2004 5.4L Intake Leak
 

So, should I be worried about the leaking that I'm seeing on the passenger side of the crossover on my intake manifold? Its certainly a slow leak at this point. I don't ever smell antifreeze or see any green fluid anywhere. Just the white crusty looking stuff you see in the pics. I do see a slightly larger collection of white crusty stuff under the intake. Maybe the size of a quarter.

I have two thoughts on this....

1 -- I'm gonna be doing spark plugs this spring and I could replace the o-rings while I have it partway tore apart anyway.

or, 2 -- Its a really slow leak so don't screw with it because I might risk causing a worse problem trying to fix something that isn't that bad.

Anybody care to try to convince me one way or the other? :-huh

What you see is the total amount of leakage to date. I first noticed the white crusty stuff about a year ago........
http://www.frontiernet.net/%7Ejray77...akeLeak-01.JPG

http://www.frontiernet.net/%7Ejray77...akeLeak-02.JPG

HI
I will said don't worry I got 2000 with 246656 miles on with the same "leak" no problem. Also I live in FL. It shut be ok!

Thanks for the info, that's good to know

Hope I can get 246k miles outta mine!

i've been through 2 intakes and 3 gaskets...maybe i shoulda just let it be...lol

So yours was leaking the same way mine is? Do you have a theory on why you went through all those parts? Just couldn't get them to seal? Poorly built replacement intakes?

Were you able to get it sealed?

250k holy **** I hope and pray

wash it off and monitor. If you don't notice any creeping then I would leave it alone. Don't play with fire.

I would leave it alone for now, and not even wash it off. This is my opinion, but sometimes if the leak is so small, where there is such a small amount of pressure behind it, there are times that crusty stuff can help to keep it from leaking. Washing it away, might get it to leaking even more.

I don't know how much you tow. Usually under heavy loads or stress the engine gets hotter then normal operator temps. That might be when the engine gets hot enough for the heat to have its effect of the manifold. I would check it daily, especially right after to turn off the engine, and see if you can see anything fresh. These are my thoughts, and I hope you can get it solved.

Thanks guys.

I've actually already cleaned it off to monitor how many miles it takes it to get "crusty" again. I think I will just let it ride unless I it gets that way again quickly.

After reading up on replacing the spark plugs, I don't think I'm going to be in deep enough to justify that as the reason to go ahead with the intake.

I don't tow much at all. Probably only 6 or 8 times since I bought the truck over three years ago. I do pull mountains fairly regularly and the temps get up slightly. Maybe I'll stop on top on a hot day this summer and see if anything's going on under there.

I think I would check tightness on the bolts involved. They could be loose.

The only problem with that is you can only get to the one on the front corner with the intake in place. They go in from the bottom side. I think there's three bolts per side on the crossover tube.

The gasket is one piece on each side of the intake, and you need to be carefull trying to tighten up the bolts you can over tourque them and cause it to leak more. One danger to not fixing the leak is that the leak tends to eat away at the aluminium on the heads and the intake manifold. That can get expensive real fast. It is a real common repair on all brands of vehicles. Let it go and a simple repair can get expensive real fast.

Interesting, I never thought about that. I have heard that these plastic intake manifolds are only good for so many miles. In your opinion would you replace the intake manifold, or try to fix it with the intake he already has. I'm curious, because I would like to know in case it starts happening to me. I hate these plastic intake manifolds.

Well, its only been a few weeks and about 300 miles but yesterday I took a pretty decent trip from here over to VA via Rt 250 (over) and Rt 33 (back) meaning I had to cross about 10 mountains total (there and back). So, I was pushing her pretty good.

This morning I looked and saw a small amount of wetness, kinda like what's shown in the first picture in my first post.

The jury's still out on whether or not I want to screw with it in the near term.

Decisions decisions......

wait till warmer whether and then do the job.