Jason, I looked for the aluminum elbows but could not find them. :/
Not even on ZZP website.

 

So wait, you're telling me to get the plastic "help!" ones but the aluminum ones are better? Everything on the autozone website says to stay away from the plastic ones, as the o-rings are not high-temp ones. Is it possible to just get those and add the high-temp o-rings? Has anyone ever done that here?
If someone has a part number for the aluminum ones, that would be awesome. I'd rather not have to do this job once a month (as some have experienced from what I read with the plastic ones).
-Pete

 

Got it...it's 47065HP at AdvanceAutoParts.com
Thanks guy.
-P

 

I don't think ANYONE including myself has said the aluminum ones are better. They are still quite new to the market and I think only one or two people on the different forums are using them (so they have not been through the test of time). But, if I were to go with Dorman elbows, I'd give these a whirl (hence why I have a set in the blister pack in my garage for possible future use lol).

As I mentioned, Dorman elbows had issues "pushing out" on cars. From what I read when it happened to me, looks like Dorman made a run of elbows/o-rings (I believe starting in early 2011, until sometime 2012, unconfirmed if it was truely resolved) of elbows that people had CONSTANT complaints. The word on the street is not "high temp" O-rings. The issue is the o-rings were the wrong thickness. Some people made claims to swapping the O-rings. When mine popped out, I read a larger group of people had better success with getting elbows from the dealer (hence why I did). Also, FYI - the Dorman elbows that pushed out on me, I put on spring of 2011, drove all summer, parked it for the winter and they popped out on the second drive of the car in spring of 2012!

 

+1. Bet I re-did 30 cars that the Dorman elbows started leaking. GM for now on for me.

 

And you've seen a lot more then one or two cars working as a mechanic! It's sad the Dorman elbows are about $5 from any parts store around me, yet the GM dealer ones are $30. That is a huge mark up on a product that probably costs the same for GM to make as Dorman. Also, I looked at the costing of the Dorman vs GM, they are slightly different (proving they are not both made from the same factory and put into different packages).

 

When i redid my gaskets in december i used dormans Aluminum elbows. So far a month and half down the road and i havent had any problems yet "Knock On Wood" But the car runs nice after replacing the gaskets from felpro. I also recommend to do the valve cover gaskets while everything is out. Only takes about 15 Minutes and is really easy! Took me 2 days to do the Gaskets but i took my time cleaning everything thouroughly and making sure everything went back together properly

 

I am using plastic ones from autozone and still no issues.

 

I just ordered the aluminum ones from AdvanceAutoParts. $15 bucks. As a physics major, I can honestly say that aluminum "should" hold up better than the plastic ones (as far as tensile strength, ability to withstand heat, etc). Giving them a shot. I just hope I can pull this all off within a day inside a garage.
Thanks again for all your help, guys.
-Pete

 

The nylon ones are usually good for 80,000-120,000 miles. SO it will be a while until you see issues again