Hello from Ohio. I am a new member and glad to be a part of this forum to get some expert advice on Pontiacs and possibly be able to offer some suggestions of my own.
With that I do have a question. I own a 2004 Bonneville that I bought used three years ago. About two years ago I had to have the upper coolant bypass elbow replaced due to being cracked. I found out that this has been an issue with the Doreman elbows for some time. Well, it happened again. I have coolant shooting out around the upper elbow where it goes into the intake manifold. The more pressure that builds up, the more coolant shoots out. My son works at a local dealership and I was going to have them repair it but I got to looking at some pictures and videos on replacing it and it doesn't seem to be that difficult. My father had been an auto mechanic for 40 some years and has taught me a little bit about cars, the rest I sort of picked up on my own. I really don't want to pay $150 or $200 to have it repaired when I could probably do it myself for around $40. Has anyone replaced any coolant bypass elbows and is it very difficult? From what I have seen you just need to move the alternator out of the way to get to the elbow (upper and lower) and release the tension on the belt then replace the elbows. Some advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
With that I do have a question. I own a 2004 Bonneville that I bought used three years ago. About two years ago I had to have the upper coolant bypass elbow replaced due to being cracked. I found out that this has been an issue with the Doreman elbows for some time. Well, it happened again. I have coolant shooting out around the upper elbow where it goes into the intake manifold. The more pressure that builds up, the more coolant shoots out. My son works at a local dealership and I was going to have them repair it but I got to looking at some pictures and videos on replacing it and it doesn't seem to be that difficult. My father had been an auto mechanic for 40 some years and has taught me a little bit about cars, the rest I sort of picked up on my own. I really don't want to pay $150 or $200 to have it repaired when I could probably do it myself for around $40. Has anyone replaced any coolant bypass elbows and is it very difficult? From what I have seen you just need to move the alternator out of the way to get to the elbow (upper and lower) and release the tension on the belt then replace the elbows. Some advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
