I was driving my father's 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis ls at 35 mph. I noticed a car pull up beside me with the driver waiving frantically. I rolled down my window and he told me my car was "pouring water". I looked at the temperature gauge and it had risen. Managed to make it the five or so blocks to the house and raised the hood. Steam came out. Filled with water and took to a local shop on Monday morning to find out the car had a cracked intake manifold. Repair bill for intake was $800 with more to come as now it has noisy lifters. There was a recall and class action suit as my 1997 Cougar had 3 intakes replaced, one the manufacturer reimbursed under recall. They would not pay for the other two but they sent me the same faulty part on the second go round. On my car and this Grand Marquis, mileage was right at 80,000 on first occurrence. My parents never received a recall letter on this car but did receive notice of the class action suit. The kept the notice of the suit in their file but did not respond as they never received a recall letter and thought their vehicle was not included. The manufacturer states they "cannot help". the recall was for seven years, unlimited mileage from Feb 2008. Ford Motor Company should make good on their faulty parts regardless. In certain instances and depending on where you are when it happens, the results could be devastating, not to mention the bill for all the repairs. Believe me, on both cars, repairs did not stop at the replacing of the intake. Please help!!

- Monroe, LA, USA

The 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis had started running a little rough, and being on a very fixed income I hoped and prayed nothing was too badly wrong with it. The manifold failed on the way to the repair shop and I lost all the coolant from the cracked plastic manifold. I had to replace the defective manifold, due to the 3 inch crack in it and all the related gaskets and peripheral equipment. I still have the manifold and the outrageous bill that went with it!!!!!!!

- Pekin, IL, USA

Vehicle has only 60,000 miles just bought the car. One evening car lost all antifreeze intake manifold had cracked. There is no recall on the Grand Marquis. But every Ford built with the same intake has been recalled. The new part cost 230 and is built differently obviously because the original is a faulty setup.

- Aurora, CO, USA

The intake manifold on my 1997 Grand Marquis has cracked leaking coolant. I am told Mercury had an "extended warranty" for such failures, but my car is not included. This is a very costly item and the result of Ford using inferior plastic for their manifolds is there any way to recover these costs?

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

: the contact stated while driving at 65 mph, the temperature gauge rose quickly and the vehicle overheated. Hot water leaked out from under the hood and the underside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a private repair shop, who determined that the intake manifold had cracked. Updated 8/30/2006 -

- Delphi, IN, USA

Driving down highway at 60 mph., when the plastic intake manifold suddenly ruptured dumping out all the antifreeze. High volume of traffic, we could barely get off highway, steam coming from my car blocking vision. Could have caused a major accident. Car had to be towed to local garage, then towed to my home and local garage for repairs. We had to rent car to get home. Mechanic said our intake manifold ruptured causing head gasket failure and possible engine failure. On 8-23-05, got class action suit papers in mail stating plastic intake manifolds could rupture causing coolant to leak and Ford would reimburse people who had the problem and paid for repairs. When I got the paper I went to mechanic and told him to stop repairs to see where I stood in suit. Suit did not mention gasket repair reimbursement and engine failure reimbursement. I called Ford today and got the usual story that their was no recall on my car, etc. However Ford did recall police cars, taxis and fleet cars with the same engine that I have. Ford knew about the poorly designed plastic intake manifolds for years and did not care about customer safety. We could have died from their neglect. W

- Hanson, MA, USA

1997 Mercury Grand Marquis intake manifold failure has happened twice, unknown if there is any other damage because of this failure. This is a plastic manifold both have cracked. Ford has refused to take care of the problem. The first failure was in 2003. The second in 2005. Fluid loss and steam was so heavy on the second failure that the driver could not see and almost had an accident on the roadway.

- Topeka, IN, USA

Problems with intake manifold on 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis. The intake manifold cracked which caused antifreeze to be sprayed onto the engine. The consumer observed that the replacement manifold had an additional protective metal plate located around the front face of the manifold directly opposite the alternator. The consumer believes that the addition of the metal shield is proof that the manufacturer was aware of the poorly designed original design therefore he feels they should have been recalled. The consumer request reimbursement for the cost of a new intake manifold.

- Franklin Square, NY, USA

Consumer pulled over to the side of the road and there was fluid all over the engine because the intake manifold, whic was made of plastic, cracked. Consumer contacted Lincoln Mercury and was told that this was the designed features of the vehicle and there was nothing they could do.

