I have a cracked aluminum coolant crossover. can i buy just the crossover without purchasing the whole intake manifold? i have a crown victoria 2003 4.6 engine. thanks Richard

water / coolant is getting burnt in combustion chamber therefor the water loss situation. replace intake gasket and any other gaskets where visible water leakage is present. after that if problem is still there you'll be looking at getting the head gasket replaced.

Sounds like a cracked intake manifold crossover tube. Very common on the 4.6 liter. The new intake has been updated with an aluminum crossover.

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

Notorious for intake leaks, the composite plastic intakes crack and leak coolant-as to the lack of power, you mght have overheated it and done some damage to the engine. There was a recall (information below) for the 4.6 for the intake-the overheating and lack of power means you should at least have compression checked and go from there-you may have bad head gaskets or worse. Do a compression test before you do anything else.

Ford Motor Company will extend the recall (01M02) on 4.6L V8 equipped vehicles with plastic intake manifolds. Some of the composite intake manifolds used on 4.6L SOHC engines may develop fatigue cracks at the coolant crossover duct. This condition could result in engine coolant leakage which, if not serviced, may cause engine overheating. Complete loss of coolant may result in engine damage or engine failure.
The updated recall now includes:
• Certain 1996 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria with Taxi
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery Prep Package
• Certain 1996-2001 Crown Victoria Taxis, Police cars and Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery cars.
• Certain 1996 through 1997 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from the beginning of production for the 1996 Model Year through January 28, 1997.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Taxi Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine Prep Package and Livery Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the Wixom Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.

The all-black-plastic manifolds are susceptible to cracking. You should inspect the manifold carefully for cracks, but it might be hard to see if it is cracked underneath. You could try replacing just the thermostat housing, but if you still get leaks, you will probably need to replace the manifold as well. Ford recalled some fleet cars for this issue, but not all cars affected.

you would really need to replace the plastic intake. they are not cheap, but any other "fix it" would only be temporary...

possible bad rings, i would put some motor tune-up in oil will clean carbon off rings, its made by company called seaform and is called motor tune-up, put hole can in oil and drive for about 30 days ,its good stuff can also use in fuel to clean injectors, could also have worn out valve stem seals causing oil to leak pass valves into cyl

a plenum is the top part of the intake manifold, modern fuel injected cars and trucks (gas engiones) have a upper and lower intake manifold, the upper section is called the plenum.

Well, yes, the leak that you describe could from any of those areas, but not likely the heater core. Heater core leaks totally fog out windshield...

More likely causes are cracked coolant hoses, take a mirror and look around. If you do not find the leak, you need to add pressure, it should show up...

Sorry to have to give you the bad news but Ford will not be able to assist you with this repair.
This was part of a class action settlement and Ford extended the warranty for 7 years from the original warranty start date. A 1999 model would be well outside of those guidelines and they can not deviate from these guidelines because it was a class action settlement.

I don't understand the question, anyway aluminum tube are not much better, electrolosis from disimilar metals in water jacket would take care of the aluminum in about the same timeframe, i would go stainless steel lines,