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question about intake manifold & coolant

96 GT 4.6 Has the newer intake manifold that was a recall item from Ford. Installed 7/25/2003

A couple months ago I put the car in the shop to get tune-up and the radiator replaced with a new one. Got the car out and right away I noticed it was losing coolant. One of the coolant hoses had come unattached (and/or was not correctly attached in the first place after the radiator swap-out). Took the car back and they fixed that problem, no charge.

Ok fast forward to now. Car starts running choppy, like on 7 cylinders. Took it in. They diagnosed pretty quick which cylinder and why: intake manifold gasket causing coolant to leak down around one of the plugs and causing a short with that plug.

My question to you all: Is it possible that when, a couple months ago they were doing the tune-up and radiator/hose work, they could have caused the current problem?

Finally, is $500 a good price for parts & labor to go in and replace this gasket? Apparently, it is a lot of work just to get to the gasket because the part itself is cheap.

Thanks for any advice you can give!

Reply to
Scotter
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Sounds like you took it to a dealership. No, it is unlikely that the gasket problem had anything at all to do with the other work they did on the radiator and the tuneup.

And $700, under the circumstances, sounds like far too much.

The subsequent problem you had with the radiator hose suggests sloppy work, inadequate quality monitoring, 'flat rating'.

(Was I right, was it a dealership??)

Reply to
<HLS

It wasn't a dealership. I have the same attitude as you do about dealerships and rarely go to them. Thanks for your input on this. Another angle I was thinking about: Two years ago this shop put in the new intake manifold, charging $432 for labor. One of the gaskets has now gone out and the same shop wants to charge me a little over $500 to fix the problem. What is a reasonable amount of time for me to expect a shop to warranty such a thing? Is it crazy to hope they would say, "We replaced this same thing (gasket) 2 years ago when we put in the new intake manifold so we are responsible for this and will do the work for free." ... or at least for a discount... ?

Reply to
Scotter

Ninety days would be my guess. They aren't going to warranty anything for two years.

I dont have access to Ford flat rate information on this. I doubt that any special tools are required. If you have good mechanical ability and a decent set of tools, you might want to consider doing it yourself.

Your story sounded like another dealership nightmare. If you have never checked the approved mechanic list at the AAA website, it might be of interest to you. I do most of my own work, but on occasion or two, have availed myself of this list. Worked out very well.

Reply to
<HLS

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