades ago for $25. Probably twice that now, but still a decent deal.

[@kevincurry4735]

Happy Saturday night Eric. I hope you had a great time at Ray’s and we have a great video to come.

[@limpans_speedshop]

This is the same thing that happens with Ford Duratec engines from the first few years. They are also open deck, and coolant enter a cylinder when the engine is turned off but still hot and still has some pressure inte cooling system. Enough coolant enters the combustion chamber to hydro-lock the cylinder resulting in a bent rod, and sometimes cracked piston and head.

[@joshhhab]

The best you can do if your Prius has blown gasket is to open almost completely coolant fill cup to release all exhaust bases from the coolant system. Danger is not a blown gasket itself but air pressure that causes coolant to go inside the cylinder through this breached gasket. The symptom of a blown gasket is misfires when the engine starts when it's cold or running for a while. You can drive a lot with a blown gasket with an open coolant cup, but you can easily kill your engine if you don't open it immediately

[@johncleveland2526]

Hydrolock via water ingestion. It has new plugs because they ran the water out, customer ran it for a while with a minor inter-layer HG failure consuming coolant. They likely brought it back with a ticking noise. Tech measured piston height through the plug holes, condemned with a bent rod.

[@TCGProductions03]

The last time I was this early, the 24-valve Cummins was still the new hotness

[@peachyclean93]

My grandparents had two Camrys a 93 and a 97 they both had to replace the engines after the 97 blew up my grandfather told the Toyota service department that they will not be back. And they have been buying Chrysler and general motor vehicles ever since never had to replace an engine in any of their vehicles since the Toyotas!

[@kencreten7308]

I don't know why, but your jokes never get old about hoses and chain guides. You know you could save the hoses, belts and chain wear surfaces, in a box, well boxes, then you could put them behind your business. Then just keep saving them. Eventually you'd have a lot of them. Maybe you could give some to your neighbors.

[@jerryc3050]

Oh, the liability...🙄

[@evilkabab]

I really like that electric water pump. First it is variable speed and saves you gas. Second it doesn't have any shaft and its seal so it is less chance to leak, also it is lubricated by coolant fluid

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

That apparently is also it's downfall. Near zero tolerance for overheating. That spindle it rotates on (the one Eric took the O ring off)...has no lubricant other than the coolant. The plastic coils cannot stand overheating, nor can the electronics. Run out of coolant just once.....and goodbye pump.

[@martin-vv9lf]

@@JohnSmith-pl2bk agreed. If they had used an old school belt driven water pump and drive it with a motor it would have been a solid design.

[@darrellborland119]

Had a 3rd gen 2015 Prius and then a 4th gen. 2017 'til 120K...Adequate power, and excellent handling in 3 Touring model, when used correctly. 5.4 inches ground clearance and felt like a slot car on back road twisties... Now a 6th gen Subaru OB Turbo...and happy...no issues with either, but the 4th gen is far superior to the 3rd gen. PS: They will eat those V-rated tires, negating the economy of the car's MPG rating. Too bad they got away from the hatchback configuration...great utilitarian aspect. Thanks for memories. subscribed.

[@solderbuff]

why do they eat tires?

[@KR-hg8be]

​@solderbuff weight maybe? Doesnt seem like there's enough torque to chew em up.

[@joshausterlitz3798]

Usually when we use to see these come in (mostly the 2010 - 2015s) we could follow the trail of the water pump slowly failing (usually giving the owner several warnings like the steam Y pipe melting right under the hood, to the WIP pump RPM code coming on) and that would (combined with the inconsistency of the engine on off sometimes giving odd symptoms) cuz the coolant to get to hot in some areas blowing the headgasket over time. Back when i worked at T&L we use to have sooooooo many prius owners that if we caught the water pump early, this never happened. Don't think i ever saw a bad EGR on those priuses before (could be wrong) but alot of the time when we suspected a bad EGR but couldn't get it to leak like you did, we'd put it on the coolant flush machine and get it hot and sometimes they'd start pouring coolant.

