2002 4.6L Intake after 199k

[jk7294]

Hi All,
Here is what I found with my 2002 4.6L intake manifold after 199k miles. It had been losing coolant for a few years, but after it got really bad I finally put a new Dorman intake on it. Here are the pictures of what I found. I removed the coolant runner off the front to show the blown seals and the plastic and foam insulation ( I guess that is what it is) had completely deteriorated and fallen off the manifold. The manifold swap was not that difficult, it just took a bit of time and no fancy tools. The strange part was that there was no obvious leak.. I guess it was just steaming out. There was never any antifreeze leaking that you would see.
If you have a mystery coolant loss this may be your issue. I was afraid it was a head gasket. By the way the Dorman replacement does not come with this insulation stuff and uses O-rings to seal the manifold instead of the gaskets that Ford uses. Very nice improvement.

 

[IPcamper]

The Dorman replacement is nice with the o-rings for installing, but it has an extra coolant port on the rear which the explorer does not use. The rubber cap and spring clamp that comes with the replacement often fail! Some recommend filling the port with RTV sealant before installation , but I sealed mine with a short piece of hose and a steel plug in the end of the hose, along with two screw clamps to ensure it does not come off or leak.

 

[Wakeboardrb]

I did the dorman intake on my 04 Mountaineer 4.6 last summer before I sold the truck. It started out as coolant loss when I was coming back from the outer banks earlier in the season. By the time I got home the check gauge light went off and I was overheating pretty bad. Filled it up and a month later it had lost enough to overheat.

I figured it was just a small coolant leak, but eventually the leak on the side of the intake manifold was so bad that it filled up the spark plug wells and shorted out a few of my coil packs. I was driving home one day and the truck started running incredibly rough.

Took me a few hours to do the work, but I accidentally put too much pressure on the EGR tube and broke it when I was putting the throttle body back on. It took me two days to get the new tube at a cost of $35 and the adapter was $40 (ridiculous) from ford parts department. I threw some cheap coil packs from amazon in it and then sold the truck 2 months later.

 

[Wakeboardrb]

The Dorman replacement is nice with the o-rings for installing, but it has an extra coolant port on the rear which the explorer does not use. The rubber cap and spring clamp that comes with the replacement often fail! Some recommend filling the port with RTV sealant before installation , but I sealed mine with a short piece of hose and a steel plug in the end of the hose, along with two screw clamps to ensure it does not come off or leak.

I filled mine slam full of high temp RTV, put the rubber cap back on and put a hose clamp on it. There's no way it will blow and hopefully it doesnt. I sold the truck to my fiance's boss so if it does, I'll hear about it.

 

[SyberTiger]

HERE is how I dealt with the rear coolant port on the Dorman intake manifold.