ive got a 1991 ranger 4.0 L i pulled the #5 spark plug off and found a lot of whiteish crystalline deposits on it. from what ive read thats probably antifreeze and i am loosing antifreeze right now at a small rate. i also read that these engines were bad for the lower intake manifold to come loose over time. my question is: what has to be removed in order to get to the lower manifold bolts. i want to try to simply retorqe them first and see if that does anything before i change out the gasket

 

I choose to tighten the bolts with everything in place. 5 of the 8 are real easy to get to. One (driver's side front) requires a wobble extension or the like to get to (because of the upper intake). The most difficult ones are the passenger front (because of the thermostat housing and the fuel injector) and the driver's rear (because of the upper intake and the firewall) but they can be done with some creativity. That's how I do it.
Of course, if you want to remove the upper intake to make it easier, it's not a difficult task to do. I say it's up to you how you want to do it.