[MamaYoda]

Me and my husband are working on a 01 Avalon XLS. Had multiple codes it was throwing. Our BlueDriver OBD2 reader said that it had a misfire in every cylinder, vvt-i malfunction. Valve cover gasket was leaking really bad. So our friend bought a new timing belt, water pump, oil pump (with all seals). He also got the valve cover gasket set and new set of coils.pit all new oil and oil filter on as well. Now we replaced everything that needed to be replaced. Got it all put back together and started it up and it started smoking really bad out the exhaust. Exhaust smoke is white and smells like burning oil. Ran it for about 10 min and all the sudden the temperature went way into the red. Turned vehicle off and let it cool down. Checked the coolant and most of it was gone. This is where we are puzzled completely. There are no leaks but did see that alot of water was coming from exhaust. Checked the oil and the oil is now foamy, which tells us the coolant somehow got into the oil and we can't for the life of us figure it out. Is it possible there is a bad intake manifold gasket or is it possible that after we did these repairs that it may have blown a head gasket? Please any help and insight to this issue would really be appreciated.

 

[Richio]

'Had the same disappearing oil once on a Chevy Beretta. It was the lower intake manifold gasket. In replacing the radiator on my 04 Avalon a month ago, the mechanic noticed the manifold gasket was leaking, so I said "do it". Ran me about $450.

 

[OleAvalon]

The white smoke, loss of coolant, and foamy oil -- did you notice a slightly sweet smell to the exhaust smoke (which probably was steam?) Does the oil resemble a chocolate milkshake?

Those are classic symptoms of head gasket failure. (EDIT: just found your intro post, so with your mechanicking background you already know this, didn't mean to insult you.) Thing is, the 1mz-fe engine is not prone to headgasket failure, though it can happen.

Can you recall all the codes? If this is a new-to-you vehicle, do you know anything about its past repairs or how it was driven?

A bit of a puzzle -- with misfires and a vvt code, why do the complete timing belt R&R?

You can get a very slight sense of past history at the Toyota Owner's site:
Toyota Owners site

Welcome to Toyota Owners

www.toyota.com

Click on "Join now," enter VIN
My Vehicle: Car original specs and service history (dealer service done)
Parts & Services: Maintenance Schedule
Resources: Manuals and Recalls

 

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Is there a chance your friend hooked up the coolant hoses from the throttle body to a vacuum port by mistake? This would allow the engine to ingest coolant and blow white smoke, maybe allow coolant into the crankcase as well. I saw that happen on an older Saab vehicle at a garage I worked for years ago, we simply properly attached the hoses and all was well, you’ll need an oil change too though.