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Montenegro, Podgorica
1 Level
682 Review
48 Karma

Review on Dorman 800 408 Heater Connector Removal by Patrick Lets

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Innovative product that saved me a lot of work

This product worked for me. I was lucky enough to find this tool locally. You will not. Buy it online before you need it. When it came time to replace a leaking heater hose fitting on my big Chevy truck, I relocated it knowing it would snap in the intake manifold if I tried to remove it. . It got progressively worse over the course of several months and I dreaded the thought of trying to disassemble the heater hose quick connector with a hammer and hacksaw blade. Then one of the tabs on the quick connector broke off completely, so I had to deal with this issue once and for all. If I hadn't hesitated I could have bought this tool (or a similar one) online before having to replace the piece of rust that GM used to connect the heater hose to the intake manifold. Since I needed it asap, I had to find it locally. It was only in stock at one auto parts store in town and was no longer on the shelves. It was in the back of a dusty old box, waiting to be thrown away. When I started unscrewing the old quick connector from the air intake, it broke off. Thanks to this tool, I was prepared for that. The first thing I did was spray the threads with a penetrating lubricant. Then I fished some small splinters out of the air intake. I then pushed a small piece of rag through the now jagged hole in what used to be my heater hose connector. I then placed my new Dorman heater hose connector removal tool in the freezer. Then I put everything away and watched TV for an hour. Then I went back and added more penetrating oil. Then I went and played Candy Crush for half an hour. From now on, the instructions on how to remove the faulty connector are very simple. Take the frozen removal tool and insert it into the broken connector as far as it will go. Don't stop until you hit the bottom. Then wait 5 minutes. The heat from the connector and the frictional heat from hitting the connector cause the tool to heat up. As it heats up, it expands to grip the broken connector. As thermal energy is transferred from the broken tube to the tool, the tube should contract slightly to release it. After waiting five minutes, use a broken rod to unscrew the broken plug. A long breaker is required to allow consistent torque to be applied to remove the entire connector. This is how I did it and it worked on the first try. So remember, be patient, apply a penetrating lubricant to the threads and freeze the connector removal tool before using it. Do this and you should be successful. Also remember to fish out any parts that are going into your engine and flush the engine with the heater hose disconnected from the heater core. That way the parts you skip don't clog the core of the heater.

Pros
  • Economical solution - offers OE quality at a competitive price
Cons
  • Almost everything is included