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Hey there guys, have a few questions about my 02 gt. Got the 4.6 in it. Recently I've been having engine misfire issues on cylinder 7. First off i checked the coil pack and plug, looks real nasty in and around the plug. I thought it was a puddle of oil at first but after i did some further inspection and especially after pulling the coil boot when engine was hot, you could definitely tell it was coolant just by how gunky it looks and the smell. (I have pictures to post)
So as of now the misfire issue isn't my biggest concern. What I did find was my intake manifold seems to be leaking around the gasket at the cross over for the coolant. It has an aluminum cross over, thank god because I'm hoping my intake manifold isn't damaged and I know some of these engines were equipped with a plastic cross over that cracks. But I still haven't taken all apart yet to check if it is damaged. So all in all I'm just going to assume it's the gasket.
Basically what's happening is the coolant is leaking from the cross over, down underneath my fuel rail into my coil packs seeping down into the spark plug housing most likely causing my misfire issue because of how gunky it is.
My next question is, could the coolant seep in enough from the outside of the intake manifold gasket down the spark plug housing where it would be noticeable in my engine oil and have almost the same appearance that a head gasket could have? I did notice some engine coolant in my oil when I changed it. Also I noticed that my coolant is looking a lot darker than the regular green color it has when good. Or would this most likely be my head gasket and manifold gasket both leaking?
Just some extra info, I've owned the car for about 5 years and each winter it sits. Probably sees about 6-7k miles a year. So These gaskets and seals could very well be just drying out on me. Has 140k miles.
If anyone can comment some of their thoughts or opinions on how to verify if it is my head gasket leaking that would be great! I will go ahead in the next few days try to pressure test my cooling system to see if the pressure drops and check for leaks. Then I'll update my thread.
I suppose there is a chance the intake manifold is leaking. The coolant comes up and stops on that side, but you would think cylinder 8 would be more effected. But that wouldn't cause coolant in the oil, that would be either a head gasket or in the worst case a crack in a head or block.
I suppose there is a chance the intake manifold is leaking. The coolant comes up and stops on that side, but you would think cylinder 8 would be more effected. But that wouldn't cause coolant in the oil, that would be either a head gasket or in the worst case a crack in a head or block.
I am starting to think it's a head gasket and intake manifold gasket. I have a pressure tester on it right now. Pumped 16 psi into it and in 15 minutes it's increased to 19. That tells me the pressure is pushing out of the spot with the least resistance which would be a bad head gasket and is putting pressure into my coolant tank that should be at only 16 psi.
No doubt about it that there is coolant leaking on the outside from my intake manifold gasket. Theres crusty crystallized coolant on top of my engine Seeping from the gasket. But I'm going to assume i answered my question now considering the pressure has built up to 20 psi now.
yep, sounds like its time to buy a gasket kit... I'd do all of them. That's what I did, felpro makes a really might full engine gasket kit and its not to expensive either. Definitely a good time to some head work too, at min get all the carbon build up off.
05-06-2015, 02:21 PM
Engine misfire and Coolant in spark plug housing
