Changing my intake manifold gaskets on my o3 4.6 have a few questions

[wesalexleft]

Just a follow up...I ended up ordering mine from Tousley Ford Parts at around 188.00 that was vehicle specific. I wanted to be sure all would be good. I "think" the Mountys have a tap on the coolant crossover for rear heat that the Dorman may not have. Anyway. A very relaxing repair in the garage took all of Saturday and part of Sunday, but I took breaks, worked really slowly, watched movies along the way, so all was well. There is nothing really complicated about it, just time consuming and steps. My only hiccup was releasing the belt tension to remove the alternator as my breaker bar and socket "just barely" fit behind the fan.

 

[yglide123]

did we ever figure out the original question to this thread: what the foam surround of the original ford intake manifold does? I am replacing mine with the Dorman part right now (which did not come with it) and am unsure as to whether I should put it on the new intake manifold or not.... I'm guessing it's a heat shield or something - but the dorman part appears to have vents on the top (ie areas that are not filled with plastic like the ford one) where the original ford part does not.

Instructions say to place all extra parts from the old manifold onto the new one, so I am assuming I should probably re-use it...

 

[esclamada]

My best guess is that Ford engineers are not so confident about the plastic material and added foam insulation. This is way cheaper than using aluminum (or any metal) I have been using the Dorman intake manifold without the foam insulation and see no issues with that. Either Dorman went really cheap or has a better plastic material than Ford.


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MY MOUNTY
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[yglide123]

I just checked with Dorman: the foam is a sound guard and is not needed with the new part. It supposedly doesn't even work with the new part and will have trouble bolting in.... (no wonder I was having issues getting it all back in under the EGR). Anyway - hope that helps someone in the future.