I am a service center owner and technician of over 40 years in SC. Recently, a 2003 Camry LE w/ 70,000 miles came into my shop with a coolant leak. I consulted this forum and others to find proof of the same instance in the Toyota Camry. I write this in response to some posts I read on this site. This is to be informative for those in similar situations. To do the exam, we pressurized the cooling system and put the car up on the lift. We immediately noticed coolant leaking from underneath the plastic INT intake Manifold in the rear of the engine. I also noticed a Large piece of foam rubber between the Intake Manifold and the Engine Block and Head. This was blocking our view of the leak. We could only see that the leak was behind the foam piece. The only option to discover the source of this leak was to remove the plastic intake manifold, which I did. After this was removed, it became obvious that coolant had been leaking a minor amount for quite some time due to build up between the cylinder head and block. The only option left is to remove the head, which requires an exstensive disassembly (R and R cylinder head). After Loosening the bolts in sequence, I notice the head bolts in the back of the engine are loose. From my experience in the field, I can confidently conclude that this only means one of two things: The bolts were left loose at the factory, or the Bolts are stripped. ( I commonly have seen stripped bolts in the Aluminum Cadillac North Star Block discovered through leaking coolant.)Next, I removed the head and sure enough, one bolt came out with aluminum in the thread...thus indicating a stripped bolt.MY THEORY: The placement of the (insulation) foam rubber piece between the Intake Manifold and the engine block created an uneven dispersion of heat, creating "metal fatigue" in the aluminum block allowing the headbolt to strip.If Toyota had out an Aluminum Manifold instead of Plastic, there would have been no need to insulate (w/ foam piece), thus eliminating the probem.The only solution to this problem is to unforunately replace the engine. The cost to repair it otherwise would be substantial. This is an engine defect and we WILL be seeing more of this.[/align]

 

I have a 2003 Camry SE 4 cylinder 5 speed manual transmission. I bought it new in 2003 At 80,000 miles during a routine oil change I was told that I had an engine problem and coolant was leaking from the backside of the engine block from underneath a foam insulation pad. This pad is located on the back side of the engine block between the block and the fire wall. The mechanic told me he thought that I probably had a cracked cylinder head and would need to consider replacing the engine. He couldn’t be 100% sure until he took everything apart to look at it but he felt confident that was the problem.

I contacted Toyota and was told that they had no record of issues involving cracked cylinder heads in the 4 cyl. Camry engine. There was nothing they could do for me as far as this repair was concerned. I sought a 2nd opinion and after weighing options from a $6000 dollar warranty replacement engine to a $2100 cylinder head job I opted for the later of the two.

My mechanic has just called and informed me that the cylinder head is NOT cracked. The problem is that the cylinder head bolts are stripped on the back side of the engine. This is what caused the coolant leak in the first place. Several of the bolts contained remains of the screw threading when they were removed. Now I have only two options: make my car into a very expensive flowerpot or spend $4000 for a replacement engine from a junk yard. I plan to re-contact Toyota regarding this issue. I’m not sure I’ll get anywhere but I will at least make the effort.

I would strongly recommend that if you have the problem as described here that you understand that the cylinder repair is not an option. You’re looking at the expense for an engine replacement. I have no choice but to move forward with the repair. The mechanic and I discussed the possibility of Helicoiling the existing screws, there isn’t enough room between the water jacket and the block for them to fit. I wish I had found this forum before I went ahead with the attempted repair.
You said that we would be seeing more of this type of problem, here it is.

I never thought that I would be so disappointed in a Toyota product. I’ve been a loyal customer for 30 years.

 

Unless the questioning of Toyota was too specific for them to consider a block problem they should have forwarded info about the thread problem to you.

Toyota should know about the tread problem as they are offering a revised block.

On using heli-coils a few owners have to date successfullly used Time-Serts, a steel insert.

Not sure what the material thickness is between the current threads and water jacket. Given this problem is getting worse someone with a now junk block may cut or drill into the block and find out just what this thickness is.

Suggest a campaign to write the President of Toyota, many others are in the same position as you.

