Notorious for intake leaks, the composite plastic intakes crack and leak coolant-as to the lack of power, you mght have overheated it and done some damage to the engine. There was a recall (information below) for the 4.6 for the intake-the overheating and lack of power means you should at least have compression checked and go from there-you may have bad head gaskets or worse. Do a compression test before you do anything else.
Ford Motor Company will extend the recall (01M02) on
4.6L V8 equipped vehicles with plastic intake manifolds. Some of the
composite intake manifolds used on 4.6L SOHC engines may develop fatigue
cracks at the coolant crossover duct. This condition could result in
engine coolant leakage which, if not serviced, may cause engine
overheating. Complete loss of coolant may result in engine damage or
engine failure.
The updated recall now includes:
• Certain 1996
through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
• Certain
1998 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria with Taxi
• Certain 1998
through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery Prep Package
•
Certain 1996-2001 Crown Victoria Taxis, Police cars and Lincoln Town Car
Limousine and Livery cars.
• Certain 1996 through 1997 Crown Victoria Police
Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas
Assembly Plant from the beginning of production for the 1996 Model Year
through January 28, 1997.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria
Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas
Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
•
Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Taxi Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC
engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997
through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car
Limousine Prep Package and Livery Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at
the Wixom Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15,
2000.
SOURCE: Water pump failed. Car overheated.
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Generally, most of engine breakages happen as the result of the owner's mistakes. If your car has run well for many years, you might find yourself skipping a fluid check or putting longer periods of time between the engine servicings. Today, with self-service gas stations everywhere, often the only way you will insure your car's fluids are at proper levels is to do it yourself. If you don't, you may miss a minor defect, for example, a coolant leakage. A few weeks later, lack of the coolant causes your engine to overheat and eventually you are faced with engine damage. And then even after that repair, other small problems surface and you find that your car breaks down more often. It's important for you to safeguard your vehicle investment by checking your engine condition on a regular basis.
What's Needed to Keep the Engine in Good Condition?
Actually, only few basic conditions are needed for long engine life:
Good engine lubrication
- Perform timely oil and oil filter changes and use only high quality oil and oil filters
- Check your garage floor or parking space for visible signs of fluid leakage Prevent the engine from overheating
- Periodically check the cooling system, the coolant level, and radiator Perform engine maintenance and tune up according to the owners' manual schedule
- Provide necessary cleanings and adjustments (drive belt tension, valve cleaning, etc)
- Provide necessary replacements (timing belts, air filters, spark plugs, etc) Immediately eliminate any minor engine defects
Start by Checking the Engine Condition.
Routinely listen for noises when your engine is running. The engine should run evenly and you should not hear any strong noises, knocking, pinging, or whistling while the engine is idling or during acceleration. After it's warmed up, try to press accelerator harshly for a second. The engine should accelerate quickly, without delays or hesitation. There should be no loud noises while accelerating. The idle should be stable during a stop. There should be no smoke coming out from the tail pipe (only steam during warming up or in cold weather is permissible).
Look at the instrument panel. All the warning lights on the instrument panel for low oil pressure, check engine, overheating, etc should go off after the engine is started and should not come on while the engine is running.
Open the hood and look at the engine. A good engine should be dry. It may be dusty, but it should not be oily, and it should not have any leaks. Check the engine thoroughly for oil leaks. The more leaks, the more damage your engine may have.
When performing routine engine maintenance and tune ups, cleanings, adjustments, and necessary replacements, check for the following:
Fuel Filter: A dirty fuel filter may cause unexpected engine stalling and loss of engine power. Air Filter: A dirty air filter dirty air filter causes loss of engine power, increased fuel consumption, etc Spark Plugs: replacement can give significant enhancement of engine performance. Timing Belt: Timing Belt damage can cause serious engine damage, especially if it's a diesel engine. Engine Coolant: Old coolant lose its anticorrosive and other characteristics.
Check the Oil Pressure.
Low oil pressure in your car's engine can become a major repair nightmare. All engines lose a certain amount of oil pressure over time as normal wear increases bearing clearances. But unusually low oil pressure in an engine is a clear indication that your car requires immediate repair. Always check the oil pressure on a cold engine (at least an hour after the engine has been turned off). Start the engine, and look at the low oil pressure warning lamp or oil pressure gauge on the instrument panel. The time between the engine start and the time you note oil pressure at the instrument panel should be no more than one to two seconds. If this time is longer than two seconds, it means that either the oil filter is bad or the engine is too worn. If the low oil pressure warning light goes on while engine is running or idle, you can be sure that the engine is has some defect. Stop your vehicle immediately if the oil pressure warning lamp goes on while driving to avoid further damage to the engine.
Check the Engine Oil Level.
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