2008 P71 Crown Vic Intake Manifold Dilemma

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Bird's_Garage

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Nov 8, 2016
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The intake manifold on my Crown Vic has been leaking on the rear driver side of the intake manifold for a while now. It's an external leak and, for the longest time, was very small and only when the engine was cold. Over the course of a year it had leaked less than half a gallon. That was low enough to not really worry about, and the coolant would evaporate before it hit the ground.

That leak has now gotten quite a bit worse, with the added mileage and hours being put on the engine. Over the past 3 months, about a gallon has Leaked from the same spot on the intake manifold. So it's time to do something about it.

Here's the dilemma. The aftermarket replacement manifolds are known to be cheaply made junk. I refuse to use an intake that comes with self tapping screws to mount the fuel rail onto the intake. Ford has the OEM replacement on a possibly permanent backorder. There are some used all-aluminum replacements on ebay that are running $1000. I thought I found an OEM Ford manifold on ebay a week ago for around $250, but apparently all the sellers are just order takers who place those orders with the OEM for drop shipments.

Anybody have an intake manifold stashed away? 🤣

I know this is more of a rant than anything, but seriously...I thought the 4.6 was popular enough that there'd be some sort of viable parts source. Should I just throw some k seal in and hope it slows the leak? I cringe even typing that.
 
Interesting, you would think a good quality aftermarket replacement (for much less than $1000) would be easy to source for that engine. Scrapyards would probably want to sell the whole engine, but maybe you could find a good intake there?
 
First, if it's leaking coolant on the ground where animals can get it, it's a poison that needs to be fixed. Someones dog or cat or other animals will drink it and die.

Now to the costs and options. To my understanding this is about the only weakspot on the 4.6, 2v modular engine. It should have been aluminum but as it is it's a plastic that's good for about 15 years and 100,000 miles. You didn't say your mileage, but I'm guessing your car is around 12-22 years old, probably 150k miles or so. $1000 fix every 15 years/100,000 miles ain't a bad deal IMO. Aside from that that 4.6 is rated as one of the best ICE engines made.

Soak up the cost of the repair, it's probably about a grand. It needs to be done once, maybe twice, during the realistic life of the car. It's not the end of the world and other than throwing a plug (rare), that's about the only weakness to the design.

I do think Ford should have made an aluminum replacement but it is what it is. Good luck. Great platform. I see them everywhere and think they are an American icon.

Edit: Sorry, you did say in the title it's a 2008, so you're bang-on for a replacement. It's a 15 year part basically so I nailed the time. Don't know your mileage. But like I said, it's a 1 or 2 time fix in the life of the car. Best of luck.
 
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carviewsonic said:
Interesting, you would think a good quality aftermarket replacement (for much less than $1000) would be easy to source for that engine. Scrapyards would probably want to sell the whole engine, but maybe you could find a good intake there?
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Go with new IMO. Here, the labor exceeds the part value, so go with new.

The problem with the part is that age makes it brittle because it's plastic. It should be an aluminum part. The largest expense is going to be labor, not the part. I'd go new with such a part. I think the Mustang 4.6L might have an aluminum replacement manifold, but I sadly do not think they are compatible, but I am not sure. I would strongly look into a aluminum Mustang 4.6L replacement, but I don't think they mate up. Good luck OP.
 
I don't know what year your vehicle is, but Ford Parts Giant has them available for '01-'02 vehicles with PI cylinder heads. This can also be installed on '96-'00 vehicles with NPI heads, in fact it is a modification a lot of people do.

If that does not work, contact Chris at ADTR to see if he can source you a Ford Racing intake manifold, which is OE minus the price tag.
 
Falcon_LS said:
I don't know what year your vehicle is, but Ford Parts Giant has them available for '01-'02 vehicles with PI cylinder heads. This can also be installed on '96-'00 vehicles with NPI heads, in fact it is a modification a lot of people do.

If that does not work, contact Chris at ADTR to see if he can source you a Ford Racing intake manifold, which is OE minus the price tag.
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Mine is an 08. I don't trust Ford Parts Giant since I don't think the intake manifold you referenced is Ford OEM. The picture shows it has the o-ring intake gasket like the Dorman manifolds have. Also, the part number I need shows up as discontinued on their site. I've also had ADTR saved ahead of time in my bookmarks for the time when the intake manifold failed, but they are out of stock as well. I like ADTR but I think I'm starting to run into a parts availability and maybe even planned obsolescence issue.

I have thought about a used one from a salvage yard, but I doubt it would be worth the effort, since crown vics tend to have high mileage, high hours, and their age is getting up there. Used OEM plastic would only be a bandaid.

