ok, so my friend has a 96 mustang 4.6 mustang and the other day it wouldn't start.. coolant was like dog poop, we had spark, we had fuel, and the car was smoking while running ( we were told valve seals prior). the car got towed to his mechanics and they said I cracked the intake manifold byt dropping a wrench or something (kiss my ass, that'd have to be a weak ass manifold...and i never dropped anything on the intake). now could a cracked intake manifold honestly keep the car from starting? i'm pretty sure coolant runs through the front of the manifold (from what i've read). but i just don't see a cracked manifold keeping a damn car from running. i could see it possibly making the car run like shit, or atleast worse but i don't know. can anyone chime in on this. their quoting him $1200 bucks for labor or swpping manifold...

thank you

 

Absolutely. I just (2 weeks ago) had to replace my upper and lower intake manifold gaskets because they were shot and coolant and oil was getting everywhere fouling out my plugs and making my motor barely run. Holes in the intake gaskets or the intakes themselves are bad, and some cars (like mine) are known for cracking intake plenums. Pull the plug out, spin the motor, and put a rag right by the sparkplug hole. Check if anything comes out.

OOOOORRR, I can hook you up with my mechanic who helped me fix my car and can fix yours for way less than 1200.

 

if you could PM me a number thatd be awesome. the price is because it's at a dealer...

would that also explain why the coolant looks like shit? because their meeting at the crack in the intake?

 

Oh yes, absolutely. Intake or head gasket/head problem most likely. You have fluids mixing somewhere.

 

well everything was kinda of pointing towards the headgasket. i've been told by 2 people that 96's were famous for headgasket issues. the coolant was really thick and brown, the car's been smoking (thought it was valve seals, still could be), but i don't have a compression tester. but something was throwing e off cause i've never had a head gasket prevent a start. guess the intake is to blame tho lol. i told him to still have the head gasket checked JUST INCASE tho..

 

Those NPI intake manifolds before the redesigned model with the aluminum crossover were INFAMOUS for cracking at that coolant crossover, which was made of plastic prior to the redesign. The whole 'you dropped a wrench' line is bullshit. Smack him with a torque wrench and get that car the fuck out of his shithole. There's plenty of killer shops you can find out about on this site. Check em out, get some quotes, and you'll be set!

 

ya, i figured it didn't have anything to with me dropping a wrench. his dad is just pissed because i was the one working on it at the time (installing a coolant temp gauge) and he feels a car should never be worked on lol so it's our fault for upgrading it with a gauge lol but on account of my friend not having cash right now his dad is paying for the repairs and wont have it towed to any other shop or listen to what anyone else has to say. i told his dad to have the head gasket checked also just incase but wont do it..

so i have no idea whats gonna happen with this car, all i know is that 1200 uf fucking crazy!!

thanks for all the input tho guys!!