[@josephludwig1126]

Just enough HP to make someone mad. Awesome ❤❤❤

[@jassmaan7603]

Bro it’s economy car why are you mad…

[@Mouse117Inc]

Looks like moisture build up from short engine cycles. Happens when the engine isn't fully warmed up to evaporate the water that gets inside while sitting. Happens a lot with hybrids that are driven lightly or plug in.

[@davidwood7170]

The cat. Those cat converters have a coolant line. and if the break is large enough, coolent can find its way back thru to the cylinder head. There was probably enough coolent in #2 upon start up to bend the rod. The Car Care Nut chaannel had a 2017 Prius with the same issue. But the cat leak was minor so all it did was steam clean the pistons and did not Hydro lock the engine. AMD actual thought the headgasket was the issue. But it wasnt.

[@two6s722]

you nailed it

[@RickTrajan]

Worked on a hybrid camry cab where the beige part of the water pump got swollen - I believe it had a code for the water pump that's why I replaced it but it was 5 years ago or more.

[@alexjenkin4216]

i own a 2013 prius v just hit 171k miles oil change every 10k had the trans fluid changed at 100k miles 1 wheel bearing replaced on 3rd set of tiers 2 coolant flushes 1 starter battery replaced original one lasted 6 years and wonder if its worth doing fuel treatment

[@matthewbowen5841]

Please, please, please, change your oil twice that often.

[@matthewtymaja3760]

The 2010 1.8 Prius was particularly bad for EGR breather tube blockage causing head gasket failure (maybe even on this cylinder). The stop-start nature of the engine could have played a part too; it runs at 50-80% throttle load mostly, so could stop when quite hot, causing a sharp rise in coolant pressure, filling the cylinder with coolant via a tiny HG leak. The engine restarts using a MUCH more powerful ‘starter motor’ than normal cars, so a restart could bend a rod at low speed but incredibly high torque, causing a bent rod without any other carnage. An unusual failure! (I have a 2003 Gen 1.5 Prius still going strong!)

[@ImNotHereToArgueFacts]

32:13 and now I see you as the WaterBoy. The wife says no but I can't unsee it

[@diegocastro8772]

Had the same issue head gasket gave out after both water pump and thermostat seized up car never gave any lights but it did bend the intake and exhaust valve got lucky that I didn’t enter into the oil tho. 155K miles got the car completely checked out by Lexus and now she’s back on the road.

[@kj3313]

Wow the other day I was looking to see if u had a video on 1.8 Toyota engines and I was thinking there is no way because they don’t break and bam u have one now

[@PaulMilenkovic]

There is a wedge-shaped tool that is tapped gently into an RTVed seal to pop an oil pan off. It runs about 50 bucks but I consider it worth it to not dent up a pan you remove.

[@briancox2721]

Once again, the milkshake brings all the engines to the yard.

[@68404]

I think that's a different type of motor ;-)

[@mystisith3984]

That or tap water for cooling. Pick your literal poison...😈

[@matthewbowen5841]

And they're like, it's still better than a Subaru

[@lukedevenny7507]

The word you were looking for with the coolant hose was "recirculated" funnily enough 😅 love your vids!

[@johnt.848]

That low compression at the start had me thinking the plugs were removed already, something was causing low compression.

[@pauleleven6658]

dont some of these toyotas run the atkins cycle keeping a valve open on the off stroke at times to reduce compression/pumping losses? dunno just a thought but it might be normal on these things.

[@johnt.848]

@@pauleleven6658 yeah, the Prius is an Atkinson cycle engine.

[@mfree80286]

@@johnt.848 Which means at low RPM and with no phaser control, the intake valve is staying open well into the compression stroke, cutting static compression.

