NHTSA Complaint #10305186 — 2002 TOYOTA CAMRY

I KEPT HEARING RUSHING WATER COMING FROM SOMEWHERE BUT NOTHING SEEMS TO BE WRONG. SO AT THE END OF NOVEMBER MY CAR RAN HOT I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD THE THERMOSTAT MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. I REPLACED IT'.IT RAN HOT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY. WAS TOLD I HAD A COOLANT LEAK. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT' I NEED AN ENGINE! STRIPPED HEAD BOLTS IN THE BLOCK, NO NOT JUST A HEAD GASKET PROBLEM I WAS TOLD THE HEAD BOLTS HAVE LET GO FROM THE BLOCK. I ASKED THE MECHANIC FOR A WRITE UP OF HIS FINDINGS: (PARAPHRASED) 'THE ONLY OPTION LEFT IS TO REMOVE THE HEAD, WHICH REQUIRES AN EXTENSIVE 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 HEAD BOLT TO STRIP.' I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED. TOYOTA IS RESPONSIBLE, THERE'S NO PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE FOR THIS AND MY PROBLEM IS NOT ISOLATED... LOOK IT UP! *TR