2000 Windstar lower intake

I am planning to replace my 3.8L lower intake gasket due to oil seepage from the rubber ends. I intend to replace the coolant bypass line, flush/fill, oil, plugs, etc. while I'm in there. I have done the TSB, but will probably just replace everything again since it's taken apart.

I know there seems to be a similar thread going, but I simply wanted to know if there was anything else I should consider doing while I'm at it and it's taken apart.

Also, I read somewhere there a special sealant and procedure for the rubber ends of the gasket. If true are there any tips?

Thanks in advance.

I used Permatex Gray RTV. Seems to be good for most engine assembly sealing.

It should be a "sensor safe" sealant so that it does not give off vapors that are harmful to your oxygen sensors.
The instructions for the job indicate that you only put a dap of the sealant where the "end seals" meet the lower intake manifold gaskets.
Don't get carried away and use it all over the place.
The lower intake manifold gaskets are to be dry fitted (no sealant).
Also take care to avoid getting junk down into the intake ports......best to not clean as well vs getting the junk down into those ports to be drawn into the cylinders.

On my '96, the area around each fuel injector was a dirt/grit trap......If you flush that junk away before removal of fuel injectors, it will help prevent that from getting down into the intake.

Don't forget to clean the EGR ports while you are there.

Engine oil and Filter MUST be changed before starting the engine as you WILL get a fair amount of coolant drainage down into the oil pan.

There are pictures that show the process, step by step, in the pictures that the link in my signature takes you to.
NOTE that they are for a '96, so there will be some significant differences along the way.

If 2000 still used the "quick connect" for the 1 heater hose connection to the lower intake manifold.....it is very likely that the nylon clip unit inside it is brittle and will break.
If you buy a repair kit (a new nylon clip) before you start the job, you will be prepared for that.
There are pictures of that connector in my pictures as well.

My 2002 had the plastic heater hose connector so it'll be there. You can also just cut it off and replace it with a worm clamp though. I know a lot of people do that.

Actually, even in the 02 it looked almost the same as the pics from the 96. Slightly different passage configuration and thus the gaskets were different accordingly, but otherwise it was identical.

I'd also replace the little white bushings from the IMRC actuator arms as well. Even if they look ok at first glance, they'll disintegrate just from breathing on them if they're old. Get the 5-pack from the auto parts store.... it's dorman 'help' part #47099.

Thank you all for the info.
A few more questions popped up:

Do you clean the fuel injectors and if so with what? Also, do you replace the o-rings?

I read that someone recommended the use of Motorcraft as opposed to aftermarket gaskets. Does this still hold true as there is a bit of a cost difference.

Is the gray RTV sealant also applicable to the intake manifold bolt threads?

Never soak injectors in a liquid bath. The plastic bodies/solenoid coils may be damaged. In times past, I have used a homemade-rig that would use gasoline supplied off the fuel rail of an idling donor engine ... then the injector would be pulsed using battery voltage. The rig was pre-filled with injector cleaner, so that the gasoline going through the injector was rich in cleaner chemicals.

But today I just "work-bench clean" them. I first blast the injector inlets, sideways, with aerosol brake cleaner. This will remove anything trapped in the inlet screen. Then the injectors are placed vertically on the bench ... then a drop, or two, of injector cleaner is dropped down in the inlets ... allowed to sit overnight. The final process is to clean the spray head with cleaner soaked shop towels until "mirror bright".

I never replace O-rings unless they are torn or very deformed. I always use petroleum jelly to lubricate.

I don't know why you would use RTV on the intake hold-down bolts. ?? Are you trying to avoid buying new ones ?? ... if so, then it might be a good idea to use some on the plastic bodies, but not the bolt threads. ??

My injectors were pretty clean when I looked at them so I just left them alone. That Costco gas must have a lot of additives in it. Also, the o-rings were fine as well. I lube them with clean motor oil per the shop manual but you can use whatever you want. The main thing is just not to tear or damage them when you reinstall the fuel rail back into the heads.

The only reason you'd us RTV on threads of a bolt is if it passes through a water passage. In this case, none do, so you shouldn't need anything. I can try and find the ford service manual for this procedure for your 2000 if you'd like.

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll leave the injectors alone unless attention is needed. I asked about the RTV because I read about it somewhere that it should be applied to the lower intake bolt threads upon reassembly. If you think not necessary, its fine with me.

Lastly, a Felpro gasket set is about $108, is the Ford dealer pricing comparable, better quality, both or ???

You may be correct about the bolts for the lower intake ... I'm not sure. This procedure of thread sealant does apply to front cover bolts, I'm pretty sure. I used Loc-Tite sealant for these.

I like Fel Pro OK ... but I like Ford better. I figure the Ford engineers are keeping their stuff up to the latest knowledge. .... that's why I used a Ford reman tranny on a number of family cars ... all good!

The lower intake gasket has actually been improved by Ford. I've done this job twice; once with felpro and then less than 3 years later with the ford part. Get the Felpro "intake plenum" kit for all the uppers and buy the lowers from Ford.

Too late for me, I bought the full Felpro kit when I did mine last year.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums

Sorry, my statement was a little inaccurate. I did the job twice but not twice on my vehicle. The first time it was done on our van it was done by a shop before I got ahold of it. So, it's possible that the intake wasn't torqued down properly and that the gasket was actually fine.

Having said that, the ford gasket had a separate ring around the coolant passages instead of sharing the border with the neighboring oil passages. Apparently there is a change from positive to negative pressure during warmup/cooldown that would, over time, cause oil to seep past that section and into the coolant passage. It seems that Ford redesigned it with that extra little section of rubber so that there's no "shared" section and the pressure difference wouldn't cause that shared piece to bend back and forth.

..that's a good observation, scubacat.

The lower intake gasket has actually been improved by Ford. I've done this job twice; once with felpro and then less than 3 years later with the ford part. Get the Felpro "intake plenum" kit for all the uppers and buy the lowers from Ford.

Sounds like a good plan to me, I don't want any do-overs with a project like this. I will start gathering my parts next week.

This may help with torquing bolts and some other specifics. The fuel rail is just 4 obvious bolts and then it just carefully lifts up with all the injectors still attached. (dab clean oil on o-rings when reinstalling.) I just held it out of the way with a bungee cord; no need to disconnect the fuel line. Don't forget to change those little white bushings while you're in there!

UPDATE --- I just noticed something -- There is a typo under step #5 of the installation instructions. It should say "2. Position the lower intake manifold.", but it actually has "3." in front. That would lead you to believe, from the diagram, that sealant goes in the middle of the manifold. This is NOT the case. It goes only on the corners. The "2" in the diagram is their way of telling you to set the manifold back down onto the heads which would correspond with step #2 if there were one. I checked real quick just now and the typo has indeed been corrected in the 2002 edition that I use.

I opened this attachment, gave it a quick read ... now, I cannot re-open it. ??

Ok, I did the job on Sunday. It took a bit longer than planned, but I also did other misc. maintenance on it.

One thing I noticed was that all of the lower intake bolts had some type of thread sealant on them. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the bores of some went through into the coolant passage. I used the Permatex gray and all is good. I did have an interesting outcome I discovered a day later. The van seemed to run fast at a stop. I found that my brand new Purolator PCV was stuck in an open position with NO metering of vacuum. In fact when I took the oil fill cap off, it made hissing sound as I unscrewed it. A new Motorcraft brand fixed that and it runs great.

Yeah, for what those cost I wouldn't use an aftermarket. Even if they don't stick it's unlikely the air flow ratio is correct anyway.