[@johnt.848]

@@mfree80286 did you seriously feel the need to blurt that out assuming I am unaware of how they operate? Feel better now? Do you want a cookie?

[@slocavky]

We call the "cam tower" as you called it a Cam Carrier at the Toyota plant in Georgetown Kentucky. We do the Camry and rav 4 hybrid there...

[@somethingelsehere8089]

We called them a cam tower at a Toyota dealer before there was a plant in Kentucky. 5M-GE in Cressida and Supra had a more leak prone version than current ones.

[@GeneCash]

"There is someone out there that can break it" - [looks around with side eye]

[@richardharvey1732]

Hi I D C's, this one at about twenty eight minutes when you show us the bent rod, given the appearance of the rest of it all suggests to me that the head gasket leak allowed the significant ingress of coolant into that cylinder when the engine was cooling that caused the issues when it was re-started, possibly it did actually fire up but did not run for very long. This could account for the distribution of coolant in other parts of the engine. None of this of course will account for why the head gasket failed to start with. Cheers, Richard.

[@michaelseibold9977]

I'm a member of Americans United to Save Waterpumps. We petition Eric to please treat all waterpumps with the respect they deserve! Please send checks to our Waterpump Museum in Scranton, PA.

[@rossrogers7058]

SEND ALL USED AND BROKEN WATER PUMPS THERE BUT NO MONEY!!!!

[@zburnham]

@@rossrogers7058 calm down, Satan. lol

[@bearlemley]

I hope your organization is inclusive and supports all water pumps, including those that identify as fluid pumps and pumps that spin the other way. That way all pumps will be equal no matter their flow rate. We Love Gas Boosted Turbo Quality Plus others. And if you don’t we will call you names! ;-D

[@michaelseibold9977]

@@bearlemley I'll askmy my buddy over at the trans museum. They do allow CVTS as well as ECVTS, 4 on the floor and more!

[@matthewbowen5841]

Floor 2 space 38 of the Steamtown Mall

[@scottallberry]

I dont have a prius, but i do have a kia niro hybrid. Its not just that the engine shuts off at stop signs and starts when you touch the gas. The electric motor has more than enough power to get the car moving, while the engine starts...or while starting the engine, depending on design (kia has 2 clutches, 1 for engine, 1 for motor/generator. It uses one or both as needed). But when that hot engine shut down, then you start moving and the engine restarts its got a 30hp motor pushing it, as well as the inertia of the car pushing that crank. If coolant pooled, your bending a rod

[@gophergarage]

Left lane.... That was too good!! True however lol

[@shawnm9626]

I don't think I've ever seen you meet a timing chain that you didn't like lol👍

[@N4HHE]

Prius has a 13:1 compression ratio. The apparent low compression is due to the variable intake valve timing limiting intake charge to emulate a low compression ratio. Atkinson Cycle. Can be changed in the fly.

[@YZJB]

Atkinson cycle just means the expansion ratio is greater than the compression ratio, which they do by holding the inlet valves open a bit during the compression stroke

[@N4HHE]

@@YZJB He said it was from a Prius, that means Toyota Synergy Drive, that means the engine fuel turns off, intake valves open, for speeds over 42 MPH when the engine is not needed.

[@YZJB]

@@N4HHE they don’t leave the intake valves open when the engine is off, that’s actually impossible. If the engine stops at the right point you may have the inlet valves of one cylinder open or partially open, but you can’t have them all open

[@N4HHE]

@@YZJB Prius turns engine off valves open while it is still spinning when going faster than 42 MPH. I’ve said this before and clearly you know nothing of the operation of the Toyota Synergy Hybrid System.

[@YZJB]

@@N4HHE you don’t understand how an engine works.

