Dorman OE Solutions Intake Manifold 615-178
February 8th, 2010 by admin
- Manufactured to meet or exceed OE specifications
- Whenever possible Dorman corrects the design problem that caused the original part to fail
- Complete with all assembly pieces, including gaskets, to do the job right
- A quality part backed by a Dorman limited lifetime warranty
- Meets or exceeds OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) requirements
Product Description
No one in the aftermarket wants to be forced to source parts from, or send their customers to, the OE dealer. The better alternative is Dorman OE Solutions, a line of application-specific, new-to-the-aftermarket hard parts. OE Solutions products are often Dorman-engineered to be better than the original OE design. OE Solutions products are competitively priced to their OE alternatives and often include components necessary to complete the job that the OE Dealer c… More >>
I purchased the above mentioned intake manifold for my sons 4.6 liter Mustang GT. I had it installed at a local garage and when completed air was leaking into the manifold because the bottom of the manifold was not totally even. I had another mechanic look at the engine and he claims the manifold was not molded correctly. I contacted Amazon and they would not assist in providing a replacement. I will not purchase another part from this manufacturer.
Rating: 1 / 5
I received the intake in a few days and it was a perfect fit with all the correct hardware. It takes most of an 8 hour work day to remove the old intake, clean everything and then install the new intake.
Rating: 5 / 5
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.
Rating: 3 / 5
Replaced my OEM manifold with this one, and so far I am very pleased. I noticed a big increase in torque and horsepower on my 96 mustang gt. my mechanic wanted 400 for this manifold and 380 for labor. i purchased this one, the exact one that my mechanic was going to get for me off of amazon for 190, installed myself and saved a lot of money.
Rating: 5 / 5
Good product. Comes with all necessary gaskets and new thermostat. Injector O-Rings are NOT included and should be replaced during procedure.
Instructions are almost non-existant so if you have never changed an Intake Plenum or are not mechanically inclined and have not worked on cars much you had better get a Ford Manual before starting work.
Rating: 4 / 5