Coolant leak ( intake )

[Shawn 1980]

Good morning, so I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this type of coolant leak at the rear passenger side intake, it's leaking at the bolt right beside the intake tube for heater core. So there are new intake gaskets that were installed when i put the new heads and intake on im just curious to know if anyone out there had this issue before?

Thanks.

 

[Joeminnesota]

Yes - In my case on the DS rear corner after cleaning, new gaskets and sealant. These POS intakes are riddled with leak issues. After I got robbed for the better FelPro rubber-steel gaskets, now mine is sealed on the heads but leaking under pressure where the crossover mates with the plastic intake below the thermostat. I had also already replaced those seals but the original plastic was eroded. My plan is to tear apart again and repair that plastic area by rebuilding with fiberglass and reshaping the area. Your problem may be pitting on the underside of the intake back in that corner. You could pull it, clean it and coat the intake and head surface with some ultra black before reassembly. Ford engineering should be sh-t for their horse crap design, and these intakes are no longer produced as of last year, so new replacements aren’t an option w/exception of a subpar Dorman knock-off.

 

[Shawn 1980]

Yes - In my case on the DS rear corner after cleaning, new gaskets and sealant. These POS intakes are riddled with leak issues. After I got robbed for the better FelPro rubber-steel gaskets, now mine is sealed on the heads but leaking under pressure where the crossover mates with the plastic intake below the thermostat. I had also already replaced those seals but the original plastic was eroded. My plan is to tear apart again and repair that plastic area by rebuilding with fiberglass and reshaping the area. Your problem may be pitting on the underside of the intake back in that corner. You could pull it, clean it and coat the intake and head surface with some ultra black before reassembly. Ford engineering should be sh-t for their horse crap design, and these intakes are no longer produced as of last year, so new replacements aren’t an option w/exception of a subpar Dorman

Yes - In my case on the DS rear corner after cleaning, new gaskets and sealant. These POS intakes are riddled with leak issues. After I got robbed for the better FelPro rubber-steel gaskets, now mine is sealed on the heads but leaking under pressure where the crossover mates with the plastic intake below the thermostat. I had also already replaced those seals but the original plastic was eroded. My plan is to tear apart again and repair that plastic area by rebuilding with fiberglass and reshaping the area. Your problem may be pitting on the underside of the intake back in that corner. You could pull it, clean it and coat the intake and head surface with some ultra black before reassembly. Ford engineering should be sh-t for their horse crap design, and these intakes are no longer produced as of last year, so new replacements aren’t an option w/exception of a subpar Dorman knock-off.

Ya definitely no pitting on intake as it was practically new ford replacement when I installed it, and heads were completely refreshed at the machine shop. I'm hoping it was just a defective intake gasket, will be tearing it apart this weekend to hopefully find the source of this issue.

Thanks.

 

[Joeminnesota]

Ya definitely no pitting on intake as it was practically new ford replacement when I installed it, and heads were completely refreshed at the machine shop. I'm hoping it was just a defective intake gasket, will be tearing it apart this weekend to hopefully find the source of this issue.

Thanks.

I know everyone says no sealant, but I used a thin layer (smeared - not a bead) of black on the head and on the intake surfaces on my last install (at the water ports) and sealed nicely.

 

[96blak54]

Naw, you called it correct! I use a smear of rtv as well between head and intake gasket. The age and use has caused erosion around the water ports. I typically take sandpaper and try to smooth out the electrolysis erosion around the water ports before smearing the rtv, but also its super important to use the felpro / ford oem intake gaskets for the ford pi manifold. Ive beat this info like a drum, but ill beat it a little more. The oem pi intake design needs a thicker intake gasket and it seems that felpro and ford oem are the only ones that produce the correct gasket thickness. We proved this at the job i had where the pi manifolds were made.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I've repaired electrolysis erosion by using JB weld. Clean the area, fill in the pits, and then carefully sand flush. I've managed to repair a few bad spots to the point where I felt i didn't need any additional RTV to help with sealing, however i did end up using coolant-safe RTV around the water ports with a fel-pro gasket just to rule out leaks. None visually externally that I can see.

 

[Shawn 1980]

Thanks for the input, I would be shocked if there was pitting or corrosion as the motor was just rebuild, new gaskets, seals, frost plugs etc etc and literally driven for about 25min then I noticed a small spot on the floor the following day and then traced it to the bolt on the intake manifold