[@ThisisForTheTV]

The egr system clogges up and mostly flows to 1 or 2 cylinders. Those 2 cylinders experiences predetonation knock which spikes cylinder pressure and weakens an already weak head gasket. Then part 2, between the cooling systems 14psi and the water pump pushing coolant into the cylinder while not running it fills enough to hydraulic when the 40HP MG1 motor starts the engine. There are like 5 different intake manifold designs to minimize egr port clogging. But it mostly comes from lack of maintenance to the egr system, even the oil burning problem had ALOT to do with the egr system being neglected. And the higher amount of heat cycles from a hybrid also accelerate weakening the head gasket. 18:58 The leak is almost always between cylinders 1 & 2 into cylinder 2, you can see the black sealer missing between 1 & 2 the bare metal gasket at the coolant port is where it let go.

[@jacquesc3166]

Holy explanation, take it you've rebuilt a few..? Wondering if the owner would have known before failure here, in the form of white smoke out the tail pipe.....

[@hirogodsend]

I'd recommend Engineering Explained's video on hybrids and oil. "It Turns Out, Hybrids Are Really Hard On Engines"

[@abcortani]

He just release that video, the timing is kinda hilarious.

[@bradhaines3142]

@@abcortani its like we're all in a simulation, and its run by a hivemind.

[@muddywater6856]

That video hit the nerve of a bunch of Prius fan bois😂😂

[@bradhaines3142]

@@muddywater6856 i personally own a highlander hybrid. still love it. simple solution to the problem, oil change every 6 months, itll never collect enough water to even be noticed. power tailgate struts though, FUCK those things.

[@Flies2FLL]

Perfect!

[@RAKINAUS]

From AUS, I like it. The head gasket looked really weird. It had black wrinkly bits where it was contacting the coolant and that black coating was falling off like the coolant had moonshine or ethanol petrol in it or something equally disolvey. Love your work and sad about your dog.

[@mattt198654321]

1:40 For the record, I got my 2010 prius up to 113 mph (on a closed course...er, yeah). Those bodies are slippery AF, they make the most of the 122 HP.

[@kcstein5956]

It doesn't take much to get to that speed though. My 07 Aveo hatch with the 1.4 wrapped the speedo countless of times

[@mfree80286]

My '01 Daewoo Leganza would easily hit ~125mph with just a little more power than you have/had in your Prius. Aero does account for a lot. It wouldn't do it for long though, you'd be hard pressed to find any engine that would be 'regular car' cheap and live at ~7000+rpm for useful lengths of time....

[@SplosionMovies]

Jason over at EE was talking about how these little guys are set up by the nature of the hybrid system to go from cold start to high load almost immediately (depending on circumstance). I think that probably does most of the wear on these engines

[@tails300]

Then why do these regularly reach 300k miles? Also that video was a clickbait for Mobile 1 to sell their overpriced “hybrid” engine oil.

[@speeddemon1092]

Not a car tech, but I see this type of water pump all the time with computer water cooling. The major advantage of these kinds of pumps is that there's only 1 contact surface and no rotating/shaft seals, so as long as they've got the correct coolant and are kept in temperature spec, they'll last a long time, basically as long as the electronics or the bearing surface does. The problems start when you overheat them or run them dry. Unlike a conventional belt-driven pump that is (more) tolerant of being run dry and doesn't really have anything that needs to be cooled (like coils or the electronics package), electric pumps like this require their motor coils and the electronics package to be kept within operating spec, and they absolutely ****CANNOT**** be run dry. The coolant serves as lubricant for the bearing surfaces, and running it dry has the same effect as not having enough oil in an engine (which we've all seen). For the eletronics and coils, and I'll repeat myself on this, they must be kept cooled; for every 10C/50F hotter a component gets and runs sustained at, the remaining lifetime gets cut in half. Motor coils that get overheated start degrading and burning their insulation, and when it fails entirely, you get a short, and the coil becomes useless.

[@bobferranti5222]

Eric, I fully expect you to show a entire wall of timing chains some day lol.

