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Replaced coolant elbows..leaking again

MattTheBaker123

MattTheBaker123

New member
I replaced the coolant elbows on my 2004 gp about 3 weeks ago and had no problems until today, my car overheated and was leaking from behind the belt. Could these elbows be bad again or is there some trick to get them in there just right? The mechanic is telling me he would have to take the intake manifold off to get them in there right. I'd rather do it myself and at least see if it'll work. Has anyone else had this problem reoccur?

Matt
 


Mine went over the summer. Dumped all the coolant in about 15 secs. Ended up costing me $1k to get it fixed at a dealership. They did a couple other things too.
 
Yes, the dormans aren't very good quality.

Sent using my bionic thumbs from my sweet DROID Razr Maxx
 


I did some research. It sounds like the GM ones are the way to go as long as you smear some RTV on them when installing them. Ill probably tackle this project tomorrow. Thanks for the help.
 
Lubing them upon install can help them seat right.

If you werent clear on the other side of the cities from me, I'd help ya if you wanted it, but thats a far trip lol.

Get new ones and bleed the cooling system and you should be good.
 
Compg4me said:
Wow the elbows are like $10. What was the other $990 for?
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I'll pull up the bill next week and let you know. I ended up getting a lot of **** replaced. I honestly can't remember only because the day I picked it up, I crashed into the back of this girl cause the dumbass in front of her brake checked her in a ****ing tunnel, Lehigh Valley Tunnel in PA on 476 to be exact.
 
Fivefingerdeathpunch said:
Lubing them upon install can help them seat right.

If you werent clear on the other side of the cities from me, I'd help ya if you wanted it, but thats a far trip lol.

Get new ones and bleed the cooling system and you should be good.
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Yeah that'd be quite the trip but I definitely appreciate the offer! Hopefully my second attempt replacing these will be my last
 
I've never had trouble with the quality of Dormans, and have only used them. With that said though..I've been seeing a lot of guys having trouble lately. This led to a post where someone contacted Dorman and a Tech there mentioned a quality issue on some recent batches. It appears that Dorman tried to pull most of them from shelves etc, however they are lifetime guaranteed now. Keep your receipt and call Dorman.
 


our supercharged cars blow the dorman ones apart. i reccommend ac delco coolant elbows, they are like 18 bucks for both. also b4 install i put indian head on them its for lube and it seals pretty quick.
 
I installed the new elbows today with some dtv around the edges and also flushed the whole cooling system. It turns out one of the elbows was cracked. Not sure how it cracked but the new ones seem to be good. I didn't drive it around because its an ice rink outside but hopefully shes good as new!
 
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mikedinthecity said:
our supercharged cars blow the dorman ones apart. i reccommend ac delco coolant elbows, they are like 18 bucks for both. also b4 install i put indian head on them its for lube and it seals pretty quick.
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Yeah I bet they do. I used the dorman ones again but its all they had at my local shop so I guess I'll take another chance with them and see what happens
 
I will have to replace mine again in the Spring. I have used the Dorman ones 2 times now and both times they have leaked. I think I will try some AC Delco brand this Spring.
 


LOL at all the Dorman dislike. All I use is Dorman elbows, work on at least 50 cars a year and I've only once had an issue. I'd call it install error.
 
I don't know how I could have installed them wrong. Put a little lube on the o-ring and install them. I didn't put RTV on or around them, but I will be next time.
 
no install error here either..mine was broke at the corner not where the o rings are. o and btw if the old one is broke you have to get the other part thts broke off in there or the new ones wont go on right for sure. use ac delco elbows and indian head for install its proven best. i like dorman sum parts are only available thru dorman but not the elbows thanks
 
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