How to tell if you have a plastic coolant crossover tube

[SVT98t]

Here we go. I probably should have posted this awhile ago.
But here it is.
The good aluminum one is on the left, and the crappy plastic intake thats prone to failing is on the right.

I hope this helps everyone out.

-ryan s.

[r2t]

Old crappy cracked plastic intake still in my Mustang. New good aluminum one is hibernating in the trunk ready to be installed!

[zoomie]

also when doing a replacemnt do not for whatever reason buy a dorman, use professional products or trickflow

[SVT98t]

Why?

-ryan s.

[r2t]

I bought my FRP intake off Americal Muscle.

[SVT98t]

Or buy a FRPP unit from Americanmuscle.com for $189.

-ryan s.

[85crownHPP]

Whats wrong with a Dorman one? I've put 3 on myself so far at work, I know we've done many more with no problems from them.

[sxcpotatoes]

My '99 with 246k is still running fine with the plastic crossover tube. YMMV

[sxcpotatoes]

Image go bye-byes.

[Ziggy]

I need to replace the intake manifold on my 2000 GM, and looking online at Amazon and Rock Auto. The Dorman pn# 615-178 seems to be the most cost effective part available, hanging around $195. The FRPP intake is $220, and I still gotta buy gaskets. Someone please explain why the Dorman product is inferior, or at least why the FRPP intake is worth spending more monies.

[85crownHPP]

I read a long thread on CVN about just this... seems the Dorman one is definitely made NOT with performance in mind. Its just a hum-drum replacement, far from 'port matched' to the heads and whatnot. If the FRPP one is supposed to be a 'performance' intake for only $30 more, I'd get it. If not, it's likely just another generic replacement anyway.

I've put 4 of those Dorman replacements on panthers so far, they all installed easy and the cars ran fine after, no comebacks.

[Ziggy]

Okay, good info, thanks! Decided to do some more investigation. It would seem that though the Dorman intake will bolt on, and the car will run, Dorman's intake is kind of a mish-mash of PI and non-PI intakes. The Dorman intake blends the aluminum coolant crossover (good) with the round style ports of the non-PI intake (bad).


This is a picture of the ports on a PI intake.


Since my car is a 2000, and thus a PI 4.6, the only real option for me is the FRPP intake. That way I can get the aluminum crossover and the port matched intake manifold.

[Ziggy]

Okay, someone clarify for me... I've found a couple of sources on line that say that the FRPP part is the stock replacement for the 01-04 Mustang GT SOHC 2V, but will fit any 4.6 SOHC from 99-04 with PI heads. Did all panthers get the PI treatment in '99? Did panthers get the same FRPP aluminum crossover intake in 2001 like the Mustangs did? I'm about to pull the trigger on an FRPP intake I found on Jegs.com for LESS THAN THE DORMAN, but I want to make sure it'll fit properly.

[Ziggy]

FWIW, I found the FRPP intake to not be a direct swap. My car, I found, has a Non-PI engine. What I've learned the hard way, is that the PI intake reaches much deeper into the valley between the heads. On the NPI cars, there is a coolant tube that runs directly under the intake through the valley that will prevent the PI intake from seating properly on the heads. Ford resolved this issue on PI cars by changing the coolant tube to run up along the driver's side head, allowing the intake manifold to reach deeper into the valley. Also, the intake manifold gaskets have little nubs on them to positively locate the gasket on the head. The little nubs are in different places on the PI and NPI parts. A PI intake manifold can be made to work on NPI heads, but I can't help but question why you'd want to do that? All of the changes Ford made to the 4.6 PI engine only resulted in 5-10 horsepower increase, with the bulk of those changes being in the heads themselves.

Now, I understand the argument that the Dorman intake manifold is not designed with performance in mind, but I'll be honest, at this point, I've got a car that is incapable of performance, so the Dorman intake that'll be a direct replacement swap stands to provide me with a 100% increase in performance from where I am right now. I call that a win!

I say all that, to say this; Before you purchase a PI intake manifold for your car, make sure you're aware of what will be involved in the installation. PI and NPI intakes are NOT interchangable between PI and NPI engines without other supporting mods.

[SVT98t]

You can swap it.
I did just did it on a 93 NPI. I'm planning on doing a full PI swap soon. This will just make it easier for me later on.

--> http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...-Manifold-Swap


Also, I fixed the pic.

-ryan s.