The plastic intake manifold cracked and leaked coolant onto the engine and other related components. Car died on freeway. The plastic intake manifold cracks. The coolant will leak onto the top of the block and then down the back of the engine. This intake design is a known defect by ford. Below is an "owner notification letter" from ford: 97m91 april, 1999 ford motor company is providing a no-charge service program number 97m91, to owners of certain 1996 through 1998 crown victoria taxi, town car limo prep & delivery package, 1996 and 1997 thunderbird, cougar and mustang vehicles equipped with 4.6l sohc engines. This service program provides additional coverage for the intake manifold. Reason for this program fatigue cracks may develop in some of the composite intake manifolds used on the 4.6l sohc engines installed in the affected cars. This condition may result in engine coolant leakage which, if not detected or ignored, will cause engine overheating. Complete loss of coolant may result in engine damage or engine failure. What we will do if the engine of your car should develop a coolant leak at the intake manifold cross over coolant passage, located directly behind the alternator, your dealer will verify the condition. If the coolant leakage is from the location described above, your dealer will replace the engine intake manifold assembly free of charge. This no charge coverage is available for 7 years from the vehicle's warranty start date (no mileage limitation) and is automatically transferred to subsequent owners. My complaint is that my mustang did not leak at the given 7 years and now ford motor company will not do anything. Everyone who owns these defective vehicles should have a replacement made available to them regardless of when the failure occurred. It is a safety issue, as stated in above letter from ford.
1998 Ford Mustang GT engine problems
44 complaints (83% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 84,782. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 44
- of this car's complaints
- 83%
- typical mileage
- 84,782
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe14
- Engine12
- Cooling system10
- Engine: gasoline1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford Mustang GT engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 1998 Ford Mustang GT engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On september 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or ejected from the engine.as of december 8, 2005, odi is not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a loss of vehicle control, a crash, an injury, or a fatality in any of the 10,319,810 subject vehicles.in addition, odi is aware of only two incidents where the vehicle stalled without restart.information contained in the odi consumer complaints and obtained from 72 telephone interviews with complainants showed the following:(1) 99% of the complaints were on my 1997 to 2002 subject vehicles.(2) most the complainants reported hearing a loud pop while driving or upon starting up the vehicle followed by a loud, repetitive clicking or popping sound.(3) many of the complainants reported that the popping sound was accompanied by some loss of vehicle power; however, in 99% of the incidents reported, the vehicle did not stall.in the very few incidents where the vehicle did stall, most vehicles could be restarted.(4) only a small percentage of the complainants cited that they smelled gas or a slight burning smell when the incident occurred.(5) in all but a very few incidents, vehicle damage was limited to the engine.in one incident, the complaint reported that the fuel rail was damaged and replaced after one of the spark plugs ejected from the engine; however, the complainant reported that the damage did not result in any type of fuel leak or fire.in another incident, the only incident where a fire was alleged, the complainant reported that no fluid leak was observed, but that a fire resulted after the spark plug had ejected from the engine and he had restarted the vehicle and driven to another location.none of the complainants reported any damage to the vehicle hood.(6) only two complainants reported that they observed what appeared to be some drops of fuel coming from the cylinder where the spark plug had failed or on the spark plug itself; however, each of these complainants reported that there was no smoke or flames as a result of his incident.as the petitioner noted, and odi?s analysis showed, it is possible for a spark plug to detach from the engine cylinder threads in the subject vehicles.however, odi?s analysis of 474 complaints describing such incidents found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences.none of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence.given the large population and relatively long exposure time of the subject vehicles, the complaint analysis indicates that the risk to motor vehicle safety from the alleged defect is very low.in view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the federal safety agency would issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect at the conclusion of the investigation requested in the petition.therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize the federal safety agency?s limited resources to best accomplish the agency?s safety mission, the petition is denied.
DP05005
What 1998 Ford Mustang GT owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
While driving on the interstate at 65mph, the intake manifold cracked, spraying coolant and steam from the hot engine out the back of the hood. This covered the windshield, causing me to lose all visibility. This is very dangerous, had there been something in front of me, I would have caused an accident. I see that there are numerous recalls for the same part/engine on other years and vehicles. The dealer also replaces it, with an updated version to avoid failure, at a cost of $900.00. If it is recalled on one car, why not the rest. It is the same part number and the same engine, it shouldn't matter what model vehicle it is in. Someday there will be a terrible accident due to this.
Intake manifold failure on 1998 ford mustang gt / 4.6l / 2v per class action suit us district court / northern district of california.
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford mustang gt. Approximately fifteen minutes after parking and exiting the vehicle, the engine compartment became engulfed in flames. The vehicle was destroyed. There was damage to another vehicle and to a neighboring home; however, the contact did not know the extent of the damage. A fire report was filed. The VIN and purchase date were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 140,000. Updated 03-04-08 *bf updated 03/04/08
Spark plug shot out of my mustang engine the dealer said they fixed the problem but it happened again. I paid for the repairs twice and then again for a 3rd time. It shot out on the road and could have caused an accident.
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 ford mustang. While driving 60 MPH the contact smelled anti- freeze. The contact did not remember if the air conditioner was on or not. After removing the thermostat she noticed that the intake manifold was cracked. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The manufacturer stated that there was nothing that they could do. The failure mileage was 94,000, and the current mileage was 95,427.
Owned car for over 5 yrs. Almost paid off. Discovered coolant leak. Put in new water pump, new pulleys, new thermostat, new thermostat housing, new hoses. Only to discover the junk plastic intake manifold is cracked. Now I found out by searching the internet that this is a common problem on my year of car. Ford is aware of said problem due to crappy engineering and refuses to make it right with consumers. They made it right with the fleet cars that are 1998's and cars other than my year.
1) plastic manifold started leaking. No warning. 2) dumped all coolant on motor and left me stranded. 3) will have to replace at a cost of over $900.
Cracked composite intake manifold coolant crossover resulting in coolant leak. Manifold being replaced with new aluminum manifold. I subsequently became aware of settlement in chamberlan v. Ford. I never received notification of settlement and my vehicle was past the 7 year limit at the time of the settlement. I feel that ford should extend coverage.
Last year I received notification of a class action settlement. I heard nothing else afterward, and have only just realized that I missed the march 16, 2006 deadline. Is there anything that people like myself can do in this instance?
Questions about the 1998 Ford Mustang GT engine
Does the 1998 Ford Mustang GT have engine problems?
Owners have filed 44 complaints about the engine of the 1998 Ford Mustang GT, 83% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 1998 Ford Mustang GT engine problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 84,782 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Ford Mustang GT engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford Mustang GT have bad engine?
The Ford Mustang GT model years with the most engine complaints are 1998 (44 complaints), 1996 (25 complaints) and 2000 (24 complaints).
Other 1998 Ford Mustang GT problems
Acceleration 2Brakes 2Seat belts 2Body 1Electrical 1Fuel system 1Lights 1Suspension 1Tires 1Visibility 1
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