- Haddon Township, NJ, USA

Driving down the road, I noticed a coolant smell coming into my 1997 grand marqui. I then pulled over to find coolant steaming from under the hood. Took it to the dealer the next day and they found a cracked plastic intake manifold that is going to cost around $1000 to fix. Since then I have checked the internet site and found this is a common problem in these cars with 4.6 engine. I also found out this problem was being fixed by Ford on fleet cars only at no charge. Why is this not being paid by Ford when it is obviously a manufactuer defect and why are the fleet vehicles being taken care of for nocharge?

- Lees Summit, MO, USA

Driving with my family, on an interstate at 65 mph, we suffered a catastrophic loss of engine coolant. Thank god, I managed to safely pull over to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was towed 25 miles to the nearest Ford dealer to natural bridge, Virginia. I was dumbfounded when I learned that the manifold was made of plastic; it actually blew apart, releasing all the engine coolant at once. Additionally, I learned that not only did Ford engineer an inferior major engine component, but they made my family the guinea pig to field test this junk! to add insult to injury, they made me pay for it. My cost included: Towing $125, manifold replacement for $800, and an unplanned hotel stay including meals for approximately $225 with a total cost of $1150 which does not include the loss of a days pay. If the Ford Motor Company think they derived an advantage by not paying for this failure, I believe they should think again. Until I have been reimbursed in full I will not own another Ford product nor any product in which Ford has a business interest. I'm glad I found this web site. I hope it alerts others to the bad business practices that the Ford Motor Company happens to be practicing!

- Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA

I was driving in heavy stop and go traffic when I started to smell anitfreeze. Within a few seconds, steam start coming from around the hood, obscuring my vision. I was able to maneuver off the road and called a tow truck. Had the vehicle towed to a nearby dealer where it was diagnosed as a crack in the plastic intake manifold. The manifold was replaced with an improved part where the coolant was routed through a metal section of the manifold. Total cost of the repair was $1145.62 plus $80 for the tow.

- Houston, TX, USA

I was driving home from work when the heat gauge started rising rapidly. I pulled over and opened the hood of the car. I had to call a tow truck. The car is still in the shop due to the fact the part is in high demand. It is now a item that Ford stocks and they can't keep enough to supply the demand. It cost me $700. This should not be made of plastic! it is an important component and has to be able to handle heat. This was not a wise choice on Ford's part.

- Howard, OH, USA

The plastic intake manifold cracked behind the alternator resulting in loss of coolant fluid. The repair cost is $700. These manifolds have a history of this problem and needed to be recalled.

- Holiday, FL, USA

While entering onto the highway from a service road, smoke/steam began coming from underneath the hood, and we began to smell the antifreeze as it burned off the engine and manifold. The engine light came on, and engine temperature guage began to rise rapidly. Luckily, I was able to drive to a nearby Ford dealer. The repair guy looked under the hood and without close examination told me that the intake's base was made of plastic and that it had failed and began leaking engine coolant. The leak was right behind the alternator. He said that it is a "common" problem and that he had seen five such incidents in recent months. He did explain that Ford recognized the problem and had come out with a replacement part with an aluminum base. The total repair bill was $816.56 - no offer to replace N/C because of a known defect. The repair guy did say it is a common problem and Ford should do something about it.

- Edgewood, NM, USA

Failure of intake manifold was sudden/catestrophic and happened at highway speed. Engine coolant caused a cloud of steam so thick, forward vision was completely blocked. Blocked forward vision could have caused a serious accident.

- Bowie, MD, USA

The intake manifold is made of a plastic material. It developed a crack and a major coolant leak at the front of the manifold. The car was running at normal temp before the failure, it just cracked with no warning. This is a major fix because the entire intake manifold has to be replaced. The cost of the part alone is $283. This is a defective part, in my opinion.

- N. Canton, OH, USA

Consumer notice coolant smell inside vehicle while traveling soon after notice temperature gauge rising with indication light flashing. Consumer pull vehicle over look under hood and notice coolant under hood and ground vehicle was service intake manifold need to be replace. Mr the consumer states that Ford acknowledges this problem to fleet owners and has a recall, but aren't addressing the problem. The consumer states that he has made the repairs with parts purchased from the Ford dealer. (cracked along the seam, dumped coolant all over the upper engine and onto the ground)

- Modesto, CA, USA

This part is made of plastic. Plastic is an unsuitable material for a major component that is subject to frequent heating and cooling, vibration, and aging. The failure of this part occurs suddenly and catastrophically. The driver risks total loss of power from the engine and control of the car if they continue to drive. The driver and occupants are at risk to death and injury if this part fails in unsafe areas, in inclement weather, or at night. This defect is a "no brainer" when you consider the long history of successful operation of automobiles with intake manifolds made with cast iron or cast aluminum.

- Spring, TX, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.

- Cos Cob, CT, USA