As far as the aluminum, there really arent any new ones out there. The company that was making them went out of business so only used ones are available. At $1000 I could buy another 4.6 and swap it in. So thats a tough justification for me.

For leadcounsel: I would love to buy a new OEM intake. But they are nowhere to be found at the moment. Hence the rant. The 2v 4.6 Mustangs have the same intake manifold as my Crown vic. The only aluminum ones are the ones I previously mentioned or an edelbrock aluminum one that would require more modification than I'd like to do. I think there was a special edition Bullitt manifold as well, but they are going for around $1000, if you can even find one. But they use a different throttle body and require more modification than I'm willing to do.

And the biggest expense IS going to be the part. I don't charge myself labor.
 
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I would install the best aftermarket manifold you can find to your liking. It likely will outlast your 2008. If your only gripe is the fastening method of the fuel rail, it can't be much worse than a pressed in brass insert found on the original. Your other option is to wait, seek and hope to find that OEM manifold at the end of the rainbow. As you know, they are discontinued and hopefully your Crown Vic won't turn into a rusted hulk while you continue your search.
 
I don't know if the Dorman intake manifolds are as bad as people make them out to be.

Are you sure it's not just a failed gasket at that coolant passage? They usually fail at the crossover in the front, not the back of the engine.
 
The self tapping screws are one issue and the example I chose to give. The intake runner design is of the NPI with PI ports so they're also known to be a downgrade in power. The intake gasket design is an inferior o-ring design, and the entire intake is cheaply made, according to what I've been told. I've never seen one in person. The power decrease is a big issue for me. Losing 20 or more horsepower in a big boat of a car is the opposite or what I want in a new intake manifold.

Also, it could be a bad intake manifold gasket, but with the number of heat cycles, it's usually not a question of if the intake will crack, but when. I'd hate to go through replacing the gasket, only to have to do it again. I currently have 200k miles on the original.

With the currently available options, replacing the intake manifold gasket may be my only option, if I don't find any cracks. If I do find a crack, then I have a car that's torn apart and a lot of downtime trying to find a solution.
 
Bird's_Garage said:
Mine is an 08. I don't trust Ford Parts Giant since I don't think the intake manifold you referenced is Ford OEM. The picture shows it has the o-ring intake gasket like the Dorman manifolds have. Also, the part number I need shows up as discontinued on their site. I've also had ADTR saved ahead of time in my bookmarks for the time when the intake manifold failed, but they are out of stock as well. I like ADTR but I think I'm starting to run into a parts availability and maybe even planned obsolescence issue.

I have thought about a used one from a salvage yard, but I doubt it would be worth the effort, since crown vics tend to have high mileage, high hours, and their age is getting up there. Used OEM plastic would only be a bandaid.

As far as the aluminum, there really arent any new ones out there. The company that was making them went out of business so only used ones are available. At $1000 I could buy another 4.6 and swap it in. So thats a tough justification for me.

For leadcounsel: I would love to buy a new OEM intake. But they are nowhere to be found at the moment. Hence the rant. The 2v 4.6 Mustangs have the same intake manifold as my Crown vic. The only aluminum ones are the ones I previously mentioned or an edelbrock aluminum one that would require more modification than I'd like to do. I think there was a special edition Bullitt manifold as well, but they are going for around $1000, if you can even find one. But they use a different throttle body and require more modification than I'm willing to do.

And the biggest expense IS going to be the part. I don't charge myself labor.
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What's the Ford p/n you need?
BTW, it's my understanding that Ford Parts Giant is a Ford dealership that sells parts online.
Weird situation that seems to becoming more common, unfortunately.
 
I used the Dorman intake on our 2005, and it's held up fine so far. No leak, no cracks, etc.
Will it last for 200k miles? Probalby not, but then given it's cost and ease of availablility, it's not nearly as bad an option as some decry.
 
benjamming said:
Lakeland Ford Online Parts shows it as $205 plus shipping.
AutoNation Ford White Bear Lake shows it as $398 plus shipping.
Might not hurt to contact them & see what they say directly about availability.
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I've called Lakeland, as well as 5 others who all said they can't get one.

Did not try autonation. Calling them now.

UPDATE: Autonation said its a nationwide backorder. No dealer has an ETA. He said the best bet would be to luck out and find a dealer that happened to have one in stock still because they aren't getting any from Ford.
 
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Time to swap in a Godzilla ;)

If you can't afford it, or can't get one, you could probably buy a whole engine for not too much like a Mustang V8 that gives you more power too. Maybe you might like this one
 
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