coolant leak from intake

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Mark G

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Has anyone had an issue w coolant leaking from intake
Not into the motor but the ground.
2001 5.4 .
I was told the intake is plastic and a known issue. 175K on engine
 

ExplorerTom

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Yep. Almost 99% positive it’s your coolant crossover tube. It split the plastic intake and is leaking coolant. Super common issue. Happened twice to my 2000. If you can buy the Motorcraft intake, do it. My Dorman intake lasted like 40k miles.

Also possible that it’s your intake gasket. But either way, I’d replace everything. If the intake hasn’t cracked, it’s about to.
 

Hamfisted

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It would be great to pressure test the cooling system with the engine off so you can get an exact location of the leak. A lot of times its the crossover gasket, but you still have to pull the intake manifold off to access the retaining bolts for it.
In the end, if you do need a new intake manifold you can still get the Ford part, but they're getting scarce.


Ford Expedition Intake Manifold 2L1Z-9424-AA
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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On the older all-plastic intakes, cracks were common. The one on my Crown Vic cracked twice. On my 3rd gen Expedition, the intake is partially metal so I thought" Hey, one less problem to worry about." And then the intake gasket blew out. Fun times, Ford. Fun times.
 

dcsang

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The coolant crossover gasket was the culprit when I experienced a similar leak. I purchased both gaskets but the driver's side was the problem and only required removal of the thermostat and alternator for access. It appeared that intake removal was needed for the passenger's side so I decided to leave it intact.

A pressure test will reveal the cause as previously noted.

EDIT: This comment was specific to a 3rd Gen.
 
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zfifty

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My 2002 Expo (ole blu), had a made in China aftermarket intake manifold when I purchased it. It was leaking and I replaced it last year with a new OEM intake manifold from the Ford dealer and a Fel-Pro MS98008T3 Intake Manifold Gasket Set. Go OEM Motorcraft, as recommended. The aftermarket Dorman is, made in China, unreliable and uses self tapping screws for mounting brackets and components instead of original machine bolts. The Dorman intake also uses integrated O-rings instead of traditional gaskets as the OEM does for the cylinder head,
I negotiated a price with the dealer for the OEM intake that was not much more than the aftermarket intake.
20201218_124952
Made In China aftermarket Intake
 
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