ICE engine, 4.6L Ford, Intake Manifold Basket, what for?

[Nehmo]

I tried posting this question in 3 (I kid you not) regular auto groups. (One of them, Garage Journal, banned me for asking the main guy for a reference on his comment in a different thread. I kid you not again.) But so far, no one has given me an answer. So, I figured I'd post in this group, whose members are actually more mechanically inclined than in a typical auto group. The question is about a regular Lincoln Town Car 2005 4.6L SOHC engine. It's not electric, of course. My apologies.

I'm replacing the intake manifold on this 4.6L, and I discovered a basket (polyurethane {?} foam with hard plastic shell) under the intake manifold. All other vids and instructions on the web don't show this part.
Update: I just spoke to a Ford parts guy, and he said the insulator basket was used from 2003 to 2011, but he couldn't provide any further info.
I don't know whether to leave it out or not. If it's just to make the engine heat up faster, then I'd leave it out. It seems to me the engine would have more air flow without it.

The new intake fits nicely without it, haven't tried with it.

 

[Brentis]

I could be complete off here, I did some googling but could not come up with a definite answer.
I think you have it backwards. The insulating basket may be protecting the intake manifold and incoming charge from the heat of the motor, not acting to heat the motor up quicker.
If that is the case, if using in severe duty, I'd recommend keeping it.
In fact I'd recommend keeping it either way, wasn't on there for no good reason. :wink:

Hope I didn't give ya bad thinking.
Good luck.

 

[Nehmo]

I'd recommend keeping it.
In fact I'd recommend keeping it either way, wasn't on there for no good reason. :wink:

The fact that the new and old intakes don't exactly match each other complicates the issue. Then, why did Ford stop using the basket in 2011? Also, as you can see form the pics, mine was kinda crumpled and cracked. I suppose that's not an issue for a piece of insulating material, but it seems out of place. Additionally, there are 2 sets of wires that would be difficult to get at with the basket installed.

You see that wire cable to something directly in the bottom? I don't know what it is. There's also another sensor of some kind on the left (driver's) side.
So, I placed the intake manifold in position (without basket), and it fit well. Actually, I was just going to make a trial positioning, but I decided it was more trouble to take it off and then insert this ugly-looking basket for unknown reasons. Besides, Ford dumped it in '11, and who am I to question them?

 

[Brentis]

Again just throwing a guess out there.
Looks like the new manifold, which I assume is '11 or newer, is of slightly different design.
The plenum appears smaller with more defined channels. Likely a better design and potentially an upgrade in materials, allowed for removal of the added heat protection. Just speculating.
Looks, like you said, that the mounting and gaskets are a match. If there is no supplied or available updated insulator part #, I personally would go ahead without.
But that's one guys opinion. Don't risk your ride or your safety on that.

 

[mark5]

Nehmo, would the threads below be any help.

http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2600340
http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2475969

 

[Brentis]

Nehmo, would the threads below be any help.

http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2600340
http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2475969

Good google-fu.

 

[dnmun]

that part is there to function as a thermal insulating standoff from the engine for the fuel injection or carb. i replaced one once because it was leaking. you wanna keep it on the motor if you drive in warm climates otherwise you will get vapor lock or worse from the fuel overheating.

 

[Nehmo]

Nehmo, would the threads below be any help.http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2600340
http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2475969

Good job. I must have been using the wrong terms in my searches.
Anyhow, apparently, some companies call it a heat shield, and they say with it power output is increased because the air in the intake manifold is at a lower temperature and is consequently more dense.
So, assuming those heat-shield advocates are correct, the answer is yes, it's preferable to have a heat shield, but it's not necessary.

And to respond to the remark assuming it was my car, it's not. I'm doing the job gratis for my 84 year old housemate who recently made a senile-stupid deal of trading his good-engine car (with body problems) for this nice-looking body & interior car with mechanical problems. IOW, he traded minor cosmetic problems for major mechanical ones. Plus he gave the guy 1k$.
If ever I start going crazy like that, you, my friends, have my permission to kill me.

 

[spinningmagnets]

It's good to heat the intake manifold when warming up the engine in cold weather to help the gasoline vaporize. Older cars had a system where the intake air was drawn across the exhaust manifold until the engine was warm.

It's also good to keep the intake cool once it's running well, because cooler air is denser, and as a result has more power capability. I'm sure that they added the insulator because some head engineer thought the test figures made it worthwhile, and some other head engineer eliminated it because he felt it was un-necessary...

Modern fuel injection systems have a return line to the fuel tank, and one of the reasons is that the fuel tank is ususally cool and the engine compartment is often hot. This high return "circulation" flow keeps the fuel in the line cool enough that it doesn't flash into a vapor, which is hard to pump through the system, and meter through the injectors (vapor lock, as stated in one of the posts).

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the insulator improved smog during the first minute of engine operations by some incredibly tiny percentage.

