ok so heres the problem... one of my fittings broke on friday night and i realized that half the fitting is still inside the engine. now ive tried just about anything I could come up with to get the piece stuck in there out but i havent been succesful i was thiking of using a screw extractor to grab it and just yank it out but I haven't been able to find one that size if anyone could think of a way to get that little piece of plastic out id appreciate it.

Welcome to Bonneville Club. You've got the right idea, just be careful that you don't gouge the aluminum bore in the LIM with whatever you are using to remove the broken elbow. The new elbow will need to seal in that bore with an o-ring, and a scratch could cause a leak. It would be safest to use something made of hard plastic or hard wood that you can push through the broken elbow piece and hook behind the end of it to pull it out without fear of harming the bore. Let'* see, how about the nylon bolts that you use to install a toilet seat? You may have to file the head of the bolt a bit so it will fit through but leave enough of a head to hook behind the broken elbow. Something like that would be safe enough. In fact, with a nylon bolt head through and hooked behind the broken piece, you might be able to use a washer and nut on the outside of the LIM and just turn the nut to pull the piece out.

Problem:

1. We have no idea what year and engine you have.

2. There are distinct differences between what you might do depending on the year and engine you have, and the hardware you may encounter.

Can you tell us what year and engine you have? Supercharged or not, and the year.

92-95 supercharged engines and 92-94 non-supercharged have a threaded fitting. 96 and later supercharged and 95 and later non-supercharged have slip-fit plastic elbows with o-rings on each end.

The technique for removal would be quite different considering the major differences.

Series 1..A mechanic should have the special tool to remove it.
Series 2.. Genle like BB says.

Well, you learn something every day. I thought all the plastic coolant fittings were the slip type with o-rings on each end. Like Bill and Bill said, the procedure I described is appropriate only for slip type fittings that seal with an o-ring. If you have a threaded fitting, an easy-out (screw extractor) is the correct approach.

Thanks, Bill and Bill, for the clarification.

For the earlier thread-in barb style, replace it with a metal replacement, not plastic. The dealer and just about any auto parts store should have them for about 5 bucks. They also have an o-ring, but only just under the hex head for the final seal.

Oddly enough looking around for one recently..

Advance didn't have it in stock
Autozoe didn't have it in stock
Napa... I love Napa.

Possibly there isn't enough sales in this area where they are stocking them anymore since GM has gotten away from that design.

thnx alot for all ur help for the record its a '92 sse 3.8 i had to literally break the old plastic fitting out seeing as how the screw extractor method did not work thankfully we didn't damage the threading and all is well now thanks again for all your help