 

I put Heli coils in my block last night, only did the 2 head bolts that were stripped (as i think that is the only problem zone), I used 7/16" Heli coils and
7/16"x3 1/2" (socket ie:allan head) bolts. only problem I found was that the holes at the top of the block were slightly bigger than 29/64", which is the drill bit size for the heli coil.
So I just tapped them(for heli coils) without drilling, But I think this should be fine, as they seemed to torque down easily at the required 58ft lbs.
Puttin the engine back in tomorrow, and hopin for good results!
ps: wrote to Mr Yoichi Tamihara, the Canada Toyota President and CEO 2 weeks ago, No responce yet!.

 

time serts kits for this app are over a thousand bucks canadian.

 

Check on there website should be about $450.00 Usd with shipping.
http://www.timesert.com/html/toyota.html


Cheers

D

 

Hello,
I'm new to the Camry forum. I developed the NS300L™ cylinder head bolt thread repair system for the Cadillac Northstar which has the same challenge as the Toyota 2.4L 2AZ-FE for stripping head bolt threads. Both eninges use the M11x1.5 thread. I have been told by many tech's that have used the NS300L™ insert system for repairing the Toyota 2.4L 2AZ-FE, that it is an excellent choice and a very strong repair. In fact, many of those who repaired there 2AZ-FE engine with NS300L™ insert system were told that their engine could not be repaired and would need to be replaced. After many requests, I now have a kit availabe for the 2AZ-FE. I originally developed the NS300L™ insert kit because my Northstar had been repaired in the past with GM approved inserts (Timeserts) that also stripped out and was told that I also needed a new block. There is nothing wrong with Timeserts, they are an excelent, very well designed insert for most applications. The challenge with using them to repair failed head bolt threads in aluminum engines that are notorious for this problem is, they have the same fine thread as the head bolt, and if you don't get past the weak aluminum and back into solid virgin aluminum again, there is a good chance they will also strip like they did in my engine. The NS300L™ insert has a coarse 5/8-11 external thread and a M11x1.5 internal thread. The NS300L™ insert has over three times the thread engagement with in the aluminum block than a timesert, and since it is about 1½ times longer, it utalizes more threads on the head bolt. This also distributes the load to a much larger area. As a result, the load per thread with in the aluminum block is much less, giving you a much stronger repair. Please feel free to visit our website at www.HuhnSolutions.com or you can contact us at huhnsolutions@gmail.com.

 

A few guys on turbomustangs said just to tap it out to a 3/8 and be done with it. I wonder if the upper intake hole will have to be opened up a little, or if a 3/8 will slide into it?

I bought the tap and a few different 3/8 bolts, also bought a few washers also because the heads of the bolts arent as big as the stock bolts. I wanted to make sure the washers grab the intake so the head of the bolt doesnt dig down in there.

 

I recently was told that my 2003 Toyota Camry had a blown head gasket. Before my car ran hot, I was hearing a slushing or gurgling sound coming from the dash. It sounded like water was circulating. The technician at a privately owned repair shop said that my coolant was leaking and caused the car to run hot. The technician put the car on a rack and removed the foam piece and said the coolant was leaking from the head gasket. After further checking the gasket, it was found to have three stripped head bolts. They were able to pull the bolts out by hand. I was told that it was nothing they could do except replace the engine. I went to the dealership today (Springhill Toyota in Alabama) and spoke with the owner. He told me that it was probably something I did and I could have the car towed to them and they would check it out and try to repair it at a reduced rate. He also told me this is the first time he has heard of this happening which I don't believe. Now, it is mighty strange that everyone on this forum is having the same problem, and Toyota or the dealership won't own up to the fact that it is a defect. I did find a kit that is suppose to repair the problem and the cost of it is 345.00. It doesn't do any good to have the engine replaced because you will have the same problem later on. I told my mother to purchase a camry and she bought a 2005 model. Her model has also been having problems. Luckily her car has low mileage and this hasn't happened to her yet. I am very upset that Toyota has been ignoring customer complaints about this situation.

 

Toyota's response is a newly designed replacement block. If the car is under warranty they will replace it, if not the owner is stuck with the cost.

Toyota seems to have created even more problems by ignoring complaints about sticky gas pedals and now Prius brake problems.

This may be one of the side effects of taking a position of increasing sales and market share at any cost.