Gruven heater core T-connectors

[08HoeCD]

I was doing some garage cleaning yesterday afternoon and discovered several pinkish, dime-sized drops on my garage floor. Tell-tale sings that at least one of my connectors is failing. Again.

I replaced both connectors about 2 years ago with Dorman units, then repalced those with OEM connectors within about 6 months due to failure----so I'm seeing another failure of the OEM connector within 18 months after installatoin. (I had the dealer do the last connector replacement to make sure that the failure wasn't due to me screwing it up.)

Either there is something fundamentally wrong about my vehicle, or the basic connectors suck and are prone to fail within indefinite intervals. I think the latter is the case.

 

[kbuskill]

Got a reply from Gruven today...

"In all this time we have only sold 6 total of these. Still trying to push this on the forums. Im not sure why nobody seems to want this, it’s a great idea. WE will make them, Im trying to push through this month. Of course if more people were into it we would be able to get much more priority in the shop, its very hectic right now.



Paul

www.GruvenParts.com

https://www.facebook.com/GruvenParts/ "

I wish people would inundate his inbox telling him "if you build it they will come"... lol

To be honest, I'm a little aggravated about the whole thing.

When this whole thing started I emailed Gruven and pitched them the idea for the T-connectors.

He responded back and said he thought it was doable and if I would ship him the original parts, including the metal pieces that they connect to, he assured me that he would build a set for me to test out and do the R&D for him before he sent them to market.

I gladly agreed and went to a salvage yard to get all the components he needed including the heater core nipples and shipped them out to him the next day.

It was only after doing this that he changed the story and said he would need to get 10 preorders before making any.

So much for R&D testing I guess.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Got a reply from Gruven today...

"In all this time we have only sold 6 total of these. Still trying to push this on the forums. Im not sure why nobody seems to want this, it’s a great idea. WE will make them, Im trying to push through this month. Of course if more people were into it we would be able to get much more priority in the shop, its very hectic right now.



Paul

www.GruvenParts.com

https://www.facebook.com/GruvenParts/ "

I wish people would inundate his inbox telling him "if you build it they will come"... lol

To be honest, I'm a little aggravated about the whole thing.

When this whole thing started I emailed Gruven and pitched them the idea for the T-connectors.

He responded back and said he thought it was doable and if I would ship him the original parts, including the metal pieces that they connect to, he assured me that he would build a set for me to test out and do the R&D for him before he sent them to market.

I gladly agreed and went to a salvage yard to get all the components he needed including the heater core nipples and shipped them out to him the next day.

It was only after doing this that he changed the story and said he would need to get 10 preorders before making any.

So much for R&D testing I guess.

I know it's not exact, but here's where I'm at as I contemplate what to do with mine ...

 

[Ilikemtb999]

He’s back to claiming in a month....

 

[Smrtss1]

Then he has a month before I pull my order and get my money back. 6 months is more than long enough to piece together time to make these.

 

[Larryjb]

I was going to put an order in, but I need something sooner than he's willing to manufacture it. I'll order a few GM Tee's, and change them every few years. Too bad.

 

[97audia4]

Any reason why you couldnt use braided coolant lines and just a AN Y fitting?

 

[SnowDrifter]

Then he has a month before I pull my order and get my money back. 6 months is more than long enough to piece together time to make these.

6 months is also conveniently enough time that you can't file for a chargeback w/ your bank or PP or whatever

 

[97audia4]

Autozone shows this on their website

 

[kbuskill]

Autozone shows this on their website

View attachment 219548

That connector is for the older small block engines and screws into the intake manifold. It is not for an LS engine.

 

[kbuskill]

I was going to put an order in, but I need something sooner than he's willing to manufacture it. I'll order a few GM Tee's, and change them every few years. Too bad.

I don't know if any of you guys have emailed him but I would certainly appreciate it if you would... the squeaky wheel gets the grease as they say.

 

[kbuskill]

Any reason why you couldnt use braided coolant lines and just a AN Y fitting?

