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Cracking Plastic Intake Manifolds on Ford V-8 Engines
Information Prior to June 2005 "Settlement"
Section created 11-14-03, updated 7-1-05

In the 'good old days' intake manifolds were made from cast iron or aluminum.  When the new plastic manifolds crack next to the thermostat housing, you lose your coolant, with the potential to seize your motor.

In a June 2005 "settlement" of a class-action lawsuit, Ford agreed to compensate many ( but not all ) owners for the cracked manifolds.  The lawsuit was necessary because a 1999 recall issued by Ford ( copy below ) excluded "civilian" full-sized cars.  The 1999 recall covered only favored fleet customers - police, limos and taxis, but did not cover full-size cars driven by private owners - even though they use the same manifold ( exact same part number ).  The recall bulletins also made it appear that civilian Mustangs, Cougars and Thunderbirds were covered, but some owners reported that Ford refused coverage. 

Vehicles possibly affected:  1996 through 2002, models with 4.6 litre V-8.
Known Ford recalls:  97M91, 99M01, 01M02.

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The problem occurs at the top front of your engine, as described in this official Ford diagram:




Here's a December 2001 recall bulletin:



You'll notice that privately-owned (also called "civilian" or "retail") full-size cars were not included in either of the Owner Notification Programs - yes, their owners weren't even warned about the problem - despite the fact that those cars were built with the same manifold, according to the "Old Intake Manifold Part #" column, as the cars that were recalled.

(Please note that the listing of the "retail" full-size manifolds in the part number table above does not mean that they were part of the notification or were provided the "additional coverage."  For information as to which vehicles were notified and covered, refer to the two "Owner Notification Program" paragraphs immediately above the table above, and the "Affected Vehicles" section in the March 1999 bulletin, below.)

Here is one of the earlier bulletins, from March 1999:

(Page 1 of 2)



Page 2 of 2:



Here's one of the many complaints that were filed with the Federal government (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation:





If you'd like to file a complaint, see the NHTSA ODI link below. 

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