Yes it effects 2004. Toyota has a new block design.

You can buy a low cost kit (under $50) at autoparts stores that will test the coolant for exhaust gases. If exhaust gas is present the head gasket is leaking.

 

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. He didn't think this was a simple head gasket problem. It sounds like this thread is discussing my 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 and have a good argument.

I would strongly recommend that if you have the problem as described above 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 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.

 

I must saddly add my name to the list of deeply disappointed Toyota Owners with the Head Gasket/ stripped bolts problem. My 2002 Camry has 136000 miles and has been well maintained when the head gasket blew last week during normal usage. BEFORE my mechanic began the work he explained to me that the Camry had a problem with the steel bolts stripping the threads in the engine when removed and that if this happened the only reasonable solution was a new or used engine. Unfortunately the stripping did occur and I had to put 5800 into a new 2009 scion that he believes he can install in my camry.

I am by no means an engineer but it seems to me that there is an inherent flaw in any aluminum engine using steel bolts - the latter will almost certainly over time strip the threads on the softer aluminum. I have yet to file a claim with Toyota but certainly intend to do so. If my claim is rejected I also plan to determine whether any other actions have been filed against Toyota for this problem and to explore the possibility of having a local law firm that has engaged in a number of class action suits to consider this case. Failing that I will be filing a small claims court action since our jurisdictional limit is 7500. Clearly this is a situation that is known to reputable mechanics as a flaw and one which I hope Toyota will address not just in my claim but in all those that have or will be filed.

I also own a 2001 Camry and a 2004 Sienna.

 

Just joined. Have the exact same problem as the other posters: blown head gasket due to overheating due to coolant leak due to loose head bolts, loose because they had stripped. The shop that diagnosed the problem had a technical service bulletin from Toyota, advising them that if the head gasket has blown, they should look at the engine bolts during the repair, since it is known that they can be stripped. Toyota representative in Torrance says that similar engine failure around 100,000 miles "is not uncommon". Since when? On a Toyota?

So my question is, how many of us does it take before we get together and get Toyota to accept some responsibility?

 

Just joined. Our 2002 Camry had a 2.4L, 4-cylinder, 2AZ-FE engine that sludged up at 56,000 miles after being regularly serviced by the dealer here in El Monte, CA. Somehow the Toyota dealer missed obvious signs of this, such as THICK brown sludge all over the inside of the oil filler cap...

My new (independent) mechanic, in the process of replacing the engine with a reconditioned engine ($5000), discovered the problem while torquing the first head bolt; something "didn't feel right". When he pulled it back out, it had the little curls of aluminum on it. Toyota was bolting heads directly into the aluminum blocks, with no steel inserts to receive the bolts.

Result? The bolts stripped or loosed, and the head lifted up just enough to allow coolant to slowly seep past the gasket into the crankcase, which built up sludge over time and destroyed my engine. Needless to say, he's now heli-coiling all the block threads (i.e., doing Toyota's job for them) on the replacement engine block before bolting the head on.

This is unacceptable!

WE NEED TO START A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST TOYOTA!

 

How can we put pressure on Toyota? Go to the NTHSA website for the Office of Defects Investigation and file an online complaint about this issue. http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/index.cfm is the site.

Look up Toyota Camrys from 2002-2006 and you'll see complaints about this exact issue, short blocks with stripped bolts. The more people that file complaints, the more pressure on Toyota...

 

As you can see in my profile, I'm an L1 ASE Master. I've been in this field for 22 years. I found this forum looking for class action information on the 2.4L engined stripping head bolt threads. I currently have 2 of these cars in my shop. The first, a 2002 that belongs to a friend of mine, popped a head gasket last year. I'll have to pull the service records to see exactly when. I replaced the gasket, it was back in a short time with another blown gasket. This time, the threads were pulled out on the center three head bolt holes on the back side by the intake. He claimed it never overheated, no lights, it just popped. I didn't believe him. I thought for sure he overheated it.

So we got a used engine with 75,000 miles on it and dropped it in. Let me mention here that the replacement time to replace this engine is a whopping 17.9 hours, and that's direct replacement with no parts transfer. This is on Alldata, and is taken directly from manufacturer information. It's ridiculous, there is no way it takes anywhere near this long. 8 hours is more than enough. I suspect the time is inflated by Toyota to make up for how many of these engines they have had to replace under warranty. I used to see this sort of thing from GM when I worked for Chevy. If a part was a high warranty failure part, the cost to the customer of these parts was way over inflated, ostensibly to recover the cost of the warranty repairs that had been done.

Months later, that used engine popped a head gasket. I tore it down, had the head milled (it was warped) and went to torque it down. The same three holes pulled the threads.

So I got a Helicoil kit, drilled and set coils in those three holes. This is no small feat, as the threads are 100mm deep in the block. But this is not my first rodeo, and I get them done. All three holes pulled the coils before reaching the 54 ft.lb pretorque before the additional 90 degree turn. And no, I didn't bottom the bolts. I used extra head bolt washers to make sure I didn't bottom them due to the milling, and used new bolts as well.

So tonight, a 2003 Camry comes in with an apparent blown head gasket. Same engine. Test concludes #3 and #4 cylinders blown. So I'm explaining to the customer what happened on the '02 (Which is sitting outside my shop), and have him watch as I pull the valve cover off. And guess what?

The same three head bolts are loose.

Now, the first guy is a firm believer in synthetic oil. There is no sludge in this engine. None. He owns a medical transport company, and I service his entire fleet. He has several company vehicles we maintain including a Ford ambulance van with over 350,000 miles on it. Runs like a top. The replacement engine we put in was clean as well, we ran synthetic, and it too is clean as a whistle.

This next one, (the 2003) is also very clean inside. I'm a big fan of Toyota personally. I have a 1985 4WD pickup I've owned for 12 years, and I love it. I plan on giving it to my son when he starts driving in 9 years. But this is ridiculous. I have the updated part number for the short block assembly (11400-28111), but can't find any recalls or class action suits about it. I'm going to call the dealer I get parts from tomorrow and see if I can't gather some information about these engines. Maybe with a bit of finesse I can glean something useful and see if there is a "quiet recall". This is a tactic sometimes used by manufacturers to placate particularly vocal customers. It usually requires a fairly high service manager (a regional or district manager) to "extend" the customer's warranty at their descretion. I'll keep you posted.

 

tech30528, THANK YOU! Please let us know what you find...

It was driving us (and my mechanic) nuts trying to figure out how this could have happened. I took several hi-res photos of the engine after he took all the covers off -- what a mess!!

First I researched "toyota engine sludge" and found that there was a successful class action lawsuit that was concluded in 2007 that covered the Gen4 FE-5S engines from 1996-2001 that preceded the 2AZ-FE in the Camrys.

Unfortunately these are Gen5 engines, 2002-2006 that have this new problem. Research on "toyota stripped threads" led me here, and to
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh....php?p=2793619 -- where there are more reported incidents.

My problem is that my car is less than 60k miles, but was bought (by my wife) more than 5 years ago. I'm very worried that Toyota will say, "Gee, that's too bad, it's past it's warranty" on this -- but maybe not, per your explanations. (One 4-cylinder Highlander owner whose engine had the same problem did get help from Toyota -- so there's hope.)

 

And this one, too:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh....php?p=2794711

 

Look into Time-Serts instead of Heli-Coils.

Toyota used the aluminum block 1MZ-FE for years without thread pulling problems, this new problem appears to be a design defect.

The blown head gasket issue via the bolts pulling out appears to have popped up on the web about a year ago. Engines typically have 50K plus miles. A few lucky owners had the extended service plan that covered the repairs.

Toyota has new block design.