Help me replace my coolant elbow

[mok4200]

Last night (on prom of all nights..) my coolant elbow blew going from the front of the water pump to the head, i went to advanced autoparts today and bought a replacement kit (aluminum). well it seems like the elbow i am supposed to use wont fit, one end is too large, Below is the EXACT kit i got from advanced, and as you can see, the one on the right has a larger end, im pretty sure that is the one i use to replace the one i busted. i will post a pic below of my busted elbow as well..HOW DO I REPLACE IT if its too big!?

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...gartxx/077.jpg

Dorman 47065HP HVAC Heater Hose Connector Aluminum Coolant Elbows in Stock | eBay

[brandonl2000]

no that's the right set.

what year is your car? the bigger end goes into the water pump

[Scottydoggs]

you have 2 elbows, the lower one uses the one with the fat side and the purple O ring. if you have a 97 or 98 your lower elbow is part of the alt bracket and is made of cast metal. if you have this 97-98 year read that how to so you dont break the timing cover.

heres the how too. http://www.grandprixforums.net/how-c...ows-49779.html

[mok4200]

I have a 2000 Grand Prix gt, bone stock, if these arnt the right elbows, what do the ones I need look like? I can't do much research as I'm at work right now lol

[Scottydoggs]

they are the right elbows that you bought, you need to take the alternator off, and then the alt bracket off the car, clean the holes real good scrape out any crud in there, all 4 holes, then oil the o rings and re install the bracket with the new elbows.

read the how to.

[mok4200]

Why do I need to take the alt and stuff off if its in front of it?

[Scottydoggs]

because you have to, thats why lol,, if you notice the new elbow wont go in the holes, thats why you are trying to use the lower elbow, but it wont fit there right, take the alt bracket off and replace them per the how to, its the only way, unless you feel like doing the lim gaskets, then you can just change the upper one, some how im sure you dont want to dump 100 bucks in gaskets when you can remove a few bolts and be done with it.

[mok4200]

Ok I will do that when I'm home, since I got two elbows, where does the other one go? This is my first Prix, or even my first v6, and since I don't want the other to bust, I may as well replace it

[Scottydoggs]

did you not read the how to?

its also in the alt bracket, it goes into the timing cover. these 2 dumb elbows feed the hoses off the back of the alt bracket that go to the heater core.

[dbextreme]

[mok4200]

No I can't read it till I'm home, not enough time right now

[Scottydoggs]

its all in there, tool list as well. with pics.

[mok4200]

Got everything worked out and installed, hopefully I did it right! Seemed to work good, thanks guys!

[GrandprixGT01]

Just had this happen to me on Friday I feel your pain lol. It happened to me at a bad time too. Coolant pissing everywhere. Popped a little pinhole right through the front one. Anyhow good time to replace them and do a coolant flush.

[mok4200]

mine blew apart lmao but yes i replaced them both, great investment so far, many more to go

[BillBoost37]

If you guys didn't ignore your engines (kinda like I am at the moment) you wouldn't have "bad timing" issues as often. Back in Scotties day, they lifted the hood much more often and paid attention to what was happening.

I have a noise. From what little I've paid attention to it.. kinda sounds like an AC compressor clutch. Yeah.. it's only 216K miles

[GrandprixGT01]

If you guys didn't ignore your engines (kinda like I am at the moment) you wouldn't have "bad timing" issues as often. Back in Scotties day, they lifted the hood much more often and paid attention to what was happening.

I have a noise. From what little I've paid attention to it.. kinda sounds like an AC compressor clutch. Yeah.. it's only 216K miles

Actually its funny you say that because just that morning I had the hood open and was cleaning the engine a little bit, just wiping everything down really. I was actually checking those elbows and yes they looked a little faded but there was no crack, sign of leak, or anything. 1 hour later I go for a little drive and to get my car wax since it was nice out and the front one fails and there went my whole day.

[BillBoost37]

A whole day for something that should be able to be done in under an hour?

[GrandprixGT01]

[QUOTE=BillBoost37;1045725]A whole day for something that should be able to be done in under an hour?[/QUOTE

I went out and drove 30 minutes from home. When I parked the car thats when I guess it popped and coolant started pissing everywhere. Had to get a tow. It was really a 5 hour ordeal but I meant it was a whole day where I had plans wasted due to this problem.

[Scottydoggs]

if you had a 25 piece socket set in your trunk, the tow would have never happened, you can do elbows on the side of the road if need be.

hope you have AAA or something.