texas_stang02

i've got a question about a problem i have with the intake manifold on my '02 GT. the other day i took the car out for a drive and when i turned the heater on, i could smell burnt antifreeze and i had a ton of smoke pouring out of the hood. i was only a couple blocks from home so i made it back without losing much coolant (no overheating or anything like that).

after everything cooled off i had a closer look at it, and where the hose for the heater core comes out of the back side of the intake manifold (to route coolant to the heater core), the plastic piece on the intake manifold is cracked. can this piece be removed from the intake manifold and replaced, or is it molded to the intake itself?

also, does anyone know if coolant always flows through the heater core, or does it only flow through the heater core when the heater is turned on? in other words, can i still drive it with the heater turned off? i cranked it up this morning and it idled for a few minutes with no antifreeze coming out the back of the intake manifold, but i cut it off after about 2 or 3 minutes of idling so it never warmed up enough for the thermostat to open.

texas_stang02

this is the plastic piece that's cracked..

masterofthepuppets99

that part is molded into the manifold so you will have to replace the whole manifold. also im pretty sure that coolant will always flow through that passage once the thermostat opens.

FixFalcon

I'm in the process of putting on the PI manifold on my '98 GT right now, for the 2nd time. The first time, I forgot to crank the motor over with the spark plugs out to expel the coolant from the cylinders that leaked in there when I took the old one off. So the coolant forced it's way through the brand new intake gasket...Now I have to buy new gaskets and do this all over again.

cbbass123

Wow, there's been a couple threads about this certain nipple cracking or breaking in the past week or two. I guess its just a bad week for nipples.

Yes, entire intake must be replaced. $200 plus cost of intake gaskets, and might as well replace thermostat and give motor a lil cleaning.

FixFalcon

There was nothing wrong with my nipple. :-) I just thought it would be fair to give my car a better intake to breathe.

texas_stang02

i was afraid of that. i just had the motor rebuilt about 6 months ago (see sig) and considered going with an aftermarket intake, but from what i hear there may not be much of a power gain with the professional products or trick flow intakes. i'll probably just go with a stock replacement for now, i don't really have a whole lot of money to spend on this car after dropping all my savings into the rebuild.

Tk1nFaMoUs

Thanks Man for this thread just my nipple cracked and went through the same issues as you.. its a no Bueno!

sinister99GT

my 99 did the same thing. new intake

schmallz

Stay away from the plastic, go Aluminum.