Knuckle head.
You don't have to have water oil mix or coolant pouring out your exhaust to have a head gasket issue. Also, the leak you are showing in your pic has been explained as coolant seeping from the thermostat housing do to an rtv gasket.. nothing that would cause a vacuum leak and looks harmless other than it makes a mess and looks like crap.
How are you testing the egr function? Suck test the egr to know whether it is working properly or just completely disconnect it and see if the hesitation goes away.


Intake leaks were common on the 00-03 2v 5.4L with composite intake manifolds that would crack. Not that it is impossible to get a leak at the gasket with the 99 aluminum intake but it is far less common.

 

I personally have experienced 3 head gasket failures that didnt leak coolent in the oil. But what ever.

 

Have you done a hydrocarbon test on the coolant? What about a compression and cylinder leakdown test?

 

dumb *** ,

the leak is on both sides on the intake far away from the thermostat housing ..also its not ust rtv **** ..they say to use both when replacing one...so please tell me how the leak on the front right of the motor is leaking on the left rear of the flange.also shows what yo know my intake is alum and the 2nd part under the intake connected to it is plastic

 

Listen child, I called you a knuckle head for a reason...
You can call me a dumb *** all you want but I'm not the one throwing parts at a problem I can't find. You came here for help and have yet to follow anything anyone has mentioned.
Nobody can even follow what you are doing or what you have done. If you want to tear into it and start replacing more parts than you already have then go ahead. You have been given advice to test for hydrocarbons in the coolant which you havent done along with a compression or leak down test. Those tests can tell you a lot of things or help eliminate other possible issues. The key thing for me here is that you said every time it starts to stumble like that, it over heats..."it smokes a little bit" and doesnt misfire until it warms up. Sounds coolant related to me. If you have an external leak at the manifold gasket then change it for good measures. The only pic I saw was the pic of your coolant elbow at the thermostat.

BTW, no coolant passes through the lower intake. 99 was the only year of the aluminum intake manifold in the 5.4L PI engine. Once they went to composite they were one piece. The composite intake manifolds were known to crack below the crossover which would cause a leak and need replaced.


Also, if it is running better when you unplug the egr, maybe you should clean the throttle body elbow and egr passage on the back side of it while you have it off to change the manifold gasket. And no, don't reuse your gasket.. new set that included everything but the IAC is around $65

 

If you know everything, then why are you even asking for FREE help?

Take it to a shop.

 

Again take a compression test and record the values. Don't take anymore apart until you test it or you may be waisting a lot of time for no repair.

 

Good luck.
This is like steering a Tiger by it's tail.
You never know if your 'directions' are recieved up 'front'.

 

well did the test and and just like i said before its not a head gaskets leak ...and all 8 read 125psi

 

lower intake leak like i thought

 

funny everyone was posting on here saying i was wrong but now i post pics showing i was right no one says anything

 

125 psi comperssion is not so good unless you live at 7000 feet. But you got it running your way. If all were 125 you uniformally have a weak motor, unless you live at 7000 feet of altitude but it will run until it quits again for good. Thanks for posting your compression readings. You now know the motor is perty worn out. And you have a fix for now. Important thing is the compression is uniform so you don't have a dead cylinder. You didn't waist your time testing it. You know what to expect next. Always take a vacuum reading and do a compression test when you look at tearing down along with a tru oil pressure test next time for the wear at the crankshaft knowledge. We are all here to help theOP, not try to outsmart him. Many, Many probably thousands of years of experience are here to help.

 

Review post #12!
Does it fit?
You did the right thing.
BTW, if you tested compression without opeing the throttle to let the motor draw full air, the readings might be low.
Good luck.