Cracked Intake? (pix)

[Corbic]

Ok, so the other night, coolant light comes on. I get home, pop the hood and start browsing with the flash light. Car did not over heat, and I have a pool of coolant in the valley between the pistons, along with everywhere else.

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Is this a Cracked Intake, leaking hose somewhere, blown headgasket?

I poor some filtered water into the over-flow this morning to top it off, stayed cool, no coolant light, but after 20 mins of driving, I popped the hood and fresh coolant in that valley.

Car is a '96 4.6 GT, with ~120k miles.

What is a PI intake swap going to set me back? I see they are $200 from Ford, but I recall reading the swap runs for ~$1,500. I know you need new gaskets, hoses and altinator bracket, but that stuff ads up to $1,300?

 

[the98stang]

Ya, most likely a cracked intake manifold. If you had a blown head gasket, there would be coolant in the oil (making it "milky") and white smoke would poor out of your exhaust. And plus, the coolant in the pictures is located right where the intake manifold bolts up.

I would recommend a new aftermarket intake. It will cost about $600, but well worth it compared to the ****ty plastic intake Ford makes for $250-300.

PI heads, intake, gaskets etc should run you around $1500-2000 for parts. Labor would cost you at least another $1000 if you can't do the install yourself. I say skip the PI swap. Your engine would have very high compression, so a blower would be out of the question, if that's what you had planned for the future.

 

[COramprat]

The new intake will have an aluminum crossover. It fixes the problem of the old ones that cracked at the point where the thermostat housing is.

The swap will be about 300...all parts. If you take it for someone to do then the labor could run a grand. If you feel comfortable doing yourself you can save some cash. Search for "intake swap" and read through some threads to see if you want to handle it yourself.

 

[Robs96]

I know how loved Autozone is in here but, when I purchased my GT it had not had the upgraded intake on it and for $250 I purchased theirs and haven't had any problems with it. This was in fall of 2004 and mine leaked really bad so I had to replace in less than a month after buying the car. This is very easy to replace. If you do it yourself and need info, I will be glad to help.

 

[isjoining]

you can get the updated PI intake manifold and the alternator bracket for $200 at rpmoutlet.com thats where i got mine and installed it myself, not hard for a beginner. You might need new gaskets too.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Yeah, I would just go with Fords 01+ intake aluminum crossover.

 

[whyask]

Parkway performance has EVERYTHING you will need, when I had my 97' and blew my CRAPPY intake I got the whole PI kit for 1300 and change, best MOD EVERY on that body style and engine. what ever you do, good luck!

 

[1992 2.3LX]

the swap is easy. don't waste your timw ith the heads it's not worth the money.

Go PI if you like you will gain some power.

I picked up a NPI intake with aluminium crossover for $50. I slapped it on for the time being so I can drive it while I decide if I am going for a Kenne Bell or a 3v

 

[the98stang]

Yeah, I would just go with Fords 01+ intake aluminum crossover.

the "updated" intake is still a POS. Plastic FTL. I vote aftermarket.

 

[Arnolds97]

I did the PI manifold Swap for about 165.00 doing my own work to install it. It is not that hard really.

Just buy a used PI from someone here or on another Stang site classified section somewhere. All you have to do is buy the Manifold and the PI Gaskets which you just put a dab some Permatex Black in the corners to fix it to fit the NPI heads. Mine never leaked. You have to make sure you torque the bolts down with a Multi swath sequence. IN other words tighten them by going over them 3 times tightening them a little at time. There is some swapping you have to do with the Sensors. They look the same but they are not. They have chnge them since the PI motor chagne over. You may have to tap the the Aluminum coolant crossover since the older ,like my 97, had two sensors and the new one has one. There is a spot for it however that they put in the casting. Tap and Drill Bit were about 25.00 to do this. Also you have to Change the Coolant line under the manifold and cut the old nipple on the front or drive it out and replace it with the PI Nipple. INcidently I have one if you want it free. I still have it because I could not drive mine out so I did the cut method. Do a search here and on Modulardepot.com for tutorials. This is a huge gain in performance for low dollars. Picked up allot of power above the dead point of 4500 r's when the NOn- PI heads poop out. Dynos have proven it to be a 15hp gain a the wheels! It is also done with all Ford Dealer parts. No aftermarket junk.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

PI heads, intake, gaskets etc should run you around $1500-2000 for parts. Labor would cost you at least another $1000 if you can't do the install yourself. I say skip the PI swap. Your engine would have very high compression, so a blower would be out of the question, if that's what you had planned for the future.

$1500-2000 is usually the price of a PI swap w/ labor. Unless you buy brand new everything