Cracked Intake!!!???
 

Hi,
I have a 1997 Mustang GT and the intake is cracked. I know that this is a common problem . What do you guys suggest? I run nitrous on the car. Should I go with the the replacement intake from the factory? Does anyone have any suggestions for a aftermarket intake???? Please let me know thanks

To hell with the stocker, since I doubt the dealership will do it under the TSB because of your setup.

I'd say its time to pony up and get the motorsport piece...

Thanks for your suggestion Hammer, Which motorsport one do you think would be best?? I am in the process of looking everything up. Do you know about price ranges?? Also what type of hp gain will I see from the intake????

I had the same thing with my 96 ..stock intake is plastic... did you have coolant leaking everywhere?

Any I didnt have thr time to wait for something special ordered so I went with the replacement part for stock.. the new intake was aluminum where the other was cracked so I know its unlikely to crack again... ended up costing me around $500

Yes, the car was leaking coolant. Why did it cost you around $500 I though Ford replaces the intakes???? I do not want to get the replacement one cause I run nitrous and I looked at the replacement one and it has some aluminum and the rest is plastic still.

Ford Motorsport Part #M-9424-E46 (Intake)
Hardware Installation Kit (Need this also) #M-9444-D46

The prices are out of my 2002 catalogue, so they might be a bit cheaper now:
Intake - $1,695.00
Install kit - $325.00

Hammer,
Is this intake the best one I can get??? Why is the installation kit so much? Do you know anything about the bullitt intake alot of people have been telling about that one?? How much hp gain do you think I will see???

My whole intake had to be replaced.. that was for part and labor ..I had a shop do it. I dont know why Ford would replace mine ..am I missing something? The good thing is the replacement intakes are aluminum in the right places..where they usually crack on the plastic. I cant believe the thing is plastic in the first place.

964GGT,
There is a silent recall on the 96-97 GT for the cracking intake problem. Ford will pay for the repairs. The recall is a 7 year unlimited milage warranty from the original Title date of the car.

i was just wondering? what shot of nitrous are u running with your stock manifold?

I run a 150 hp shot

I've got a 98 and mine leaks out of the thermostat housing. Not much, but enough to get on my nerves. You think I could go to Ford and just order the intake and put it on myself?

It's the best straight bolt-on intake available that I know of, and the installation kit is expensive because it says Ford Motorsport on it. I'm not sure of the kit's contents right now because I don't have my catalogue at work, but it's pretty much a "must have".

I don't think the Bullit intake will work as it is designed for the 99+ vehicles, not the 96-98. You SHOULD be able to use the Bullit if you went with the 99+ PI heads, but those aren't exactly "bolt-on".

You should probably see about a 20-25 rwhp improvement N/A. You should see an even better improvement with the giggle gas...

The 98 isn't covered by the TSB.

Yeah I know the 98 isn't covered by the recall. I was just wondering if I can buy a new stock one and put it on myself to avoid the installation costs.

Okay,
I have been researching alot, to find out all the possibe solutions to my problem. I have gotten lots of prices and this is my conculsion. Tell me what you guys think.
I talked to this company and they told me about a intake part number 9424-P43 its only 189.00, but this is a plastic intake also with some aluminum. But, I have been told that it will not be a problem to use this intake with the nitrous system I have. I was told that since I have a dry system it is not a problem to use this intake. They said that since the fuel and nitrous do not mix in the intake that there wil be no problems.
Now if I do go with the plastic intake for 189.00 I can afford to put heads and cams in the car. All for the price I would have paid for the other intake.
WHAT DO YOU THINK???????

is that a Ford p/n because i think that would be the answer i need to

This is a Ford part number M-9424-P43
There is a picture of it in the June 2003 MM&FF magazine page 177. The article is alittle help too.

If you are going to go that route, you might as well do the 99+ head\intake swap... and if the price is right, go with the Bullit intake.

Be sure to get all the "extra" parts you will need, as this will not be a direct bolt-on affair. Unfortunately, I don't have a list, but I have seen it posted once or twice on corral.net.

Personally, I've seen enough plastic intakes go bye-bye (even the 99+ units), that I would always opt to go with an all-aluminum piece when using forced induction.

