1996 Mercury Grand Marquis: engine overheating

Filed May 10, 2012 · Engine · 122,000 miles · WI

A crack in my exhaust manifold behind the alternator causing coolant to spray all over under my hood and now my engine overheats..thanks for using plastic parts ford .

Filed May 19, 2008 · Engine · 71,337 miles · TX

Had just turned off freeway when warning chime for overheated engine sounded. Stopped car within one block & turned off motor. Towed to mechanic. Turns out to be the intake manifold catastrophic failure, common to fords (mine is 1996 mercury grand marquis, 71k miles.) am now running compression test to see if any engine damage, if there is no damage then I will have to fix manifold at a cost of approx. $1036. If there is engine damage then I will have to junk a perfectly fine car in excellent condition (apart from this). Ford does not offer any redress. I never received any information about this problem, nor about the class action lawsuit settlement. This could have been extremely dangerous, as I had just excited a freeway when the warning beep sounded. I have received all other recall info on this vehicle and have complied w. Recall. In fact vehicle had been fully checked by dealer only 6 days when taken in for the second part of the switch recall on this model. Dealer never informed me of any potential manifold problem. This is a safety issue as well as a defective part issue. At the very least, owners should be notified that this is a common catastrophic failure.

Filed Mar 10, 2008 · Acceleration, Electrical · 73,000 miles · GA

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 mercury grand marquis. Occasionally, when driving 55-60 MPH, the vehicle would vibrate. The vibration also occurred while driving between 35-40 MPH. The contact stated that she had to add water to the antifreeze receptacle each day because the vehicle would overheat. While making a left turn, the contact would hear a rustling sound as if something was rubbing together. In addition, the rear windows would not go down. The front passenger side window would go down, but would not go back up. The contact was informed that the failure was electrical. The blinkers, brake lights, and cruise control have failed. She also received a safety recall notice for the vehicle speed control. The powertrain and recall number were unknown. The current mileage was 90,647 and failure mileage was 73,000.

Filed May 26, 2005 · Engine · 86,125 miles · CO

Plastic intake manifold split during travel through mountains causing all of the coolant to spew out. Overheating occurred immediately and caused severe damage to engine. Ford had issued a technical service bulletin 02-2-2 dated 1/17/2002 and subsequently redesigned part. This was a known problem that has not been properly communicated to the consumer resulting in extensive cost to the consumer with an engine replacement.

Filed Apr 20, 2005 · Engine · 89,816 miles · TX

I was driving home and my car began overheating. The next day I brought it to a repair shop. They told me that the intake manifold was cracked and that there had been recalls on the engine in my car for this exact problem. They told me that there had been several instances of this repair being done under recall. They used their resources to obtain documentation of recalls being issued for this exact problem. I contacted ford motor corp. Customer service and spoke with a representative who told me that my particular car had no outstanding recalls associated with it. The repeated occurence of this problem has been noted by me through several instances of customer complaints posted on the internet. The exact problem is with a plastic intake manifold which develops a crack near the themostat and leaks coolant.

Filed Sep 15, 2004 · Engine · IL

While driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle overheated and stalled. The vehicle was towed to a independent shop. The mechanic determined the intake manifold was cracked and coolant spilled inside the engine. Please provide further information.

Filed Jul 12, 2004 · Engine · 127,992 miles · CO

My car (1996 mercury grand marquis) developed a crack in the intake manifold leading to complete loss of coolant and overheating while traveling through wyoming. It was then towed to a small town repair shop, where this problem was brought to my attention, and that many cars had a recall for this. Unfortunately, for civilian cars there is no recall which LED to a repair cost of $1132.00.

Filed Apr 20, 2004 · Engine · 83,000 miles · NC

While driving 50 MPH vehicle overheated. Dealership informed the consumer that the problem pertained to cracks in the intake manifold. The problem was not resolved.

Filed Nov 5, 2003 · Engine · 54,000 miles · IL

Consumer stated intake gasket failed. Dealer notified.*ak. The consumer stated while driving, he smelled antifreeze and noticed the vehicle started to overheat, the vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated the part was a manufacturing defect, because the intake manifold used to be made of cast iron and now it is made of aluminum. *jb *scc

Filed Oct 27, 2003 · Engine · 90,000 miles · TN

Intake manifold cracked, causing vehicle to overheat and stall while driving. Dealership indicated that manifold cracked because it's made of plastic.

Filed Oct 4, 2003 · Engine · 73,600 miles · AZ

Cracked intake manifold, causing overheating and lost of coolant while traveling at highway speed. 1996 mercury grand marquis 4.6l engine.

Filed Oct 3, 2003 · Engine · 60,000 miles · FL

1996 mercury grand marquis, which has a plastic intake manifold, started leaking coolant over the front of the engine. Plastic cracked in front section allowing coolant loss to spray all over. Visited local dealer, palm beach lincoln-mercury who admitted this is a common problem and is recalled on some newer models but there is not recall, free or paid replacement on this item. Repairs cost in excess of $800.00 to have the intake manifold replaced. Please commence investigation as there are numerous other complaints on the federal safety agency site for same item.