Customer Reviews

Dorman OE Solutions 615-178 Intake Manifold

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this for my 96 Lincoln after I found out that my intake manifold cracked and it was past the deadline for the class action settlement from Ford. There are great instructions on the internet for the installation and it took about 7 hours from start to finish. The only problem was that one of the two temperature sensors would not come out of the old manifold and had to be replaced. The most difficult part of the installation was cleaning the mating surfaces. So far everything has worked fine.

After over 100K miles (and days after having replaced a coolant leaking intake manifold gasket) on the second plastic cross over manifold on my mustang I noticed a small crack near the passenger side temp sensor that was weeping coolant and upon disassembly a three inch crack in progress where the cross over was getting ready to burst.

I did not want to pay the outrageous prices ford dealers charge for NPI aluminum cross over intake manifolds nor do I like any of the solutions to use a PI manifold on NPI heads (due to cost and/or engineering reasons depending on the method) so I went with the dorman hoping for the best.

On the plus side the manifold is made in the USA, it fits, and the install of the manifold itself doesn't have any special issues to deal with. It's far cheaper than what ford dealers charge for the NPI manifolds. (Ford PI manifolds can be found for just a little more than what this Dorman manifold costs)

On the minus side the molds that make the pieces at the intake ports were designed with a parting line inside the ports. The resulting draft creates material that will block some of the airflow or cause less than ideal flow. There was also some flash in there on the part I got. I removed this material with an xacto knife and a dremel to smooth out the ports. This clean up made it much more like the ford manifold. It was far less material than seen on dorman manifolds for other applications and probably would not make much difference, but I didn't like it so I took care of it.

The included alternator bracket does not work on a mustang. It interfered with the tubes that go across the top of the manifold. My dremel and a bench grinder were used to cut away the big 'plate' that was on the dorman bracket but not the OEM one. Also be aware that if your car has COP the coils are held in place by thread cutting screws instead of having threaded inserts. Mine doesn't so that wasn't an issue.

I haven't driven the car much with the dorman manifold on so I can't say if there has been any change in power. it seems to be about the same, maybe a little less, but from what I could find on the mustang and crown vic forums that the NPI dorman vs. NPI ford is the same power wise.

Also of note, if leaking coolant has caused any additional wear-and-tear on some of the spark plugs or the coils have gotten weak with age (or both in my case) upon re-assembly misfires of some degree will make themselves known even if there were no obvious problems previously. If misfires show up after wards check the gap on the plugs that were flooded with coolant and the coil packs. Also check for boiled down coolant sludge inside the spark plug boots.

My 97 T-Bird had a very bad coolant leak and I had to add water every day to keep it from over heating, the leak was not at the typical area for these manifolds, it was at the heater hose return, it had cracked down the peace of plastic that the hose clamps onto.
By the way the manifold I replaced was not the original it had already been replaced from the warranty one time before.
I think Ford should have to replace these throughout the life of the vehicle.
The unit I purchased from Amazon was a perfect fit, it went in without a hitch and has cured my leaking problem.
This is a quality part from a quality source.
I searched everywhere and Amazon was the best place to purchase this item from, I even have a friend who works for a company that gets these manifolds at wholesale and Amazon still beats their price.
If you need one of these buy it here you want be sorry...

Although I still think Ford should have paid for this, as they lost the civil lawsuit against them for manufacturing a piece of crap. This Dorman aftermarket manifold was of the highest quality. It contained everything necessary to replace the manifold with the exception of the O-rings for the injectors. This is a 2 man job if your going to do it yourself like I did. Good luck.

A great OE solution! As Advertised! I bought this Dorman Intake Manifold for our older Mercury Grand Marquis at a significant cost savings when compared to our local auto parts store (same brand, same part number). My mechanic had no problems with the installation and verfied it was a great fit, great product. Very happy with the form, fit and function.

Great aftermarket replacement. Only problem was the holes to hold down accelerator cable bracket could have been tapped or had inserts.

Needed a new intake manifold for my '99 Grand Marquis as the original one on this car had a crack on the heater hose nipple located at rear of manifold. I put this work off for about a year as I refused to pay local shops their $1000 price for this job. Found this one at best price on the net and decided to takle this job myself. I never worked on these style fuel injection engines before, mostly the older carburated engines. Found a good link with step by step instructions and accomplished this job in about 10 hours. Cleaned the aluminum block well where the old gaskets were to ensure good mating surfaces. Also replaced my water pump at the same time, also puchased here from Amazon. Car had a hard time starting at first due to loss of fuel pressure but once started and ran for a minute it settled in nice and smooth. A great feel of satisfaction knowing I did this myself and saved a bunch of money. I highly recommend this item and Amazon.

At less than 75,000 miles, I had a leaking manifold for the second time. The first one had been replaced under program #97M91 at around 35,000 miles. After the second intake manifold started leaking on this car, I decided to look for a better solution, and I stumbled on the Dorman product.
The installation of the manifold went very well. In particular the pre-installed gaskets made the job easier.
I had a minor problem though, and that was with the bracket for the alternator. It may have been for a different model, and I had to go to a shop to have the back end band-sawed off, as this extension was in the way of the pipes and harnesses crossing over behind the bracket.
Besides this, I was very pleased with the product, and would strongly recommend it for replacement of the lousy Ford OEM piece of garbage.
I also have a Crown Victoria, and as a result of my experience, I am planning on replacing its manifold as a precautionary measure before the next big trip.

Just finished installing the manifold on a 1999 Crown Vic (4.6L, base model). Included with the manifold are two alternator brackets, self-tapping screws for the spark-plug coils since the Dorman does not use threaded inserts for these coils, and tightening instructions.

Total time it took me from hood up to hood down was approximately 9 hours, and I replaced spark plugs and injector o-rings at the same time.

Pain points: (1) Cleaning the surface of the intake ports without contaminating the ports of the engine; (2) Removing and installing the injectors and o-rings; (3) Removing the wipers and wiper tray; (4) but the biggest was the crash bracket. (This bracket supposed to help reduce the risk of fuel leak and fire in case of a front-end crash.) This bracket is painful to remove since the wiper mechanism and tray has to be removed to get at a bolt near the firewall. Unfortunately, the bracket needs to be removed to have access to the driver-side fuel rail.

After installation of the manifold and then the fuel rail and crash bracket, I found out that the new manifold has a slightly lower profile and, as a result, the throttle-body, which was previously higher than the bracket, now collided with it. This prevented installation of the throttle body. I had to remove the crash bracket again and cut two inches off of its length to allow the throttle body to seat properly. It is very thick metal, and difficult to cut unless it is outside the vehicle.

Unfortunately, this is evidence of the Dorman being a non-OEM part, and therefore not necessarily a drop-in fit without having to improvise. I do not know if this crash bracket problem also exists in years other than my 1999 vehicle. Shame on Dorman for not giving advance warning of this possibility or having a remedy for it.

I was very pleased with the price, quality and speed of delivery of the intake manifold I ordered for my Grand Marquis. The original part had a crack in the plastic which caused an antifreeze leak. The new part I purchased was redesigned and metal was placed where the original plastic crack appeared. With super saver shipping on Amazon.com and no state tax to pay, I saved 50% of the cost if I were to buy it from a Mercury dealership.

Thank you!