My family just experienced this same design flaw/block thread problem/expensive repair, and I ended up contacting the executive branch in California. Unfortunately even though the executive I spoke with, David Kenius (reachable at ph: 1(800) 331-4331, option 4, then option 6 to "report an experience you had a with a toyota vehicle") appears to have researched the issue, he did not deviate from the company line on this problem. If you've read some of the previous entries in this blog you know this already, but he stated that "the TSB was issued tells how to repair the problem" and "your vehicle was not under warrantee any longer". I'll paraphrase: we know there was a poorly designed engine block, but Toyota is not such a company anymore and we are not going to incur millions of dollars of expenses to accept responsibility for these poorly designed engine blocks even though our customers probably paid a premium for their toyota which was supposed to be a quality vehicle. At this point, I'ld simply advise any other effected user to call the executive number provided above and let them know how you feel, to get the repair done from a reliable local mechanic who experience installing the block inserts, and to never buy a toyota product again. - Dave

 

I have actually heard of this happening before too. My mom has a 1992 with a 3 liter engine that I'm replacing a head-gasket in. Another mechanic friend of mine scared me by telling me that the Toyota 3 liters have a tendancy to rip the threads right out of their blocks, making it necessary to replace the block. I did a little research of my own & couldn't find any independent reference to this problem. That turned out to not be the case with my mom's Toyota. But now this is an independent source, & it's such on odd problem that I've nvr heard of before, but now this being another source, I'm inclined to believe it.

 

I have actually heard of this happening before too. My mom has a 1992 with a 3 liter engine that I'm replacing a head-gasket in. Another mechanic friend of mine scared me by telling me that the Toyota 3 liters have a tendancy to rip the threads right out of their blocks, making it necessary to replace the block. I did a little research of my own & couldn't find any independent reference to this problem. That turned out to not be the case with my mom's Toyota. But now this is an independent source, & it's such on odd problem that I've nvr heard of before, but now this being another source, I'm inclined to believe it.

 

The 3L issue may be the head gasket not head bolts. If you do replace the head gaskets suggest using a Toyota brand or a multilayer steel design.

 

I have made the case that one plant producing those engine blocks had a mechanical/production issue, not an engine design flaw.

However, that theory would be shot down if:

Only one plant produced all the engine blocks of that model, since not every engine in those model years failed.

On the other hand, if in fact these blocks were produced in more than one plant, it would be interesting if these failures can be attributed to one plant.

Most gear heads with older cars know that you can determine where an engine was made by either block casting numbers or trim tags.

Does anyone on this forum know if this holds true with Toyota?

It may be a moot point since Toyota claims not foul and who can really complain about an engine failing at 120k.

 

If you look on the 1st page of this thread, you will find a reference that somebody looked into that & found that the block failures were from more than 1 plant.

 

I looked over the first 2 pages of the thread and did not see that mentioned. Can you find it and quote here?

I may just be missing it ( I never was a good reader)

Thanks

 

The thread is about the 2AZFE engine.

Some speculate insulation on the intake manifold is causing uneven heating in the area where the bolt threads are pulling out.

Toyota's response was a new block design.

 

This quote is from page 2 of this thread.

Since this is a common problem with these, they probably removed the valve cover, & they would have had to remove the cams too, to check the head bolts. They can do that for diagnosed purposes, without removing the intake manifold. To remove the head, they will still have to remove the intake manifold, but to diagnose this common problem, it's not necessary.
However, they should still be covering this under warranty.

 

Where does it imply that the blocks were produced in more than one plant?