'97 mustang, started making an odd noise on acceleration with some power loss. Drove around trying to figure out what it was, eliminated some things when the MIL came on. Idles and cruises fine, only at acceleration does this missing/skipping sort of noise occur. Read the codes, cylinder #8 misfire.
I pull the boot on #8, full of a viscous liquid. feels like oil, smells like coolant. Pull boots on all cylinders in that bank. two more (back three, driver's side all said) filled with coolant.
coolant is down a bit at cold, not unusual given the time and milage since I last topped it off. (I've owned the car since new) Took maybe at most 16oz to fill it back up to the brim.
I've since extracted the coolant from the spark plug wells and looked around. the area between the valve cover and intake manifold on that side is dirty and wet. The other side clean and dry (I clean the engine about once/twice a year). There are signs of a small amount of coolant had been running down the engine into the valley of the V at both ends. Under the thermostat and past #8 on the firewall side.
The intake manifold was replaced years ago after the orignal cracked behind the alternator. (classic failure) There is apparently no crack or leak behind the alternator this time. No cracks anywhere that I can see or feel.
Any ideas what I am dealing with here? Leaky gasket by the thermostat? although the plug closest to it didn't get flooded... There's another passage I think between #8 and the firewall, but it seems to be capped off by the intake manifold.
I'll be putting the boots back on and doing some stop gap to seal the wells. Guess all I can do is start it up and try to see where the coolant is coming out, but I fear it is something so slow that I won't see it.
thanks in advance for any insights...