I have a 1996 v6 3.8 Camaro. It is losing large quantities of water from the cooling system. I have located the source of the problem. I need to know what the part is called. It is a small elbow shaped piece of plastic that runs from the lower manifold to another part (I don't know what this part is called, possibly some type of control valve) which has an inlet and outlet that runs to the heater core. What is this small elbow shaped piece of plastic called? Also, what is the name of the other part mentioned above? :confused:
Thanks, Gary

Sometimes I make things more complicated than they really are. A trip to O'Reilly's Auto Parts resolved my problem. I showed the part to someone working behind the counter. He was a young man and didn't know what the part was but an older man who worked there knew exactly what it was.

The elbow shaped piece of plastic (I'm sure it's something more durable than plastic) is called a Heater Hose Bypass Fitting. It cost $3.59. I found it on the aisle where hoses and connectors are located. It runs from the Lower Intake Manifold to the Belt Tensioner housing. (This housing also contains the passagway for the water to flow to the Heater Core.)

To replace it you must remove most electrical connectors and vacuum tubes in order to access and remove the fuel rail and upper intake manifold. You should then remove the Belt Tensioner housing. After you remove the old Hose Bypass Fitting check to make sure none of it fell into either the housing or the manifold. You push one end of the fitting into the housing and the other end into the manifold.

This fixed my coolant loss problem.

I should mention that, as much as I searched, I couldn't find anything in either my Haynes nor my Chilton manual about this Heater Hose Bypass Fitting.

I hope this helps anyone who may experience the same problem.

:)