705techno

Hey guys, great site.


Picked up a 2000 auction last week for dirt cheap. Drove it home (well, limped it home) as it was running like crap. Catalytic was glowing when I pulled in my driveway. Idled fine, but the motor was shaky and missed at low RPM's.

I finally got around to pulling the plugs today and found that the driver side plugs all had coolant in the wells. Replaced the plugs with new ones; now it is burning a bit of coolant out the exhaust. Still sluggish with the crapped out cat. I bought some mechanic in a can to seal off the leak temporarily while I chase down the cause of the leak (I know it probably won't work but its worth a shot)


Any thoughts on a possible leak?

My theory is that the car wasn't smoking when I bought it due to the fouled plugs not firing at alland the catalytic failed due to excessive amounts of unburned fuel needing to be burnt off. Now with the new plugs it is running smoother but of course only a matter of time until they foul.

Where would you guys go from here? I didn't see any cracks on the intake manifold.....should I just start tearing down until I see a failed component?
Intake manifold gasket? Head gasket?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

PaintballFreak

I had coolant in a plug well when I blew my driver side manifold gasket. That would be a cheap solution if replacing it solved the problem (and not very difficult). Although it seems a little more serious since you have coolant in all the wells.

Bump for a more helpful response and good luck with it man.

Stangatic

Just an FYI.... In 2000, Ford recalled all mustangs from 1999-2000 due to bad intake manifolds. I would check to make sure the manifold was replaced and then change the gasket.

WhiteFoxGT

+1 on the intake


I'd say check the thermostat area for leaks... Is the intake all plastic? Or is the thermostat crossover metal?

705techno

thanks for the tips guys.


The front well (closest to the grille) was the wettest; the next one back damp, the third and fourth were crusty in the wells but not wet in the cylinders.

Ill check the manifold itself for cracking. Im thinking I have the all plastic one; Ill cruise up to my shop tomorrow and check.


From what I have read on here it looks like few people have problems with the heads/head gaskets on these engines so here's hoping its just the intake gasket.

This brings back memories of the fiance's grand prix with the 3100 and the intake manifold gasket leaking; except her car just overheated the odd time.

705techno

Ripped it apart today; the gasket wasn't terrible but there was some coolant leaking around the thermostat housing as it was wet. Also the gasket was floppy under the thermostat housing and well seated everywhere else. Pretty sure this was the problem as the mounting surface under the gasket looked like crusty antifreeze whereas the passenger side (no leaks) looked a lot cleaner. Definately a difference between the two. Im putting it back together Monday and will report back.

CAMDUP

i have worked for WAY TOO MANY car dealers and i can tell you that cars usually end up at the auction for one reason.....they're junk.....no offense to you or your car but thats usually the bottom line......you can bet your a$$ that if any dealer thinks for a second that there's a dollar to be made,they WILL MAKE IT......on the other hand if it costs more to fix than its worth , they send it to the auction

masterofthepuppets99

you should check the intake manifold for very tiny cracks. my manifold cracked and its crack was so tiny i could not believe that was what spewed fluid all over engine bay. very tiny lol

cbbass123

Your best bet is to purchase (about $200) the OEM Ford Racing aluminum PI(black plastic/front aluminum) intake and replace. If your intake is original, then it has the plastic (all black plastic) coolant transfer. There are probably small cracks inside of runner which will leak into the head/cylinder. It happens all the time which is why they recalled them with the new aluminum ones. Your car will run like crap with these types of leaks. Replace with new gaskets and new thermostat will be the safest, wisest option.

705techno

Thanks for the pointers. I bought a new manifold for it, put it on myself, took it to my mechanic and he put a new cat on it (old one was mashed inside....just mashed)


Its about a thousand times better than it was before, but its still not where it should be. Seems to stumble initially when put under load. Im going to do the fuel filter tomorrow and then from there I guess maybe see if I can pull some codes (no CEL as of yet)

I cleaned out the IAC when it was off the car; actually wasn't that bad.

Shes coming along nicely but still needs some tlc.