Lower Intake Manifold Leaking again on 92 XLT | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Lower Intake Manifold Leaking again on 92 XLT

hoovito

New Member
Joined
February 19, 2003
Messages
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City, State
Boise, Idaho
Year, Model & Trim Level
92 XLT 4X4
Just under three months ago I replaced the lower intake manifold gasket for high start idle and leaking coolant. I have checked it about every month since the week of the repair and haven't seen any coolant puddles in the wells between the injectors on the passenger side.

Now after a cold snap here in Boise, ID the leak is back!!! I have puddles again and I can see where it is leaking out between the manifold and the head(same side and area as before).

I did alot of searching & reading on this forum in preparation for the repair. I used the good metal/rubber Ford gaskets. I also applied gasket sealant as indicated on this forum and Haynes manual. I torqued parts as per manual. I also had the help of someone who has rebuilt several engines. And today, I checked the lower intake bolts and they are tight. In short I did everything to the letter so as not to have to do it again.

So, what gives? What can I do? Is it going to seal up when it warms up? Is there a better gasket than the Ford one? Do I need to resurface the head on that side and/or the manifold? How can I get it to seal?? Or more importanly, STAY SEALED??

This is very frustrating!!! After spending the time and money and being right back where I was before.
 



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ANybody out there???????????????????
 






Perhaps the bolts/studs have stretched ?
 






Let me first say thanks for responding.

If the bolts/studs have streached wouldn't they be loose??. I have checked all bolts and the two nuts/studs and they are tight.

If anybody else has ideas/opinions they would be appreciated very much.

Thanks
 






Are you absolutely sure that it's leaking out the gasket seal? (i.e. what about the freeze plug?)
 






Thanks, for the suggestion but the leak is up on top of the engine where the passenger side head, lower intake manifold and valve cover meet. It is no where near the frezze plugs.

JB
 






a stab in the dark. I thought perhaps with the change in temps maybe a single one would be looser/tighter, making the others ave a gap ... Just a random thought ...
 






If you did everythimg right including retorquing a few weeks later then I would say that something is warped
OR cracked!
 






I too replaced the manifold gasket. I do believe your problem is with stretched bolts. The are not to be retorqued but replaced. I tried to torque the old bolts to 192 in lbs and snapped one off.
 






Did you replace the stretch bolts? If not they are giving you incorrect torque readings.
 






Did you replace the bolts? Is the problem gone?

I've got a similar leak in my '91 xlt and as I get ready to take the manifold apart, I'm just wondering if you found a solution to your leaking problem? I really don't want to do this job again!

Also, the Haynes book mentions nothing about taking off the spark plug wire distribution block. That has to come off for the upper intake manifold to be removed right? any tricks or pitfalls to avoid?

Thanks,

Chad
 






when applying silicone make sure there is absolutly no greese on the surface of what you are trying to seal greese is the enemy of silocone gaskets
 






OK, that's good advice. I got the uppeer manifold off before I had to knock off for the evening. Looks like it should go ok. thanks.
 






Hi Caliber Exp said:
OK, that's good advice. I got the uppeer manifold off before I had to knock off for the evening. Looks like it should go ok. thanks.

Good job. I was going to say, that on my 1st gen truck, I did not have to remove the ignition block aka coil pack to get the upper manifold off. There was JUST enough room there to leave it.
 






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