Yeah, i wasn't especially expecting to find any smoking guns, and whilst i didn't exactly, it does seem that it was indeed leaking there. The LTFT would have been cool to see and compare though. By all accounts, certainly the earlier models, the gaskets on these things are all going south, i would imagine that on average, most of our older trucks would benefit from this.

My "too early to tell for real" experiences of running like a sewing machine with the tick eliminated and the pull up the long hill just staying in top gear, it suggests it wasn't running quite right previously, despite otherwise seeming to run very nicely.

 

@2011_aka_Ticky
Hey, so i was looking back in my thread for something else, and noticed when i first got my ticking sound, you commented on it being better on higher octane gas etc.

Things we know about the intake manifold now.

1) Any cracks in it can cause a slight whistling sound on partial throttle around the 2000RPM mark.
2) Can cause the engine to ping under certain conditions using lower than premium fuel.
3) Hardened and/or worn/old gaskets can/will leak some and cause the same problems as number 1.
4) Whistling sound might not happen, or might be occasional or only at higher elevations.
5) Based on my experience, can cause one of the major ticking sounds our engines can have.


So my old posts revealed that my engine started ticking after i got back from my long towing trip - the first long day of towing, right as i pulled into town for the first night, i heard that whistling sound, i needed the window down to hear it, and i never heard it again thereafter. I was at a higher elevation, but not much.
I lost MPG on that trip, the first half or more of the day i was getting consistent MPG and after a fuel stop, i suddenly lost i think 2 MPG, i don't recall now, but i was chasing that lost mileage forever.
I found that running very concentrated injector cleaner seemed to get rid of the tick i had, and i touted that as the issue to many people for the longest time. In hindsight, i think it was strong enough to effect the damaged gasket on the intake manifold.
That ticking stayed away for several months, i spent an hour after thanksgiving, with the engine running in 29F sounding smooth and quiet as anything as i dug out the snow i was stuck in.

The ticking came back, and very clearly, in the new year, after i got a tune, and after a spirited trip to the beach, visiting long overtaking straights and new redlines.....
The gasket was in the direction of the port, so i'm hypothesizing that it was sucked in with the new higher redline, prolonged running at WOT etc. The ticking really only returned after doing this.

Whilst i think mine was lesser than some others, the nature of it some days being better, and others being really, really noticeable, does lend itself to how hot i had the engine and what kind of driving i'd done.

With full hindsight at this point, i want to say that i think *many* people have damaged/hardened manifold gaskets in their gen 1 Coyote engines, and at the extreme, a crack in the intake manifold.
It's a comparatively cheap part at ~$120, and honestly, if mine hadn't had it's brake booster connection glued on, i'd have just bought the gaskets. It's a very straight forward job and i'd do it again easily.


Short version, if you have the tick, and from various peoples posts, most people have the same tick as i did (other ticks are available), then replace your intake manifold gaskets.
Just listen to the video a few posts back, and i put the camera in places you'd pick up all kinds of sounds from, and it's just silky.

 

Thanks for the write-up Max. I have the 5.0 in my 2011 and will monitor this.

 

As already noted, when putting the intake manifold back i wiped down some of the hoses with PERL, but this started my degas bottle hose elbow leaking After a couple of days it did stop, not sure if it would continue or start again when i ran the engine - moving the elbow around caused bubbles and coolant movement so it wasn't staying sealed properly.
Oh well, i guess this forced me to drain the radiator and degas bottle again to put more of the new yellow coolant in there.
Note that when you unplug the hose from the top of the radiator (small hose, driver's side) that connects to the degas bottle, it seems to let a further ~quart drain out the radiator drain plug even though the degas bottle empties when you drain the radiator.

It looked green in the black drain pan, yellow/gold when pouring it into the waste bottles, and orange when in the waste bottles - factory fill was orange, and it has ~1.5 gallons of yellow in from last years drain/fill.





The elbow fitting was pretty dirty, all of this will not have been helping it seal. You can see the white nylon ring, which sits against the should on the degas bottle's connection - behind that (further inside the pipe) is a black o-ring which you can see has some dirty dried coolant/dirt on it.








The degas bottle's connector is metal-lined, which is good, doesn't look like any damage or problems with the bottle leaking or the connector being bad





I incorrectly assumed the o-ring you can get from Ford for the lower pipe was the same as the degas elbow o-ring, you can clearly see it's not - the small ring on top is the original that i cleaned with a rag, it definitely has flat areas






I ended up ordering the 4-pack from Amazon of the common leaking o-ring set as you cannot get the degas bottle elbow ring from Ford
It's overlaid here, new one underneath, you can just see it's slightly larger in outside diameter





Cleaned up the elbow making sure to get into the groove behind the white nylon shoulder as much as possible





I used silicone/dielectric grease to coat the new o-ring and inserted it into the elbow fitting





The attachment was fairly snug and held in place nicely

You Tube

I measured out just over 1.75 gallons when draining so using the radiator fill kit i just threw in 1.75 gallons and i'll top that off after the engine runs





Yes, it looks green in there now, i swear it's yellow!

 

I have been keeping an eye on my system. Seems these trucks are prone to coolant leaks. Appreciate that you take the time to include part numbers!

 

I just used mine the other weekend after a water pump/timing belt job on a friends car. These things are amazing.

 

Yes they are prone unfortunately, but don't seem to just let go, keep an eye on the levels etc.

This is the part with the 4 o-rings just so I'm not confusing people.

 

Just a funnel or is it something else? I've always poured straight into the radiator with engine running, once the thermostat opens up I can continue to fill the radiator until its full. Works but it can be messy

 

Oh they're fantastic and so cheap, everyone should have one.
Probably didn't need it this time though, it was still handy when the level rose above the top off the degas bottle before the thermostat opened.

 

Funnel and adaptors, includes a plug, lets you fill up a head of coolant to stop it bleeding through and you rushing to fill it, also raises the height of the cooling system which forces it to bleed fast and on its own with zero effort from you.

Here's the one I got.
EPAuto Spill Proof Radiator Coolant Filling Funnel Kit