stokemoney

I have a 98 mustang v6 120k miles on it. So I take it to the shop to replace a battery cable and they tell me I have an intake manifold gasket leak. I tell them to hold off on fixing it and he warns me that eventually the coolant will leak in and mix with the oil and cause the engine to freeze...is this true? I had not noticed any leaking, he told me that this is the kind of leak that won't leave a puddle, i get the feeling this guy is trying to take advantage here. Anyway a couple weeks later it won't start, i tried jumping it and all it did was click once. So the question is do you think its the starter or is my engine screwed?

sIx

Did you ever actually check the fluid levels?

ESG-642T

Simple change the oil, if it looks like green/oily junk then you may or may not be screwed. If for some reason you can't tell if its green/oily just run your fingers through it... You know how oil feels (clean or dirty?) well it mixed will just feel slimy and nasty to the touch. If you have coolant I suggest trying to remove all the spark plugs and spraying wd40 into the holes then turning the engine by hand and repeat a few times to try to get everything out. Although it sound more like a battery issue to me.

PNYXPRESS

Does he mean the intake gasket between the upper and lower intake or between the lower intake and one of the heads?

motorman524

+1 to this and do you still have electrical power after you turn the key?

rfcsoulja

Sounds like your battery is toast man. When mine went, my starter just clicked.

ESG-642T

Knowing the history of the 98- mustang v6, if I was a betting man... I would bet the house on lower to head.

PNYXPRESS

Never heard of the 94-98 cars having intake gasket problems, only the head gaskets. I would find out exactly which gasket he was talking about.

stokemoney

Thanks for the replies guys. I did check the fluids, the oil looked fine, but coolant was low and had to refill it a couple times. I'm pretty sure that he said it was the lower gasket. I thought it might of been the battery but it didn't help anything when I tried to jump it. Maybe a new one would get it to start?

jthorn9

Just go to the auto parts store, get an intake gasket set and change it, won't take very long and it's not hard at all. But like the mechanic said, if the gasket fully fails, the radiator fluid will get into the cylinders and cause problems. Point is, on your next day off, go get the gaskets and change them, the whole thing will take you about 4 hours to do your first time, although I could do it in about 2.