Well it looks like my intake finally cracked. Not blowing smoke or anything (yet anyways), but noticed a coolant smell and sure enough, it's leaking a little right below the T-stat housing. Lovely timing by the way. One question, is it absolutely necessary to remove the alternator to replace the intake, or do I just need to remove the bracket? I really don't want to have to deal with taking the supercharger belt off and such. Oh well. Hopefully now I can get the wife to let me get another car sooner than later now so I don't have to rush ordering and isntalling the new intake.

 

order an HPS 4.6 intake.

no you don't have to pull the alternator. LMK if you need a hand. Should take us about a hour.

 

Good stuff. I'll let you know. Probably won't go with the HPS intake right now cause I don't think I can sell my wife on that.

 

Thats where mine cracked. From the top of the thermostat housing and about half inch down towards the bottom.

HPS is nice piece but the price tag is steep. I would of gone with it if I werent in such a pinch last year.

 

Any gaskets you guys recommend? Should I just get stock one's through Ford or get some at like Kragen or something?

 

go to kragen or monument. WAY cheaper than ford.

 

Alright, got everything put back on and just need to double check and make sure everything is connect properly. Would it be a smart thing to change the oil? Not sure if I'll have a problem with coolant getting into the oil or not.

 

I changed mine after wards but I dont think it is necessary. I only changed mine because my motor overheated a couple times because I didnt know my intake cracked. So I inadvertently cooked my oil.

Did your coolant passages on the heads show any signs of corrosion? My T-stat housing was pretty corroded so I threw on some extra RTV sealant to be sure I got a good seal.

 

No the runners seemed to look fine for a car with 140,000 miles on it. Not corroded or anything. The T-stat housing had a little corrosion, but I cleaned all that crap off and the o-ring was in good shape. The day I noticed the syrupy coolant smell I stopped driving the car. Didn't lose too much coolant.

Now I'm just debating if I should change the oil or not just as piece of mind. Damn cars are a pain.