I found a leak today on my 2001 Ford F150 Super Crew, 5.4 engine. In the picture, it was leaking to the right of the spark plug, behind the hose. It was bubbling up from the metal. It hasn't been overheating except when I got home and idled with the AC on. Any ideas what I'm facing?

 

Just realized I forgot to say what vehicle. Sorry. Edited in OP.

 

The picture seems to be of a fuel injector.


Are you losing any coolant?

 

It's a spark plug. It's the bar that sits on top of the spark plugs and coil packs. I am loosing coolant. I could just hear it when I stopped, but when I loosened the radiator cap it started bubbling up in the area below where that heater hose connects to the metal.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...d-on-5-4l.html

 

That picture is of a fuel injector.... the bar sitting on top of it is the fuel rail. Your coolant leak is at the coolant crossover (i.e. the metal part that the heater hose connects to). You'll need to remove the intake manifold and either repair or replace it.

 

Sorry for my fuel injector ignorance! Thanks for the info...Not good news. Is this a job I should tackle on my own? I usually do all of my own work, but I don't want to get in over my head. I dropped the tank and changed my fuel pump last year....a royal pain in the butt, but a success.

 

If you study the link above you should be able to gauge your ability to do the job

 

I think it's not a good thing that I can't even tell all the parts that I need from the posts!!! My brother-in-law is a diesel mechanic, so he might could help me. So am I right that I would need a new set of head gaskets and a flat gasket instead of the o-ring and epoxy? Do I also need to change out coil packs and spark plugs while there? I see 2 things: 1)At least a day of my life gone to get the job done. 2)I'm going to have to get my 87 F150 running well enough for DD.

 

intake manifold gaskets as opposed to head gaskets.

 

No head gaskets, you're not gonna get into the heads.

The intake manifold you have now is flat on the bottom and sits on 2 flat intake manifold gaskets, one on each bank of cylinders. If you do the epoxy fix to your current manifold, you'll probably want to replace those gaskets. I didn't do the epoxy fix. I bought a new Dorman intake manifold from Auto Zone for about $240. It had O-rings around each intake and water port, so the flat gaskets were not needed.

If your plugs haven't been changed in a while, this would be a good time to do it. I wouldn't worry about the coils if they aren't giving you trouble. I would replace the injector O-rings also (2 per injector).

 

So, I watched a couple of videos and I am much more confident at this point! I have it almost all the way torn down. I got all my parts from Amazon for less than 200 including the Dorman intake and spark plugs.

Now the problem...I am at the manifold and two of the bolts on the coil packs just spin round and round and never come out. I used the same method on them as the rest which came out fine. They are the two closest to where the leak was. Could that have something to do with it? What should I do?

Also, what is the best way for me to clean the throttle body, the EGR and the IAC while I have them off? Thanks!

The other problem is my own. I can't find my little tools to release the fuel lines. I really hate to go and buy another set. That will teach me to be more organized!

 

there are metal inserts inside the plastic manifold that the bolts screw into. Since you are not reusing the manifold, cut the bolt head off and slide the coil over the top of the stud.......... buy two new bolts.