They will not break like the plastic ones(takes years to break). However, I hear the same results about the aluminum elbow o-rings sealing, as I do the plastic ones.(probably the same o-rings are used) If this will be your first time replacing them, I recommend using the updated plastic ones because the aluminum ones will not bend. If you are inserting the assembly and trying to get the bolt holes to line up again, and tilt it too far one way, you may actually crack your timing cover (the inlet for the coolant passage). But with this warning, you should be able to pull it off. Just a warning.
By updated plastic elbows, Dorman's plastic elbows were almost always failing after around a year of use. The plastic would get brittle and crack, or catastrophically fail. They came out with a newer design that fixed that issue, most likely making them comparable to the OEM elbows that lasted for around a decade. Here is a NAPA search, you can see two plastic models. The higher part # is the one you want (I don't think they carry the old ones anymore anyway)
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Re...0060%2b2060016
I'm not sure what version of the plastic elbows advance and oriellys carries, the part #'s don't match up. Or you could go with the aluminum elbows.