But the stock 99+ units seem to work much better than the "flawed" 96-98 intakes.

Good luck! :D

Hammer,
Do you know what the compession ratio in the 4.6 is when installing the 99-up PI heads??? Is it cheaper to do a intake and head swap on a 96-98 or install a 99-up 4.6 motor?? Is there any major changes in heads and intake swap that can be costly??? What is you opinion on short or long headers?

The compression ratio after the haeds\intake swap DOES indeed go up, which is OK in NA applications, but harder to deal with when going with forced induction.
(Which in some cases may require aftermarket internals if you wish it to last for any length of time.)
Unfortunately, I do not have the actual C/R numbers, but I'm sure a google search should bring up something...

As far as money is concerned, it's certainly cheaper to do a PI head\intake swap than a motor swap.

I don't have the exact data on what changes\parts are needed when doing a PI head intake swap, but from what I can remember, the extra parts involved are not expensive. It's just not "plug and play" like the FMS pieces.

If your car is a daily driver and lowered in any way, equal length or unequal length shorties are the way to go. A stock ride height car is much easier to deal with when combining long tubes and normal roads, dips, potholes... etc

In general, if you are looking to go forced induction, I would save up the cash and get the motorsport pieces. No muss, no fuss and forced induction friendly....

If you want to stay NA with bolt ons or try to "tune" it out with a 100 shot you can, but just watch yourself.... Find the CR numbers and find a professional to talk to about tuning a 99 PI swapped SN95 with forced induction.

Couple of good references are:
Hector or Mike Wilson at Dallas Mustang

JMS Chip Corp (Johnson Motorsports)

alright, here is were I am at now....

I am thinking of just going with the FMS piece. I am alittle nervous. I really wanted to go with the heads, cams, intake, and headers, but every company I talk to says that the bottom end will not hold up. They all said to change the motor.

So, basically I am most likey going with just the FMS intake. Does anyone know about it I have been reading but it says all the things that it comes it comes with, like the throttle body inlet tube etc But I am not sure about the mass air meter, Do I just use the stock one????

I reason I was woundering was becuase I just bought the hole set from C & L, I bought the mass air meter and inlet tube. But I am not happy with them I would like to take them off and sell them on ebay. Just wanted to see if the new intake comes with the mass air meter, if anyone knows.

Yes you can replace it yourself...

And you can buy the stock replacement (new) with aluminum runner with gaskets and alternator bracket for cheap from Baltimore Ford.

Check out this thread... New replacement manifold...

Also, check out my webshot pictures for a general "How to" for replacing the manifold...

How to: Manifold replacement pictures

I took mine out but the used replacement I got (that did not have the aluminum runner) ended up breaking at the temp sensor, the same place my current manifold is leaking from. This is where the aluminum runner is on the better replacement. I'll be putting in a new one in a couple weeks and will be re-doing my How-to with better pictures. PM me if you have any removal/install questions.

Thanks GaryDawg, I'm either going to do that or I'm going to try and find a cheap set of PI heads and intake. Thanks for the info.

So my 98 just started leaking coolant out the thermostat housing. (116k miles so far) I tried replacing the o-ring and using The Right Stuff to seal it, and now it's leaking from the driverside bolt on the housing. :(

I don't necessarily want to spend $2k just on an intake right now. (it's already snowballed in my head to heads, cam, valves, headers, etc, etc. etc... ) So, if I replace the intake w/the $189 plastic one, am I just going to have this problem again later or are these any better than what came on the car? :confused:

TigerBravo, what did you end up doing?

Thanks
--Javier

As long as you get the one that I mentioned earlier with the Aluminum Runner you should be fine... Make sure you replace your gaskets.

Looking at your pics, I figure the upper to lower intake, lower intake to head, and egr to intake gaskets will all be replaced...any others I missed???

--Javier

Your gasket between the upper and lower intake should be fine. And same with the egr gasket (if you don't mess it up). Of course, inspect the two gaskets I mentioned and do replace if necessary but they probably won't need to be.

Should only have to replace the two gaskets that go from lower intake to the heads. The "bead" will probably peel away when you remove the old ones. They will probably cost you $10 to $20 for both.