Thread: Is there no answer to constant leaking plastic elbows?

These dam plastic cooling elbows are a pain in the ass! I have replaced them three time in the last year and a half. The first couple lasted about 6 months, and thi last set I canged only about two months ago and now the bottom one is leaking again.
Has any one fould a solution to seal them any better or make them last any longer?...

I've changed them five times over the past 2-3 years. I've tried installing them dry, with a little oil on the o-rings, light silicone and now with more silicone. I keep having the same elbow leak: where the top elbow enters the intake manifold.

So far I have been good, but who knows?

I'd like to try the aluminum elbows if they actually seal better.

This is just an ill design. I also notice some slight seepage around one of my lower intake manifold bolts, so I think I will be taking this all apart again all too soon to deal with another yet another cooling leak.

There are these - Aluminum Coolant Elbows #ZZ-ALCE, aluminum coolant elbows from ZZ Performance. These should be the last elbows you ever need.

Originally Posted by REDCOMPG

Don't get ripped by ZZP prices and just buy from rockauto...

They are $12 shipped, took 3 day's to get here. My only options were Napa, O'Really, and Auto Zone. None of them stocked them nor could cross and find the aluminum elbows for me. So sometime's this is the best option.

Sent using Tapatalk 2 from my GS3.

So are the aluminum elbows better in that they seal better, or is it just because they don't crack?

It's the heat and age that causes the plastic to crack, usually at the weak point, where the o-ring goes, or along the seam. Mine crumbled into many pieces that I had to dig out. The aluminum won't crack or snap off.