Manifold/header/muffler/tail Pipe problems of the 1997 Ford Crown Victoria - part 1

While driving in NJ, the manifold blew and made the vehicle inoperative. Luckily, my mechanic came and towed the car to his garage. The mechanic performed a pressure test and determined that the 'plastic manifold' had blown. The origin of the fluid leak was behind the alternator. Then we did some research and found out that this was a problem back in 2004-5. I never knew, nor was I notified about this problem. I am the original owner of the car. The car was just into the Ford dealership to diagnose a "check engine" light on, no discussion was made about this manifold problem . . . They even checked for any previous technical bulletins. So, now what happens?.

I own a 1997 crown vic less than 100 thousand miles. Bought the car 2 years ago at dealership in louisville ky. Found out there was recalls on vehicle after purchase was told carmax was good. Now here I sit with a cracked intake manifold which was recalled, but noone every fixed it. Someone should be responsible for this, yes was a recall shouldn't there be a law to make someone stand behind the crack intake manifold this was a 1 owner when I bought it with only like 60000 miles,.

I was driving home from work and thought a coolant hose had ruptured but after having the vehicle towed to my mechanic's place of business was told that the intake manifold had cracked and required replacement. After researching I found that Ford had issued a recall for only a few models even though most of their 8 cylinder 4. 6 engines utilized the same defective "composite" intake manifold. My Crown Victoria is a 1997 with 60,000 original miles!.

The contact owns a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria. While driving approximately 45 mph, the engine warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel. The engine then began to overheat. The contact pulled over to further inspect the vehicle and noticed steam near the engine. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and they stated that because the intake manifold was made out of plastic, it failed. The contact would have to pay over $3,000 to have the engine replaced. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 91,000.

I recently determined that I now have a leaking front cover/intake manifold gasket/cracked intake manifold on my 1997 Ford Crown Victoria 4. 6 liter v-8 which will require immediate repair. Had this defect manifested itself back in 2005, I would have been covered by the chamberlan v. Ford settlement but class members had to seek reimbursement by March 16, 2006. Since my 1997 Ford Crown Victoria has only recently started leaking coolant, I guess I will have to fork over the repair monies myself. Is there any chance of Ford repairing this manufacturing defect gratis? f.

The contact owns a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria. While driving approximately 55 mph, the contact felt a strong gust of heat coming through her vents. She pulled over to the side of the road and had the vehicle towed back to her residence. The vehicle was unable to be driven. A local mechanic came to service the vehicle and informed her that the plastic intake manifold cracked and needed to be replaced with an iron intake manifold. The vehicle was repaired at the contact's expense. The manufacturer has not yet been notified. The failure and current mileages were 100,000. Updated 06/17/08.

Intake manifold on my 1997 Ford Crown Victoria cracked allowing coolant to leak into manifold. There was a class action suit in 2005 which I never was told about.

I own a !997 Crown Victoria, which overheated due to a crack in the intake manifold. I have owned this vehicle since 4-06-2002, and did not know about the recall until I looked it up on the internet! I had to pay for the repair myself, I think I should have been notified by Ford!.

1997 Ford crown vic traveling east of austin TX at posted highway speed when a crack developed in the intake manifold with resulted in loss of coolant , and subsequently motor function. Towed to authorized Lincoln Mercury dealer in austin, and was informed by tow truck driver that this was very common defect for this model car , and suggested I contact Ford people for a recall notice. Was advised by the Ford representative at the 800 telephone number provided in the owners manuel that no recall was in effect however, no cost repair was available to those vehicle seven years or under. A further program through the dealers may also be available named customer satisfaction programmability this had restriction of eight years and 80000 miles. My car didn't qualified for either program due to age and mileage even though the car has meticulous being taken care of and was under 82000 miles. Upon completion of a new intake manifold installation at a cost of $1029. 98 dollars it was determined the engine was a total loss as the engine must have been damaged due to loss of coolant and resultant overheating. A replacement motor was quoted at $6000 dollars on top of the already incurred $1029. 98 dollar expence. The car was junk!!! I find it difficult to understand why no recall was in effect since Ford knew there was a problem. The mechanic told me they had many similar repairs in their shop. Also informed all similar police models were repaired without restrictions. If this is so I can't understand why I am discriminated. I would like the Ford corporation reimburse my expenses and/or give me a voucher for a substanial discount on a new Ford vehicle.

- the contact states that there was a recall on his 1997 Crown Victoria. The contact said that 8:20 am on 12/19/06 while attempting to pass another vehicle when he notice a large trail of steam and smoke coming from the rear of his vehicle. The contact pulled to side of road and steam and smoke stopped, at which time he opened hood of vehicle and noticed coolant running on top of the engine. Contact called the Ford dealership of kansas. The Ford dealership informed contact that the intake radiator had cracked. The representative then asked questions regarding the problem and told him that there was a recall on the intake fuel manifold but, that the recall had expired in 2004. The representative also told the contact that the intake had to have a crack in it in order for them to have repairs done.

