The other day I was headed to work and the ol expy started to hesitate a bit at highway speeds. Didn't think much of it, I was low on gas so maybe some bad gas or something. On the way home I put in a few bucks but the problem got worse, no time to work on it so let it go. Next day I took it to fill up in the morning with no hesitation but then noticed a big puddle of coolant under the truck (!!). Topped off with coolant and limped home keeping a very close eye on the temp but it never overheated. Checked it out later to find it's gushing coolant from the union of the coolant crossover and the manifold. So bad I can put my finger over it to stop it (not a long term solution especially once the engine gets hot ). It's so bad under high rpms that coolant sprays all over the injectors/coils and even the computer, which is why I'm getting the hesitation and misses.
Well - After I got home from a quick errand, I parked and smelled the odor of hot coolant. I investigated under the hood and the pictures I took of my '03 Expedition are identical to those of Al Steel
I called the shop and they sent a tow truck. They know all about the Ford manifold woes. But they will test and pressure check. If the quote to repair is too expensive, it may be time for me to go get a new one. ugh
I tried to open it up to see if there was a gasket, a cracked plastic riser or metal, or something and quickly saw that I was getting into a job that might be more than an hour or two fix. I did some searching and it is starting to look like the entire intake manifold will need to come off (WTF?!). A couple or questions here to that end.
1 - Could this be a gasket failure between the coolant crossover and the intake manifold?
2 - If it's not the gasket where does it likely fail, plastic manifold or old aluminum crossover pipe?
3 - Is this an easy fix or am I looking at tearing apart the intake and replacing it, the gasket, and or the pipe? Can someone direct me to an online procedure for this?
To save a few thousand words, here are some pics:
Crossover with heater hose removed. Notice coolant pooled everywhere.
View attachment 74153
This is where it's leaking.. back side of the crossover pipe, union of the pipe and manifold, dead center.
View attachment 74156
I knew I was in over my head when it started to look like the union wasn't a plastic riser, but part of the entire intake manifold. Plus I can't figure out how to remove this bolt (blurry screwdriver in lower frame points to it).
View attachment 74154
Wide shot to show how bad it is. Notice coolant pooled on top of coils and injectors.
View attachment 74155
Thoughts, suggestions, ideas? Strike a match and collect insurance?
Thanks!
UPDATE - Yeah that was fast... I just spoke with my neighbor, a Ford master mechanic and shop supervisor, and he confirmed that the manifold will have to go. Fun.. and he also suggested all the O-Rings, seals, and some other gotchas (like the EGR system connections) that I should be mindful of. Said it would be $1500-$2000 in labor if there were no issues + parts at the $tealership. Well I'm not spending that much. So I will probably tackle this myself. Will likely do a writeup with parts/tools list etc in another thread if it hasn't already been done. Any tips or links to "how-tos" are appreciated!
Well - After I got home from a quick errand, I parked and smelled the odor of hot coolant. I investigated under the hood and the pictures I took of my '03 Expedition are identical to those of Al Steel
I called the shop and they sent a tow truck. They know all about the Ford manifold woes. But they will test and pressure check. If the quote to repair is too expensive, it may be time for me to go get a new one. ugh