View attachment 219547

It would be a lot more hassle and money, but aside from that... no, I suppose you could.

You would just have to figure out how to attach the AN fittings to the heater core and metal lines going to the rear heater core.

 

[97audia4]

This has peaked my interest and I have reached out to a few companies that custom make silicon hoses hoses to get rid of all the plastic.

No clue on pricing yet and you would have to use hose clamps to connect the heater lines and water pump but as long as you use a quality clamp there is nothing to worry about.

https://www.siliconehose.com/custom-hoses/

 

[kbuskill]

This has peaked my interest and I have reached out to a few companies that custom make silicon hoses hoses to get rid of all the plastic.

No clue on pricing yet and you would have to use hose clamps to connect the heater lines and water pump but as long as you use a quality clamp there is nothing to worry about.

https://www.siliconehose.com/custom-hoses/

These T-connectors that Gruven is supposed to make will come with the short pieces of silicone hose to attach the connectors to the heater core and rear supply lines.

You could run silicone hoses from the water pump to the heater core but you would still need a T-connector of some sort OR bypass the rear heater core.

 

[97audia4]

These T-connectors that Gruven is supposed to make will come with the short pieces of silicone hose to attach the connectors to the heater core and rear supply lines.

You could run silicone hoses from the water pump to the heater core but you would still need a T-connector of some sort OR bypass the rear heater core.

In going to see if they can make that all one piece out of silicone so the hose itself would include the t off to rear heat lines.

 

[Smrtss1]

Email sent asking for status and stating that if these are not going to be produced or they have no plans on making them and having them at my door in the next 4 weeks I want the full deposit returned.

Almost 6 months? I could’ve made these by hand with a drill and hand files in that time.

 

[kbuskill]

Email sent asking for status and stating that if these are not going to be produced or they have no plans on making them and having them at my door in the next 4 weeks I want the full deposit returned.

Almost 6 months? I could’ve made these by hand with a drill and hand files in that time.

Keep us posted on their reply.

 

[Smrtss1]

Got a response this morning. Standard “sorry for the delay, I’ll keep you updated” thing. He said they only have 6 orders and that he can’t understand why people are content with plastic that could easily fail. While I agree with that I can’t help but wonder how many they’d sell if they dropped the price a little and actually had them in stock.


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[petethepug]

This is one of those parts that should be in the storage bin in the back of the truck or glove box.

This one’s simple, pay now or pay for a new motor later. If you have the parts you’re immune. Same goes for ....

the lesson learned on not keeping a set of TPMS sensors in the vehicle after its 7th birthday.

1) Not purchasing OEM online doubles or triples your price for each one.
2) If you don’t have them prior to your 7th year tire change, you pay to have the tire(s) pulled/ installed 2x.
3) Not so savoury shops will play the shell game with you when your tire is off trying to make you pay for a new TPMS that’s not needed. If u have em, and they’re marked, you supply the new one and keep the old one to test later.
4) If you don’t purchase new b4 the 7th year you won’t have time for a shop to test them b4 install to verify their condition.
5) TPMS sensors usually go bad when you’ve got a puncture of bad valve stem. You’re more likely to drive the tire until u run it flat if you ignore the bad TPMS.
6) Ever had to buy 4 new tires on an AWD truck because 1 tire replacement means too much tread for the other 3 tires causing the diffs to do a death spin?
7) Do you think you’ll pay full retail to have all the TPMS replaced when paying for 4 tires at full retail and you may not want the brand of tires they have in stock (while out of town)?
8) TPMS = pay now or pay later. TPMS on AWD = pay (very little) now or pay (out the a$$) later with a humiliating lesson learned.


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[Trailblazzin]

I wonder if I placed 2 separate orders for a single “t” if it would help get the ball rolling sooner. I believe I need 2 for the reAr heat. The more I read about these failing makes me want to replace mine, but if I’ll have to wait months I’ll just buy the oem version and hope they last long enough.