Believe it or not.. look closer at the heater hose connections where the metal is bolted to the accessory bracket. It'* not supposed to be tight. The bolts merely hold the metal outlet into the accessory bracket. This way you can remove them and change the o-ring if needed. It'* similar to the coolant elbow with more rigidity.

I was also shocked at them...and shocked that the elbow works to hold the pressure...it works though.