 

[Drunkskunk]

A heat shield there makes sense. That area of the motor is going to get hot. additionally, that style of intake stands off from the block, so debris can get packed in there and potentially lead to a fire. Oil, dead leaves, ect. So some sort of form fitting foam insulator that filled the area makes sense.

However, the risk is low, unless you just happen to leave the hood up in the fall often, or drive through wheat fields daily. I can see the design team 10 years ago looking at that and thinking " We have a 1 in a million chance of this causing a fire in the next 10 years. And we're going to make 10 million engines. That's 10 engine fires we don't have to have. lets spend $0.25 per motor, 2.5 million over the next decade, and save 200 million in bad press and recalls later. Also, we might pick up a couple miles per tank with a cooler intake charge, so our fleet MPG will be slightly better."
10 years later "We need to shed some costs on our engine line due to budget cuts. this part does basically nothing, and we've never had an engine fire. scrap it."

 

[Nehmo]

After much consternation, even removing the un-fastened intake manifold and thinking from that position, I decided to leave out the heat shield.
It looked like a piece of junk.
The wires of unknown purpose would be difficult to reach if it were installed.
My replacement intake was different, so the heat shield would not have matched exactly. I believe it still would have been installable, though.
Ford abandoned it in '11.
Now the intake manifold is installed and the engine is back together. However, it only starts briefly only if I shoot starter fluid (ether) in the air intake.
So, my next test is to check pressure on the fuel rail, but where is the Schrader valve test point on Lincoln town car 4.6L 2005? Is it the green capped vertical tube (bottom left) in the pic?

 

[dnmun]

you may wanna examine the intake manifold vacuum in case the removal of that thermal insulator has led to a vacuum leak in the manifold that prevents the air/fuel mixture from reaching the critical ratio.

 

[Nehmo]

you may wanna examine the intake manifold vacuum in case the removal of that thermal insulator has led to a vacuum leak in the manifold that prevents the air/fuel mixture from reaching the critical ratio.

No, it couldn't have plugged any vacuum hole. It's just a flabby piece of molded insulation material. And I'm getting a brief start using ether (starter fluid) shot into the air intake. Usually, that means the fuel isn't getting to the cylinders. At this point in my research, it seems Ford eliminated the Schrader valve fuel 4.6l Lincoln town car ...http://www.stangnet.com/images/stories/docs/sn95_TSBs/02-23-03.pdf I'm buying the tool right now.

 

[Nehmo]

The best pic I've found

for a power distribution box diagram. It denotes K206 micro relay as "Fuel". Is that the one for the Fuel pump? (Why wouldn't Ford include the word "pump".) I also see fuse 4 as "Fuel relay feed". I suppose that is in series with the fuel pump relay?
Actually, at this point, I'm trying to check the fuel pump. (I realize this should have preceded the intake manifold replacement, but I definitely discovered a leak in that, so I replaced.) And the biggest problem is finding a place to connect the pressure tester. The junction by the fuel rail is very difficult to detach. There is a vid of a guy disconnecting a similar junction, but mine is much more resistant. I have the metal tool, but it won't shove in - so far, anyway.
I may try getting into the fuel line at the fuel filter under the passenger rear door. It should be easier.
Edit: I managed to disconnect the fuel line from the rail. I used the tool I was using before

but I used the C size part (which seemed the smaller size), which still was difficult but worked. Now I need to somehow fit the gauge on the line.

 

[Nehmo]

I'm not getting any pressure at all, nothing, at the fuel line where it connects to the rail.
The fuel relay functions. I experimentally put it in the horn-relay position, and the horn works.
Thus, the fuel pump (or the wires to it, I suppose) is bad. (Another possibility is that the computer isn't giving the command to activate the fuel pump relay.) This is a bit perplexing because the fuel pump was working, at least to a degree, when I began working on the car. It must have been in the process of failing.
To explain why I'm doing this only now, I changed the intake manifold when I discovered coolant in plug well #6 and seepage from the intake gasket as the source of it.
Anyway, now I need to change the fuel pump. I expect this means I need to drop the gas tank.

 

[dnmun]

if the fuel pump was working before you started this then it should be working now. it has to be something else imo.

 

[Drunkskunk]

before dropping the tank, I'd check for voltage going back to the pump. It doesn't normally get any until the engine is running, but should get a ~5 second signal when the key is first turned on to prime and pressurize the system.

if that checks out, try manually hooking power to the pump and see if you can get pressure. Pumps do die, bu5t I'd suspect it was more likely a pressure sensor or something near the intake telling the pump not to run. Some cars just will not run the pump unless there is pressure in the line to prevent fires if a line splits, like in an accident.

 

[Nehmo]

before dropping the tank, I'd check for voltage going back to the pump. It doesn't normally get any until the engine is running, but should get a ~5 second signal when the key is first turned on to prime and pressurize the system.

if that checks out, try manually hooking power to the pump and see if you can get pressure. Pumps do die, bu5t I'd suspect it was more likely a pressure sensor or something near the intake telling the pump not to run. Some cars just will not run the pump unless there is pressure in the line to prevent fires if a line splits, like in an accident.

