Engine Cooling System problems of the 1997 Mercury Marquis

Engine and engine cooling system. Suspension front wheel bearing.

My 1997 Mercury grand Marquis overheated and blew steam and antifreeze throughout engine compartment and on to windshield. This was caused by the a crack in the water jacket portion of the intake manifold. I was told by the dealer that this is a common problem and manifold has been redesigned but is not covered by a recall and the repair expense ($989 plus tax) would be my responsibility. He also stated that this identical problem on police cars and some others is covered. A call to Ford motor company rendered same results. I bought this car new and it has only 60000 miles. I have the old manifold.

While traveling about 40 mph in traffic without any warning, my check engine light flashed on immediately followed by the heat gauge maxing out and a buzzing noise began sounding. What appeared to be smoke was pouring out between my hood and cowling. I managed to stop the car and lifted the hood. Antifreeze smell was strong, water was shooting into my alternator and the engine was excessively hot. I had the car towed to a reliable garage and they determined that the intake manifold had split open, but the "smoke" was actually steam and no fire had ensued. Later that day, the mechanic called and said a new manifold would cost about $400, and about another $400 in labor. The final bill was actually $820 and $60 for towing. Upon notification that a newly designed manifold was now being sold, I became suspicious about why Ford would do that. I checked Ford and was told "my VIN# was not part of any recall, period! after checking this NHTSA site however, I found several interesting facts. There were about 300 complaints of this same rupture - I believe the number of people not reporting this problem were several times higher. I also found out that all 4. 6 liter engines at least in 1997 and 1998 had the same problem. I also discovered that Ford had "quietly" and I suspect "illegally" did a selected recall on fleet vehicles and police vehicles without telling anyone else. Why would Ford be allowed to selectively correct an engineering defect. Is my life worth any less than a fleet car driver? I called fords consumer hotline at 1-800-392-3673 and spoke with a rep named vicky. She had the audacity to say my VIN# had no recall and she never heard of this problem, furthermore that she had no access to this site nor was aware of it. If ever a company needed reprimanded, Ford does.