The intake manifold on my Crown Vic has been leaking on the rear driver side of the intake manifold for a while now. It's an external leak and, for the longest time, was very small and only when the engine was cold. Over the course of a year it had leaked less than half a gallon. That was low enough to not really worry about, and the coolant would evaporate before it hit the ground.
That leak has now gotten quite a bit worse, with the added mileage and hours being put on the engine. Over the past 3 months, about a gallon has Leaked from the same spot on the intake manifold. So it's time to do something about it.
Here's the dilemma. The aftermarket replacement manifolds are known to be cheaply made junk. I refuse to use an intake that comes with self tapping screws to mount the fuel rail onto the intake. Ford has the OEM replacement on a possibly permanent backorder. There are some used all-aluminum replacements on ebay that are running $1000. I thought I found an OEM Ford manifold on ebay a week ago for around $250, but apparently all the sellers are just order takers who place those orders with the OEM for drop shipments.
Anybody have an intake manifold stashed away?
I know this is more of a rant than anything, but seriously...I thought the 4.6 was popular enough that there'd be some sort of viable parts source. Should I just throw some k seal in and hope it slows the leak? I cringe even typing that.
That leak has now gotten quite a bit worse, with the added mileage and hours being put on the engine. Over the past 3 months, about a gallon has Leaked from the same spot on the intake manifold. So it's time to do something about it.
Here's the dilemma. The aftermarket replacement manifolds are known to be cheaply made junk. I refuse to use an intake that comes with self tapping screws to mount the fuel rail onto the intake. Ford has the OEM replacement on a possibly permanent backorder. There are some used all-aluminum replacements on ebay that are running $1000. I thought I found an OEM Ford manifold on ebay a week ago for around $250, but apparently all the sellers are just order takers who place those orders with the OEM for drop shipments.
Anybody have an intake manifold stashed away?
I know this is more of a rant than anything, but seriously...I thought the 4.6 was popular enough that there'd be some sort of viable parts source. Should I just throw some k seal in and hope it slows the leak? I cringe even typing that.