Today I went looking for the coolant elbow that goes from the lower intake manifold to the tensioner bracket.Mine is presently fine but I'm looking for a METAL one.My local dealer only carries plastic and said that they go thru alot of them . I've seen reference to a metal replacement on this board but that'* about it.A search didn't help. A few local parts stores don't carry one.Anybody got a part number ,approximate cost and where to buy information.Any help is appreciated.Thanks. On a slightly different subject,the parts guy said that they go thru alot of upper intake manifolds and gaskets.When I asked him about lower intake gaskets he said they don't find that many failed ones but just replace them as part of the upper intake failure fix.Seems hard to believe that the Buicks don't have the amount of lower gasket failures that the Pontiacs do.Anyways that'* what he said.

Hi Helikon,
Are you refering to the upper bypass fitting that threads into the lower intake? I don't have a part number but I was able to obtain a metal one from my local Autozone Store that they had in a box under the counter, it was made in china and I have had mine in for about 3 months with no signs of any problems as of yet. Mine was for a 94 SE.
Aubie

i bought my replacement at autozone too. The part wasn't even a dollar!

as for the intake, they probably go bad less often in them because they're typically driven much easier than Pontiacs are.

I was looking for a metal one myself.
I'll check out auto zone to see if they carry one for a 96.
Thanks

sorry, but why even go metal? the plastic ones hold up just fine and were made for that specific application...?

anyhew, on my buick (which isn't driven hard), the upper was more than fine - it was near perfect - but the lowers were horrible.

i think it has more to do with people just not doing them... out of sight, out of mind. you do the upper because you might notice a little loss of coolant, and everyone instantly tells you that its the upper intake. unfortunately, most all of the lowers are in just as bad or worse shape :(

[quote="mkaake"]sorry, but why even go metal? the plastic ones hold up just fine and were made for that specific application...?
[/quote
Because the plastic ones crack over time. If they do it while you're driving you lose all of your coolant and BAM you're stranded.

I got a metal one from Car Quest.

92-94 don't have upper intake problems. Only 95-99. Buicks have EXACTLY the same drivetrain and problems as the Pontiacs. In fact, our Pontiacs have BUICK engines. All 3800'* in all makes (Buick, Olds, Pontiac, Chevy) are susceptible to exactly the same failures at the same rates. No difference whatsoever.

Thanks guys, I'll check Autozone or Carquest.I don't give Autozone much business and after them telling me 4 months ago that they don't even list motor /trans mounts for my car I wouldn't have expected them to have this elbow.-------------------------------Willwren, I know what your'e saying about the shared drivetrain components,That'* why I thought it sounded so strange.Pondering this further I thought it might be due to positive pressures in the intake manifolds(boost) in the supercharged models and the pressure impulses created when an intake valve slams shut that might hammer on the the lower intake gaskets.Buuut, then there'* alot of NA gasket failures so like you say it'* a common problem.

Intake manifold failures aren't that common. Not any more common than any other car, in my opinion.

I helped Jseabert tear down his 93SSE, and his lower intake gaskets looked good enough to re-install after 188,000 miles.

Our engines were also designed to withstand much higher boost levels than they do. Remember that our roots go back to the 3.8 GN Turbo