Yes,I certainly want to rule out every other possibility before dropping the tank. I was thinking of manually closing the relay contacts as the first test.
Then, depending on that result, if the pump doesn't activate, check for voltage at the wire going to the pump.
If that wire (don't know which it is yet) has voltage, and the pump is not making noise, then the pump or the connection to it must be bad.
That's my plan.

 

[marty]

Some cars have a switch that shuts off the fuel pump if the car rolls upside down. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia_switch
These switches sometimes pop for no reason. The owners manual should tell you if your car has one and where it is. [sometimes in the trunk]

Do you have a service manual? I find these extremely helpful when working on cars and trucks. You will see a wire diagram showing the fuel pump and wires all the way to the battery. Every connection, where it is and every wire in the car. Usually takes me a wile to figure out how to read diagrams of schematics, connections and where everything is in the car.

I tried to download - Ford Factory Service Manual DVD 2005-2006
Description
2005 - 2006 FORD, LINCOLN, MERCURY SERVICE / SHOP MANUAL DVD
From kickass.to
Its been going a few days and seems to be stuck at 55.6% I give up. Download or buy a DVD or paper book on eBay. $30 or so well spent. Do library's have these books?

Also remove the gas cap and stick your nose in there. Should smell like gasoline. You should have had some gas spilling when you checked the pressure. Hope it smelled like gas. Reason I ask is because I sometimes fill rental cars gas tank with a garden hose before I return them. [Only Joking!]

Careful with fuel lines under pressure. Gasoline spraying around can make a exciting fire. Ask me how I know that . First step of most every repair is - REMOVE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL.

 

[fechter]

Having the manual rocks. There are so many things that can possibly cause a problem.

There should be a way to 'hot wire' the fuel pump, like bypassing the relay with a piece of wire to see if you can hear it running or get any fuel pressure.

 

[dnmun]

even if the positive wire to the pump shows power on one side of the clip may not mean it is there on the other side, and there is the possibility, even likely that there is an open ground.

maybe you can measure continuity through the motor at the outer side of the clip.

 

[KMB]

c'mon guys....go to autozone....somewhere... and borrow a code reader

 

[Nehmo]

if the fuel pump was working before you started this then it should be working now. it has to be something else imo.

I recognize this peculiarity, but the situation isn't cut & dry.

• Housemate acquired car (check engine light was on but later went off, he says. Seller, a dealer on almost the worst corner of town, convinced him the '05 car needed a tune-up). After purchase, he drove car but complained about trouble negotiating hills. He asked me to change plugs.
• Car died while on road and required a tow home. I changed the fuel filter, and the car, with very poor performance, could make it around the block - but with difficulty.
• I changed the plugs. While doing so, I noticed coolant in plug well #6 (this engine has coil-on-plug (COP) coils and the plugs are down in wells. The pic shows where the intake manifold meets the head and the COP is removed.
  
• I noticed seepage of coolant from the gasket under the intake manifold. You can see a bit of it in the pic.
• I replaced the intake manifold.
• Engine won't start, but if motor diethyl ether is squirted in the air intake, the engine starts for a second or two.
• "fuel" relay tests good.
• There is no fuel coming out of the tube that connects to the fuel rail when trying to start while engine is turning over.
• The trunk fuel turn-off button is correctly in the depressed condition.

I'd like a decent wiring diagram, and I haven't found the one specific to 2005 Lincoln Town Car 4.6L on the web. I'm (heading out now) renewing my library car to get access to manuals. This is just a pic of a 4.6L van schematic

 

[marty]

View service manual online here:
https://www.alldatadiy.com/
$26.95 for one year

If car started before you took it apart and now it don't start? It is possible that you did not put it back together correctly.

Check the oil. How does it look?
Look at fuel gauge. Are you out of gas?

Buy a code reader. Cars that I have played with don't need to be running for the code reader to work. Key in run position. My mechanic buddy recommended that I buy this one. I have been happy with it.
Equus 3100 Innova CanOBD2 Diagnostic Tool
$84.10 at Walmart
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Equus-3100-Innova-CanOBD2-Diagnostic-Tool/13029624

 

[Nehmo]

The Brown/White & Pink/Black are the leads to the motor of the pump. I don't see any indication of the polarity, but I try it both ways. I can access the wires (I see the correct color wires there) at the Fuel Pump Driver Module, FPDM, on the inside side of the trunk drivers side near the Fuel Pump turn-off button disable switch.
Added edit: I jumped the pump, and I get a hum but nothing comes out the tube - not even gas vapor. I'd feel satisfied if I were sure there were enough gas in the tank, but I only put in a gallon (gauge on empty) and that may not be enough.
If there is enough gas in the tank, this means the electrical connection to the pump is ok but the mechanism isn't producing a flow.
Next report: tomorrow. It's 11:07 pm in Kansas City (Kansas, US). I don't really feel like getting more gas. I think the pump has a broken diaphragm, assuming it's that kind of pump.