[@patrickkennedy2533]

Briggs & Stratton compression

[@N4HHE]

Prius has a mechanical 13:1 compression. Seems low because the variable valve timing holds the intake valves open by default. Atkinson Cycle engine.

[@egn83b]

Well if you read on forums online toyota prius heads have issues with walking head bolts. Over time they loosen to leak. This is a thermal issue. The other issue is at 150k miles the bearing surfaces in the water pump stick and the pump will not turn. Pumps are 100k mile wear item.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Just did a head gasket on one of these POS powerplants at 145k miles. These are worse than old Subarus at eating head gaskets 😂 Simple hack to avoid bent rods is to just loosen the radiator cap so system doesn't build pressure and fill the cylinders with coolant overnight after shut down 😆

[@John-ny6yy]

Hows it a POS powerplant when most go 300k+.. Just another name hater🤡

[@matthewbowen5841]

Subaru at 145k would be about due for it's 3rd engine

[@jp-ny2pd]

Interesting, that water pump is basically just an over-grown version of an aquarium pump. The part you removed was a permanent magnet rotor. The electronics inside control the stator coils. In theory a good design since there's no rotating parts that need a seal. You just have the one housing o-ring seal for it all. Also since I think you basically have a rebuilder core, you should turbo charge it and put it into a golfcart or garden tractor.

[@jamesplotkin4674]

I don't think this was an isolated incident. The clean piston shows it's been "steam cleaned" for a while. Then, after shutdown, the electric pump kept filling the cylinder and a bent rod is the result of the starter motor having a great amount of torque.

[@N4HHE]

Prius doesn’t have a starter motor. Uses smallest of the two Synergy motors, probably 20 hp to spin up to 1200 RPM with valves open then closes valves, adds fuel, engine often runs from first beat.

[@jblyon2]

@@N4HHE Yeah, that's the 'starter motor' that was being referenced...

[@mfree80286]

@@N4HHE There's no VANOS-like mechanism on this engine, the exhaust side doesn't even have variable timing.

[@N4HHE]

@@mfree80286 It does. Toyota leaves the intake valves open, fuel off, when ICE not needed above 42 MPH. The little motor-generator would over-rev if ICE not turning so they leave it spinning with intake valves open no fuel.

[@ferrumignis]

The water pump running after shutdown wouldn't contribute to failure, the whole system is pressurised when up to temperature so any breech will leak water until the engine has cooled down and coolant pressure reduced.

[@Andrew-vd2ko]

Question. Are you sure that rachet was 1/4th inch, I would of thought it was more 3/8th inch. Just checking... Love these videos of yours, now watching it for the second time today...

[@thomasrbishop8736]

Great video. I'm just amaze how a engine is put together. With so many parts that it takes to build them anymore. One mistake will make it failed down the road.

[@mikemacch]

That is true armature swells and stops the motor. Very common, blew my grandsons engine because he disregarded fault on water pump!

[@watercannonscollaboration2281]

Me at the start of the video: I wonder if this engine had a bad head gasket 19:32 Yep, there’s the 2ZR-FXE for ya. I’ve seen a lot of Prius’s on facebook marketplace like this, and the owners junked their car because they tried fixing it by pouring head gasket sealer instead of just properly fixing the head gasket

[@edifyguy]

Why can they not be repaired properly after this? Cylinder wall and ring damage?

[@Daschickenify]

@@edifyguy They can be repaired, by doing something closer to what eric is doing than pouring in a $10 bottle of 'head gasket fix' and crossing your fingers..

[@edifyguy]

@@Daschickenify Well, of course, I know engines.......what I meant is, do these routinely destroy the block when they do this? Else, what's to stop someone from rebuilding the engine instead of junking it?

[@drewfleming7065]

Engine was shut down hot with #2 at 1/2 way down on intake stroke, hot coolant pressure leaked in to #2 filling it enough and on restart...Bang...

[@tsimpson007]

Glad you are back. Saw you on Ray's channel, along with A Rod. Glad you guys are getting together.

