97 3.8L tiny water leak

[ed_moss7]

On passenger side, just above water pump, there is an elbow water port running from intake to ??tensioner bracket?? What the ...? Is this a coolant passage? It looks plastic, so may be cracked, or maybe has an oring or something.

What is that elbow?

[CrazyHorst]

That is known in some circles as the "DFA" bracket...(design for assembly...IOW eliminating "heater pipe" separate parts...or the dual-function-accessory bracket).

The plastic (glass-filled nylon) elbow is the bypass for the thermostat, ultimately running thru the heater core.

I would replace it...I intend to replace mine soon. During the process you will also replace the lower intake gaskets which is a good step forward.

[BNaylor]

Welcome to AF.

To keep this simple - following the KISS principle that is the 90 degree coolant bypass plastic elbow which goes from the lower intake manifold to the tensioner assembly and vice versa.

There is no requirement to replace the LIM gaskets if just the coolant bypass plastic elbow or any of the two o-ring seals are leaking.

The link below at our Tips & Maintenance section has the replacement procedure. Since this is a '97 SII 3800 you only have the one plastic elbow to the LIM. The other metal bypass tube to the water pump is built into the tensioner assembly.

Click here

[CrazyHorst]

Originally Posted by CrazyHorst

During the process you will also replace the lower intake gaskets which is a good step forward.

This snippet above is what BNaylor is referring to as incorrect. While changing the gaskets is, IMHO, a good idea...it is not a requirement.

[tblake]

I dont understand, you both are stating the same thing. "changing LIM gaskets is not necessicary when changing the coolant elbow".

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by tblake

I dont understand, you both are stating the same thing. "changing LIM gaskets is not necessicary when changing the coolant elbow".

He was just clarifying what he stated earlier which makes sense to me. If you have no other issues like unexplained internal coolant loss then doing LIM gaskets with just an external leak like an elbow doesn't require doing the LIM gaskets. But if you are replacing LIM gaskets then obviously you would replace the elbow and o-rings as part of corrective maintenance since the tensioner assembly must be removed. The main reason is the elbow will most likely not come off in one piece and for '97-'98 SII 3800 GPs the tensioner metal tube bypass will be probably be in bad shape too.

[wlkjr]

Full moon.

[grandprixgtx00]

Originally Posted by wlkjr

Full moon.