coolant under intake manifold

jeff1414

New Member

Jun 19, 2003

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Sacramento

Aug 30, 2004

#1

• Aug 30, 2004

• #1

Well I guess I don't have a tranny leak. I found coolant under the intake manifold Does it mean that I have a cracked intake It is all over it the bottom of it. How much would it cost to fix it if it was that?

 

GDawg

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Mar 22, 2002

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Aug 30, 2004

#2

• Aug 30, 2004

• #2

jeff1414 said:

Well I guess I don't have a tranny leak. I found coolant under the intake manifold Does it mean that I have a cracked intake It is all over it the bottom of it. How much would it cost to fix it if it was that?

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Welcome to the club... If you replace it yourself, you're looking at a couple hundred dollars and a few hours. If you have Ford do it, then quadruple that estimate. You should be able to buy a new one with aluminum coolant runner from GEF Racing or check ebay. Don't replace it with the same intake that has the plastic runner or you'll be doing this again in the future. There was a silent recall but '98 through '01 weren't included in it.

 

jeff1414

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Jun 19, 2003

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#3

• Aug 30, 2004

• #3

Is there a way to find out if it is that for sure?

 

GDawg

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Mar 22, 2002

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#4

• Aug 30, 2004

• #4

jeff1414 said:

Is there a way to find out if it is that for sure?

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You mean to find out if it is in fact your intake?

Most of the intakes that have cracked did so near the thermostat. Mine had a pinhole that was pretty much invisible. The way I found mine was to rev the engine and watch for the coolant to spray. I put my camera in front of my engine compartment and ran video as I revved the engine. Right at about 3,300 rpms you could see it squirting out and hitting my alternator and dripping down into the valley in the block. If you don't have a camera to use, have a friend rev the engine for you. Start at lower rpms and work your way up. But don't let your friend go rev crazy and bounce off the rev limiter.

This is a very common and documented problem with our plastic intakes. Ford knew of the problem and fixed the '96s and '97s for free but they left the rest of us out to dry. It wasn't until '02 (I think) that they finally started putting in the intakes with the aluminum runner. Any Ford 4.6 intake that has the plastic coolant runner has the potential for this problem. And not just our Mustangs either. There's been a few class action law suits over this.

 

jeff1414

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Jun 19, 2003

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Aug 30, 2004

#5

• Aug 30, 2004

• #5

I guess I will just try that out and see if I see something.

 

GDawg

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Mar 22, 2002

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#6

• Aug 30, 2004

• #6

jeff1414 said:

I guess I will just try that out and see if I see something.

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Let me know what you find bro... This isn't the worse thing that could happen to your pony. I even have pictures of my install that I did if you need something to look at.

 

jeff1414

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Jun 19, 2003

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Aug 30, 2004

#7

• Aug 30, 2004

• #7

Yeh I went out and did that and I didn't find anything squirting out could it be leaking from somewhere esle?

 

GDawg

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Mar 22, 2002

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Aug 31, 2004

#8

• Aug 31, 2004

• #8

Is there coolant in the valley between the heads or is it all on the ground? There is a tube that runs down the valley from the water pump to the firewall. It may be leaking at the firewall if you're only finding it on the ground. Mine did that too. That's a little harder to see. You'd have to rev the engine and watch it drip down from below. Wear goggles if you get under the car while doing that. And of course be really careful.

 

S

shewitt

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Aug 18, 2003

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Newnan GA

Sep 4, 2004

#9

• Sep 4, 2004

• #9

I had this prob it was leaking from my thermostat and running down the lower intake and finding its way to my clutch.

 

squares98

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Aug 20, 2004

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Orange,ca

Sep 4, 2004

#10

• Sep 4, 2004

• #10

coolant under manifold= Crack=new intake, hope it is still under warranty.

 

ChadS98GT

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Oct 22, 2001

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Parker, CO

Sep 4, 2004

#11

• Sep 4, 2004

• #11

squares98 said:

coolant under manifold= Crack=new intake, hope it is still under warranty.

Click to expand...

Ditto...

I would look harder....it's leaking from somewhere....mine was leaking behind the altenator.

How high did you rev your car when you were looking?? I had to rev mine to at least 3-4 grand...when I was sitting in the garage I couldn't get it to spray...so I took it for a ride around the block (with the hood off) and got on it....got spray all over the windshield so I knew I had a leak...once I did that I saw where it was coming from...

gl...and check out this thread...and make your vote

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=461523