- the contact stated that the intake manifold cracked and leaked coolant. The vehicle has approximately 89,000. The contact was driving 55-60 mph on the interstate, and the weather conditions were fair. The contact saw a plume of white smoke following behind him. The contact immediately drove the vehicle to a repair shop. There were no warning signs or signs of overheating. The dealer removed and replaced the intake manifold and added engine coolant. Updated 01/26/07.

The manifold cracked, engine overheated,blew heater core had to tow car miles for replacement. Parts included manifold,gaskets, heater core and hoses. This at 84000 miles and no warranty.

1997 Crown Victoria technical bulletin 05n04 NHTSA 10018959 date of bulletin: Dec, 14, 2005 /incident June 12, 2006 this settlement extended the coverage of all composite intake manifold 7 years from the original warranty. . . . Where does that leave 1997 owners? the bulletin was released a year after the extended warranty coverage ended!? one year late for 1997 owners. What should we do because it is past the extended warranty? a defect is a defect with or without a time limit. We did not choose to have it break when it did. . . . The defective part did that for us! what can we do to get this part/service covered? thank you for your time!.

The class action suit that was won regarding 1997 Ford crown vic (and other makes) defective manifold part was handled incorrectly. Mine just went and is well past the March 16th, 2006 deadline and over 7 years old which makes recourse exempt. My car is currently in the shop getting a $1300 + engine repair. And I am not the only one that this has happened to. Definitely not fair!!!.

I was referred by mr. Michael j. Sacks at msacks@lemonlaw. Com his response: it sounds like you are getting the run around and I would recommend you contact NHTSA in washington DC if the company is not willing to follow through with recalls. . Read more...

: the contact stated while driving 2 mph slowing to a stop, steam was noticed coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection. Upon inspection, the dealership determined the intake manifold was leaking and the intake manifold, thermostat, water pump and hoses needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified however, no repairs were made.

I own a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria and while driving on expressway the car overheated and I immediately pulled of the road. After towing to mechanic he immediately diagnosed the problem as a very common one. That being the plastic engine manifold that has been a part of a fully covered warranty/recall item if your vehicle was a police or fleet vehicle. The fact that it is not covered to the private car owner does not make sense. Who would think such a important component make of plastic would be acceptable to any car owner.

The vehicle is a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria. On 6-12-05 the consumer was driving on route i40 when he smelled an odor coming from the vehicle. He called the highway patrol which arranged to have him towed to barstow. The vehicle broke down because the plastic intake manifold cracked. The vehicle lost all the coolant which caused the engine to overheat. When the mechanic from castners auto service 214 south bradford avenue, placentia, CA 92870 telephone # 714-528-1311 was removing the spark plugs he noticed that there was aluminum flaking on them. There was no compression. He replaced the engine and all the parts that went with it on 6-15-05 through 6-30-05. Mechanic told the consumer that it would cost more to repair the engine than to buy a new one. The replaced engine was Ford manufactured. Consumer has not contacted the manufacturer as of now. Vehicle was manufactured in October 1996.

The following is a well known and well documented design Crown Victoria 4. 6 engine failure, which Ford has ignored and claimed it is "investigating" for the ordinary consumer, while providing extended warranties for police cars and taxis. Obviously, they don't want to lose this fleet market. There have even been news stories on this via nbc. The failure relates to a plastic intake manifold cracking prematurely, causing complete loss of coolant fluids, extreme consequent engine overheating, and resultant catastrophic engine failure. They sell the replacement and re-engineered part for nearly 600 dollars and charge almost 500 dollars additional to install it. This is a non-moving part which should not fail under normal use! there is even an entire aftermarket business making these parts as a replacement for less money. . . Although I suspect most folks just pay Ford to do the repair. Queries to dealers meet with a reiteration of the above information and a kind "sorry, it's not covered" reply. I believe this is a case of fraud and misrepresentation of fitness, as opposed to the normal risks of wear and tear. . . Their policy regarding lucrative fleet extended repairs speaks to this, in my opinion. This is a safety hazard defect due to engine stalling and power assist loss.

The intake manifold is made of plastic. It splits at the casing seams, which causes anti-freeze to shoot all over the engine.

Cracked intake manifold discovered when car began to overheat, thermostat was replaced thinking it was a bad seal, only to discover the manifold was cracked. New manifold is on order $285 dollars, still waiting on the repair bill.

I was driving along the highway and my car started to overheat very quickly, within 2 minutes. The temperature got so hot smoke poured out, and the car staled. After a couple of minutes it cooled down enough to get it home, and then to the repair shop. Smoke was everywhere. The repair person sighted that the intake manifold assembly was responsible, and that he has seen a lot of such problems in Crown Victoria's of the same year 1997. The repair was $989. 54, and the milage on the vehicle is considerably low for the year. It only has 69, 500 miles. The repair shop has the defective manifold.

I was driving down the highway when suddenly the passenger compartment began to fill with a white smoke and smoke came from under the hood of my car. I was able to get off the road and let the car cool off. I had the vehicle repaired at a Ford dealership to the cost of $1100 for a cracked intake manifold which I was told was a common problem that Ford was aware of and would only pay for the repair if my car was a taxi cab or a police car!!!!!.

