1998 into 2000 5.0 Swap: Sandbox 2.000 Goes V8

[410Fortune]

There are two egr setups the gt40 with internal egr passages and the gt40p with the egr line on passenger manifold

However there were 3 upper and lower intake combos

I believe you will find your egr passage ends at the elbow. Later they finally ended it at the upper intake

It should dead end here at the gasket

 

[97Sandbox]

Ah okay. I'm surprised there's so much carbon in the intake holes if it dead ends at the elbow and nothing ever flowed through. But yeah, it looks like there's nowhere in the elbow for the gas to flow through.

 

[410Fortune]

You will find a bunch of black soot at the end of the egr orifice at the throttle body elbow gasket

Some who have come before you have tapped and plugged the hole at the lower intake in and effort to keep the heat out of the upper plenum. A good spacer with no egr hole in spacer and gasket can do the same thing. So does the 99-01 upper intake because it has no hole in the middle

Crazy ford and their mid year changes keep us on our toes!! I
Mean the 5.0 explorer was only a thing for 6
Production years and there are 3 different upper and lower intake combos?? Crazy

 

[97Sandbox]

Yeah this 97.5/98 is full of anomalies. I'll probably just leave it as is, I'm not sure it's worth buying a newer intake just to get rid of the hole. I can't imagine much additional heat gets transferred if the exhaust gas isn't actually flowing through.

 

[410Fortune]

Exactly!!!!! Blamo!!
Besides a small spacer even 1/2” will stop the heat soak transfer into the upper plenum and it can plug that hole. Easy cheap solution