I inherited a 1996 Grand Marquis (135K+Mi)
During normal driving recently there was a total coolant dump. I refilled the radiator and fired it up. Coolant poured out of the engine from somewhere under the intake manifold, down the valley pan and off the back of the bell housing. I am in the process of removing the intake manifold and am stalled at the fuel bar (manifold) it takes a special tool to dis assemble.
Has anyone got history on this problem? might the (plastic) intake manifold be cracked or could it just be a gasket?
1996 was the first year with the all-composite intake mainfold. They tended to split near the bottom of the coolant crossover and puke coolant on the alternator or somewhere else in front of the engine. Can you see aluminum at the thermostat housing, or is it plastic? If they didn’t split there, the next most likely place for them to leak is at the thermostat itself. That tends to ooze rather then puke.
In any case, your problem seems more like the tube in the valley between the cylinder banks, under the intake, that leads under the intake between the water pump and heater core. While you are in there, just replace the intake manifold with the correct Dorman kit even if it is not split or leaking. Chances are, it will start to leak around the t-stat when you put it back together. The plastic ledge that holds up the thermostat flange tends to recede so the coolant outlet won’t seal, and cracks develop in the housing around the bolts.
Go to www.crownvic.net for advice on the fuel rail. I am not familiar.
You just need a Ford fuel line disconnect tool. Most/all auto parts stores have them. The cheap plastic ones are a couple of dollars, the expensive ones might be as much as $10.
As the other post says, there is a hose that runs under the manifold that might have split. Also, like the other post says, it would be a good idea to replace the all plastic manifold with a newer one that has metal at the load bearing points.
Good source of info: www.crownvic.net