jjstandardz

i replaced my intake manifold last night using the ford racing pi intake as well as two new ford gaskets

i flushed the coolant system before i changed the oil because i wanted my gf to help watch the guage and she had to leave soon.

so after i flushed the coolant system i changed the oil and there was a lot of coolant in it, it was like caramel apple color pretty green tinted.

ive also noticed that since i changed the oil and have driven it a few miles (maybe 20) that im still getting white smoke out of the exhaust.

anybody have any ideas? i was planning on flushing the oil out with some cheap oil later today to make sure all of the coolant has gotten out and to check it and see if its got a lot of coolant in it again.

do you guys think the white smoke could be from the leftover coolant from before? does changing the intake manifold cause coolant to drop into the oil?

After i first drove it there was a little green tint in the oil cap and it was smoking a bit, but this went away after i checked it again after driving another 15 or so miles. There is no oil in the coolant reservoir, but the dipstick is kind of hard to read, its not the amber color of the synthetic oil it just looks clear, hard to see the level, but i put in a tad over 6 qts into the oil filler last night

i have not driven it to far yet but the coolant reservoir has not dropped at all, before it was steadily dropping from the leak.

how long should i expect to see white smoke from the coolant burning off before it goes away?

i also have an off-road x pipe so there has always been a little white smoke, but i think its to much compared to before i had the leak

I have also considered the possibility of a head gasket but when i took it to ford to get it diagnosed they only said the lower intake manifold gaskets were leaking, along with the thermostat and rack and pinion.

I have already changed the thermostat gasket, thermostat and intake manifold gaskets & manifold

I know i didnt put the gaskets on wrong because they had little tabs to sit in the holes to make sure they were on properly and they fit pretty good, i guess theres the possibility that when i put the new intake manifold on that they didnt seal that great, but i dont see why that would happen. I put the bolts in and torqued them to spec and order

any help is appreciated guys

99GTvert

You might have a bad head gasket, dude.

jjstandardz

hmm what are the chances of the head gasket being bad and the intake manifold gaskets/intake manifold?

the intake manifold gaskets were leaking and the intake manifold was cracked right over the crossover as well

wouldnt ford have noticed if it was the head gasket leaking? or would they just automatically assume it was the intake gaskets?

99GTvert

OK, I see where you took it to a Ford dealer..

However, from my own experience with my car, I had a coolant leak that leaked coolant onto the top of the engine block (in that valley between the heads). In my case it was a bad head gasket. In your scenario though maybe its something else but if you changed the thermostat o-ring and the intake manifold gaskets and there's still coolant in your oil then I'm not sure what else it could be.

Bad head gaskets are an expensive repair though, so hopefully I'm wrong and its something more minor.

jjstandardz

well i have read that when you change the intake manifold gaskets that coolant drops into the oil, but im not sure how much, and i drained it all, so i guess i can see if theres more into it when i flush the oil again later.

also did you end up doing the head gasket job yourself or take it somewhere?

im looking for a good guide on doing it past the intake manifold part.

I have the service manual but it calls for removing the engine and stuff...

DJINN n TONIC

The coolant /Oil mix is IMPOSSIBLE from bad manifold gaskets. there is no oil passage in the manifold. The white smoke is possible if coolant leaks out of the manifpld gasket into an intake port, But that would never explain the coolant and Oil mix.

jjstandardz

are you sure? i have read of a lot of people having coolant spill into the oil after changing the manifold gaskets

the coolant can spill into the crankcase and cause the oil to become contaminated?

i believe this is why you need to change the oil right away after the job

DJINN n TONIC

On a 5.0 (Or most conventional "Pushrod Motors for that matter)...Yes absolutely,When you remove the manifold , coolant will spill into the valley, run down the oil drainback holes, and directly into your oil pan.

On a Modular motor, the valley is "Solid", so there isnt anyway for the coolant to contaminate the oil in the crankcase.

It is very difficult to determine a coolant leak under the intake manifold as waterpump, manifold gaskets, head gaskets, or even a bypass tube that has sprung a leak , just by a quick look. Its more likely that an otherwise good Tech , saw a quick diag charge and ran with it. Or maybe the guy was just wrong in his diagnosis. It happens.

jjstandardz

Hmmm thats weird, I have driven it 60 miles now and I havent used any coolant at all

Before the fix It dropped quite a bit just driving to work and back (about 5 miles round trip) I also have not been seeing any white smoke

Is it safe to assume theres no more coolant in the oil if my reservoir has not dropped at all?