new lower intake gaskets? Any other parts/repairs? thanks,kurt

 

JoeVR5, Another place to check for a slow leak is the vacuum operated heater control valve. It is inline on the hoses from the radiator to the heater. On my '96 I have replaced it 3 times. Two times it was leaking past the around the diaphram portion. This last summer it came apart at the seam. The two replacements that failed were from autozone and pep boys. The one that blew in half was from ford. The all had the same part # on them and looked the same.

 

Hello
Im a new member here and have a 98 4.0L 4x4 with a leaking intake manifold and i'm trying to get the Link that Rockledge has posted in 2004, but keep getting Error Has the Link changed address? please help
Richard

 

You should be able to download the PDF file from this link:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/a...5&d=1545355722

 

Thanks Rockledge
Link worked just fine , and will continue on the teardown tomorrow with the aid of your PDF.
Richard

 

Glad to help. Good luck with the repair. Let us know how it goes.

 

Hey Rockledge. Question on the issue of intake gasket coolant leaks. Would a failed intake gasket cause the engine to be difficult to start in the first place? Then once started for it to run at 4 grand and have no brakes. This is after I replaced the radiator because it was cracked. Once I shut the engine off there was massive amounts of coolant everywhere and it was bubbling into the overflow tank.

 

Maybe. Coolant can leak into one or more cylinders when it sits overnight, say, which might lead to a difficult start. Mine would start OK but run rough for 20-30 seconds until the the coolant was burned out.

 

My Lower Intake gasket leak is now fixed.Thanks go out to Rockledge for his very helpful PDF detailing this job it helped give me the confidence for this teardown.I also thankful for taking a lot of photos as parts came off, to later guide me in the assembly.
I bought this 98 Ranger 15 months ago with 175K on it and noticed with the first oil filter change that the filter was filthy on the outside (like it was unscrewed to drain oil and tightened again).I hindsight that was probably the sign the gasket was leaking.Well at 190K the coolant all of a sudden decided to just pour out at the rear passenger side of the motor. This was difficult locate at first,initially coolant looked like it was coming out of the Bell housing driver side of the Auto Transmission dripping off a wiring plug.After getting a mirror and flashlight i was able get behind the back of motor is see coolant pouring out!
I took a lot of photos during parts removal especially all of those Vacuum hoses and wiring routings.Getting all of the wire connectors off was harder than any wrenching.
I bought the Fel Pro gasket kit that came with Lower,Upper,Value covers, and fuel rail which I didn't replace.The Lower intake was a two piece gasket,looked good.
Got everything back together,started it up and it ran awful.Shut motor off and gave a visual check and found two Vac lines i forgot.Started it up again and motor ran great but had CEL on.Unplugging battery would clear code,and drove but code would come back after restart.Turned out to be Cam positioning sensor code.Great,did I damage that during my Intake gasket repair,thoughts of why didn't I bring truck to Pro to work on spun in my head.
So back to the rear of motor I go,putting my fingers onto the Cam sensor connector,it pops off,greatI plug it in firmly,It locks.Trucks running great now, no CEL and even Auto transmission is sifting better.

 

Good to hear your Ranger is back on the road.

IIRC someone posted a while back that they experienced a similar type of leak in the same area, the coolant was literally spraying out.

It's not that uncommon to overlook a few wire harness and hose connectors when buttoning things back up (it has happened to me more than once). It makes for some anxious moments when you first fire up the engine again...

 

my truck in the past has gotten some work done mostly by me. i had an overheating issue tied to me not paying attention when replacing a thermostat. blew head gasket, replaced said gasket along with the head. i did mess up the first time i replaced the lower intake gasket but got it right the second time. now im loosing coolant and oil, as far as i can tell its being burned. im replacing a 3/4 to a gallon of collant every 4-5 weeks, and a quart or two of oil every 5-6 weeks. im thinking its either a bad seal around the valves or the head gasket again. ive done a top off of fluids after i let the truck sit for about 45 minutes, the coolant system is still pressurized. so im wondering if the coolant and oil are leaking into a valve. on cold days below 40 the truck has a short rough idle before revving up and smoothing out. i do notice a lack of power. so im wondering if i should tear it down to both heads or bet on the lower intake being the problem. after reading through this i know i used a one piece lower intake gasket, so what do you all think?

 

Depending on how bad the overheating situation was, you have to consider the possibility of a warped or cracked head.

 

I have an other wise well maintained 96 explorer 4.0 ohv and the idle is acceptable but isn't perfect, make a bit of a vac noise (I believe ) but no codes. Propane was inconclusive, but I'm afraid to let more out. Also the leak may be very tiny.

Fuel Trims are in the 15s, both sides equal, not ready for a light yet. Going to try the upper intake gaskets first, the Ford part was a few bucks from an Ebay dealer.

96 coil packs are mounted on a stout steel bracket that wraps around the pass valve cover and is bolted into the exhaust manifold and somewhere on the lower intake. They surely didn't want that getting away. The exhaust bolt is seized, may end up cutting the bracket, but I don't think the LIM gasket is needed yet.

Also, if you have a leak double check your freeze plugs. You don't want to go thru all that work for nothing, I investigated everything because of that exhaust bolt. The age these trucks are a rusty freeze plug is very possible.

I used a special copper freeze plug with a bolt to repair one that couldn't be tapped in (passenger back). Tried some tools and the angle was just a bit too much, maybe if the UCA was out.
I was a few dollars at NAPA, I think it was 1 1/2" but it was a few months ago. This is pretty much how they work. I don't like the rubber ones. 7K miles and all is well so far.

Core Plug for emergency use

 

sorry it took my long to reply, when i originally did the job i replaced the head, unless the other side is cracked. i did a compression test and was getting a very consistant 180 psi from from all cylinders exept for the foremost driver side, but i know i couldnt get the adapter snugged all the way down plus it was within the % limits. would a one piece or two piece gasket be better?

 

Just wanted to pass on info on my 2000 Ranger 4.0L.

I had to replace both of my cylinder heads and used heads with new Castings. Found out that they are .015" taller than the original heads and the Lower intake does not mate correctly with the heads. I have no vacuum or coolant leaks but it is leaking oil from around the front of the intake (where you apply the RTV) and I am using the Felpro 2 piece gaskets. I am going to try the 1 piece and see if it stops the leak, If not, I know I will have to have the intake manifold machined to match the new heads.

Also, a helpful hint is if you see bubbles in your coolant reservoir, you have a blown head gasket for sure! Also, the heater control valve is prone to failure and causing a leak. Mine showed up as bad when I went to Max AC and had coolant coming out of it!