The composite intake manifolds developed fatigue cracks, resulting in total engine coolant leakage. Complete loss of coolant resulted in engine failure, owner was lucky to be on local street and near to a car repair shop, spent $1100 on repair.

: the contact stated while driving the vehicle the heat hand started to rise. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent repair shop. Upon inspection there was water leaking from under the vehicle. The mechanic found the problem to be the intake manifold was broken. Repairs have been made. The manufacturer has not been alerted. Updated 03/22/06.

We were traveling on I-15 in a remote area of utah. When our car's intake manifold ruptured but didn't know it at the time and lost all of the coolant -stranding us. The failure of the manifold led us to be towed to beaver and then from beaver to st. George utah. We learned the Ford motor company knew there was a problem with this particular engine 4. 6 liter and it happen quite frequently. They were replacing the defective manifold on an as needed basis. We left the car to be repaired at the st. George Ford dealership and had to rent another car. St george Ford told me that they would put on a new manifold which was not all plastic, but that they would not help me off set the cost of replacement. St. George Ford said because I had more then 75,000 miles on the car, that they wouldn't help with the expense of the $1093. 00 repair plus $ 347. 00 towing fee. I think a part that is this defective should be a voluntary replacement by the Ford company for the life of the car. This is an all plastic part they knew it was defective because they have retooled and made a cast metal replacement. I think that when this happens it is an unsafe situation and it also leaves you stranded on the freeway or back country where we live. Ford also told me they were replacing the manifold on an as needed basis on police cars and other vehicles with the 4. 6 liter engine for unlimited mileage.

(1) we were driving on the freeway and my car sounded like something exploded and it got so hot and lost all of the fluids in the car. (2). We had to get it off the freeway and have it towed into mccoy mills Ford. The intake manifold, was made of plastic and it cracked and the car was burning hot. It could have very easily caused and accident. Defect in the intake manifold. It was replaced , total expense - $1028. 54. They would not replace it free, but I feel Ford should have to refund me for fixing it, since it was a defect and made from plastic. I didn't think to ask for old parts. The service man told me it was made of plastic and that they were using metal now. I also found out that a lot of the police cars, the Crown Victoria's, have done the very same thing. I would like to know if a lawsuit has been started against Ford, if so, I would like to join it.

Cracked intake manifold.

Catastophic cooling failure. Intake manifold replaced for $900. Mechanic noted that this was common on Ford crown vics with defective plastic intake manifolds (they now use metal). Understand this has been recalled in crown vic taxis and police cars, but not in other crown vics. Why not? won't buy a Ford again. Ford owes me for the cost of the failure of this defective part.

While driving steam came from under the hood, and the temperature gauge read hot. This occurred because the intake manifold cracked and anti freeze leaked out. Dealership replaced the cracked intake manifold with a new redesigned intake manifold.

1997 Ford Crown Victoria w/61,705 miles was making a strange sound. Thinking it might be the brakes, I took it to a service center. While they were testing it smoke started poured out of the hood. The result indicated there was a crack in the plastic' manifold which had to be replaced w/a Ford part that was a metal part. I understood there was a recall that only included police or fleet cars. It seemed to me that there should be some recourse toward the Ford motor company. This car had only 61,705 miles on it. Who would think a plastic manifold would hold up at all? not me certainly.

1997 Crown Victoria lx - 4. 6 l engine with 99,000 miles. My manifold intake cracked and failed, resulting in rapid and complete loss of engine coolant. Required towing. Repair estimated to cost $1,100. Ford has been aware of this issue since 1996 and has recalled 1996-2001 Crown Victoria taxis, limos, and police cruisers for this very same problem, but did not recall private vehicles with the same faulty part. Ford did not even notify owners of this defect. I request an investigation be made into the reason why private vehicles were excluded from this recall, as there can be no technical reason. I would also request that Ford be compelled to pay for repairs made to cars previously repaired.

While driving, the plastic intake manifold cracked. This caused coolant to leak from the intake manifold. The factory intake manifold included the thermostat housing as one piece. The crack developed at the thermostat housing which required the entire manifold to be replaced.

While driving intake manifold assembly exploded, causing the vehicle to stall. Manifold assembly was replaced by an independent mechanic.

The manifold in my 1997 Crown Victoria cracked. I understand that this is a defect particular to the 4. 6 liter engine which my car has. My car is low mileage (about 47,000) is six years old and I am the second owner having had it for 4 years. I have had regular service by the dealer from whom the car was purchased. I understand that the manifold on this particular size engine has been found defective in other model cars and although a recall was issued my VIN no. Does not match a specific list and therefore, I have to cover the $1000 expense. I will not buy another Ford when I sell the one I now own and I will strongly encourage others not to buy any model car with this engine. I plan to file a small claims lawsuit against Ford when I have all the repairs completed. Fortunately, I had only driven a mile from home and my husband was with me when this occurred. Had it not been for his attention to details things would likely have been really bad.