[@tallbeen1990]

Thank you Eric

[@bradbrown7555]

You found it! The EGR hose leaks coolant out (air bubbles proved that), engine overheated, head gasket failed, owner refilled it with coolant, coolant leaked into #2 cylinder, bent rod. Which was first the chicken or the egg! LOL

[@johncleveland2526]

That hose wasn’t leaking - no coolant residue on tear down. It would have a ton if it leaked enough to cause an overheat, and there were no signs of overheat. These gel the coolant and have a horrible smell, and will melt/ingest the plastic manifold while turning the cylinders deep blue. Also huge cylinder wear. It was likely water ingestion.

[@bradleypollack5658]

My 2017 Honda Pilot The rod bearings went out at 80k miles.

[@Gapines23]

Prius been chewing up motors again recently, I’m blaming drivers/maintenance

[@matthewbowen5841]

Could be a similar situation to the old 1MZ, which got a rep for oil sludge because it couldn't be run with zero maintenance like other Toyota engines, when in fact it's one of the most reliable DOHC engines ever made.

[@sharkinstx]

One interesting thing I noticed was the stamped steel baffles (I guess that’s what they are?) in the water jackets around the cylinders. Are those to slow down the coolant flow, to draw more heat off? A Band-Aid fix by Toyota engineers? I was surprised that you didn’t at least pull one out (you could just push it back in) to see what they look like, and get an idea as how they direct flow, especially since you usually tear engines all the way down.

[@somethingelsehere8089]

The water pump is in a fixed location. The baffles are designed to ensure uniformity of coolant flow - to ensure even cooling of all of all the cylinders. Contrast that to older cam in block V8s that could see more ring ridge/wear on the cylinders nearest the water pump.

[@shinski8114]

why is there so many dislikes

[@russellstyles5381]

Apparently, hybrid engines are at risk because they sometimes run short duty cycles, and don't stay hot enough. Depends on what flavor hybrid. Some hybrids run the gasoline engine nearly all the time, and don't have this problem.

[@0bzen22]

Toyota's run the engine if it's too cold, or if starting up. At least mine does (Corolla TS 196). More often than not, ICE kicks in from cold. I never use EV mode. When on the road, the engine doesn't drop its temperature that much. That's a major inefficiency especially in the winter, and why I use about 10% more fuel overall. Starting up on short trips and warming up (like any other engine), not good for the economy. But yes, the engine is constantly being turned on an off, it's been like that forever for Toyota hybrids, I don't think it's an inherent issue. A lot of them do 300K easy.

[@Bowhunters6go8xz6x]

Air compresses, Water not so much ! Another good reason to flush and replace the coolant when recommended is that coolant has lubricants that lube the water pump.

[@12345.......]

Marcia Griffiths - Electric Boogie, for those old enough and curious enough for the reference

[@ianriggs]

I see a major flaw with that water pump... it has a freaking circuit board on it lol 😞

[@CoryRwtfyt]

I worked at a Yoda dealer for almost the entire third gen prius production. They honestly didn't fail very often. Carbon buildup in the intake was a bigger issue.

[@ianriggs]

@@CoryRwtfyt I was just being sarcastic lol. When someone says water pump with a circuit board on it that just sounds like a bad idea

[@richtes]

@@ianriggsWater pump with a board bothers me less than a submerged oil pump belt

[@chubbysumo2230]

​@@ianriggswater pumps with circuit boards have been around for a long time. The water pump looks exactly like a D5 pump.

[@ianriggs]

@@chubbysumo2230 it was just sarcasm lol

[@grahamearley1820]

Just like most engines, there are some gems among them, yours is one of them, only 73,000 miles, you must feel so lucky. lol

[@liver.flush.maestro]

I like the design of the electric water pump. There is no weep hole, and it can't leak like a traditional water pump through its axle.

[@darrellk9671]

Thank you, Eric.