Thread: Bad coolant elbow

Last week for a couple of hours my car temperature spiked up. i was able to refill the coolant and it went back to normal temperature for over 3 days when i took it in for oil change and had the guys take a look at why my car over-heated.
I was told i have a bad coolant elbow and the total cost plus labor is about $600.
is it really that hard to replace this cheap component.

remove belt.

drain coolant.

remove alt.

remove belt tensioner.

install new elbows from the help section at your parts store. put some saliva/coolant on the o rings, insert in belt tensioner.

install belt tensioner.

install alternator.

install belt.

fill coolant.

bleed cooling system.

Two hours or so and $20 in parts. Depends on skill level.

Whoever told you it would be $600 is trying to rip you off. I wouldn't ever take my car back there again.

Thanks for the tips guy. The guy was saying something about how it will take 6hours to replace because they have to remove intake manifold or something like that.

I though it was pretty weird because i was looking right at the elbow. I am definitely going to call other shops.
I have kinda suspected this shop is full of it.

lol no.... and an intake manifold job can actually cost you more than that.

It calls for quite a few hours of labour.

Trying to give a high estimate considering most people dont have a high skill level and when unfamiliar with the motor they go slower.

^^^^^^^^^
Man, i wish i you had posted earlier, could have saved me $160 . What i finally paid was a lot cheaper than the initial quote; thanks to the fellas.

Can I get that elbow at someplace like Autozone or Advance commonly or is it just a matter of replacing the o-rings? Does anyone have a part number?

oops...I missed it! Thanks again! I got a new one now...just need to find me a bit of time to get it done.

Is this really so common an issue that the elbows need to be hung up next to things like oil filters and windshield wipers at the store?

Just to make sure, the procedure is the same for n/a and s/c engines? I'll be doing this in a parking lot so any tips, tricks or variations specific to the L32 in an 05 would be greatly appreciated.

I just had these things replaced by a shop less than a year ago when the upper one split open. This time it exploded and the entire half going into the bracket is completely missing. It doesn't seem normal that it would fail again so quickly.

Sorry to bring such an old thread up but i have just come across this problem. All my coolant was on the ground last night and took it to monro brake and muffler. I saw when i opeend up the hood that there a split on a black plastic piece which i figured is the coolant elbow that this thread is talking about. Got the quote today and the guy says its $1002. He said they have to take the upper and lower intake (gaskets $200 each, 5 hour job at $100/hr) off to get to the $13 elbow. Im not buying into their crap. I then told him that i didnt think that you had to mess with the intake and he insisted that the elbow "went into the engine" and that it was necassary. I need to know from you guys what you think and I can have someone down the street do it for cheap or do it myself.

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

dont buy into their crap, my god, theives!!!!!

the elbows cost 6 bucks too. and can be done in 30 minutes or less. http://www.grandprixforums.net/how-c...ows-49779.html

i hate shops so much its sickening.

Thanks for the response. I was thinking the same thing. Im going to just go pick my car up from them. I asked the guy if he could email a quote and he then said "we dont have internet...so no" I think he knew i was on to them.