found a coolant leak. is it my intake?

fiveoho · Aug 9, 2008

i figured this was coming sooner or later. started the 99 today and after it got up to operating temp, i could smell a hint of coolant. took me a while to find it but i found a very small pool of what appears to be coolant under the lower intake, between the heads, behind the water pump. is this a common place for these intakes to drip? does it crack underneath?

dumb question here but there is 2 parts to the intake a PI 4.6 right - upper and lower? if so, how do i replace the lower if thats whats leaking? everything in summit shows the top portion of the intake....or maybe thats all i need?

i found two intakes. one is a Dorman the other is Ford Racing. i much rather have the FR because in the description it says the base material is aluminum. the Dorman says hard plastic.

Dorman 615-175 - Dorman Intake Manifolds - summitracing.com

Ford Racing M-9424-P46 - Ford Racing 4.6L Performance Improvement Intake Manifolds - summitracing.com

now, do both of these already have the upgraded aluminum crossover that i want ?

one has the EGR ( dorman ) and the other ( fr ) does not....do i need that?

heres a pic i attached from my cell of where the leak is. its hard to tell from the pic, but the small amount of coolant is where im shining the light.

thanks for any help

View attachment 308398

Orange... · Aug 9, 2008

from where it seems the leak is, Id say it's the intake, or the coolant tube under the intake, which is not known to go very often.

I'd say yes get the intake with the EGR capabilities............... Wait I just looked and yes either of those intakes will be fine. They are both PI intakes. Both have the Aluminum crossovers. And neither will be at all involved with the egr. That will be run off of the plenum

The intake (for information nessesary to this thread) is one peice.

Hope this helps.

98E9GT · Aug 9, 2008

I would go ahead and 2nd the intake leaking. I actually just did my PI intake swap today, I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

forum155pl · Aug 9, 2008

i would say intake gasket or therm gasket.. them alum. intakes almost never crack so dont worry too much..

forum155pl · Aug 9, 2008

oh wow nevermind its a plastic intake from the pic view i see.. track down that leak.. rev up your motor with your head under the hood and check it out..

mr-mike · Aug 9, 2008

do it yourself

did my 99 a while back , its easy almost all the bolts are the same size used a 1/4 drive set , ordered the manifold off e-bay , the gasket comes already installed , clean the heads good used that plastic scouring pads , used a wet vac to suck up everything that may be in the heads & under the maifold it was filthy had 100,000 , plugged the openings so nothing falls into the engine , torque gently I think it was 14 lbs do a star type torque ..... the replacement manifold was better than fords as the gasket is already installed so no chance for slipping , the alternator bracket had to be cut on one side as its a universal manifold ...... put about 40,000 no leaks no prblems ......job took 3 hours taking time having a beer & eating lunch ..... pretty easy had my son helping me .... Ford wanted $700 for the part & $70 or $90 an hour dont remember I was so mad because they should have fixed it most everyone goes bad .... the replacement has the front part that cracks made out aluminum .... good luck its pretty easy just go slow & use that wet vac you will see all the junk that will be there.......

deftsound · Aug 9, 2008

ford fixed mine for free, last year was the last year you could have gotten the intake replaced free

definately the intake, id get an ebay one and do it yourself, shouldn't be too hard

98E9GT · Aug 9, 2008

That is where I got my intake, EBAY, paid 114 with shipping, came with gaskets too.

found a coolant leak. is it my intake?

fiveoho

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