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coolant elbow leak again

R

regalls

New member
Three month after replacement during LIM work, This elbow leaked again!
Is there any tips for correctly seating this dreaded elbow to the engine block?

By the way, the replacement elbows I used are from autozone help section, Dorman brand. I heard someone complained that these elbow is slightly thinner than the OEM parts, hence causing the leak. Anyone can comment on this?

Thanks.
 
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I've used those before w/o issue, but I always put a small bead of RTV on it (on the edge in front of the o-ring) before installing it to make up for any imperfections in the LIM or tensioner. Never had one leak doing it that way. I use the gray GM sealant, but suppose the plain black RTV would work as well.
 
I've had mixed experiences with the oreiley,auto zone brand. I'd get the gm ones, not that much more
 
How much are those coolant elbows? I might need some too. Did you end up stopping the leak? Or you buy new ones?
Thanks
Brian
 
this happened to me with my bonneville. the orange gaskets are heat activated and flatten out. when this happens they leak. pull your elbows back out and put some black o rings in place and the leak will stop. in fact, i would invest in a quality set of o-rings.
 


the ones you buy at the auto store do indeed have orange and purple o-rings. any color other than black are heat activated o-rings. go to autozone and look at them.
 
Sorry Matt, but he's right...One orange one purple

I actually double O-ring'ed them to prevent a leak. My original black ones weren't too bad so I saved them, rolled them further down the elbow so they were out of the way when I was installing, then once I got the elbows seated and in place and everything bolted back down I took a small screwdriver and pushed the black one snug in there as a second line of protection. Probably does nothing, but I don't really care!
 
if u get them from anywhere it should work to tell the truth. make sure u put a good amount of rtv on it, and make sure it is set all the way in. i kno it can be kinda hard to tell sometimes
 
I use the dormans all the time.

I've found that if you don't wiggle the upper elbow as you tighten the alt bracket/tensioner you can pinch the elbow and cause it over time to become more of a 45 degree angle than a 90. This will then leak.

Clean both holes with steel wool. Lube the rings with something and wiggle as you tighten the bolts.
 


not sure what brand elbows came with my new duralast tensioner, but they crapped out after about 2 years (and now the pulley on it is getting loud). new gm ones from the dealership was a bit under $20 for the pair
 


i think it depends on how hot your engine runs as well. my bonneville runs really hot and they crapped out after 60k.
my gp gt runs really cold and they were still fine when i replaced them at 210k
 
It's not actually temp. It's pressure. If the tensioner is tightened and the top elbow doesn't wiggle freely..it's gonna become less than a 90* angle soon enough. 160-180F is enough to allow it to bend.

If it's wigglin free...life should be good... just like non-restrictive underwear
 
on my bonneville they actually crumbled apart at the gap where the o-ring sits. it wasnt an o-ring failure, but the elbow itself disintegrated.
 
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