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Hose clamp nightmare's

Kain

Kain

3/4 ton status
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
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Location
Lubbock Texas
its must hose clamp failure day. went to walmart and smelled fuel,so i pooped the hood and my but puckered.The passenger side header was wet with fuel!

I was going by home depot with frank and the lower radiator hose clamp let go and 3 gallons of coolant runs threw the parking lot.i just changed it and it wont hold tight.

So my question is where do you get good hose clamps?The local auto parts house only carry's the master craft clamps witch are crap.the ones summit sells
aren't any better.Any good sources for them?
 
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try being a marine mechanic! I lose 3 qrts of blood a yr to Mercruiser hoseclamps... n o ****...
 
i can get you part numbers for napa hose clamps . i have been tired of stripping hose clamps a few years ago! and now i sell and keep napa . not sure what name but i think its trident :dunno:. if you want i got and assortment from 5/16 too 3 inch, i can give you part numbers. napa sells cheap ones too.
 
Look for constant tension clamps the are the best and what all the manufacturers are using now. Not to much more than a regular clamp and 100 times better.
Rock auto has them for the best price but autozone looks at you like you are stupid if you ask them. Napa has them in stock and hit or miss if oreilly's has them.

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Never buy Harbour Freight hose clamps...
I know some guys who bought the big plastic bags full that are "cheaper by the hundred"--they tighten up OK sometimes,but 90% of them, the head snaps off once they tighten!..then your forced to use side cutters to chop them off ..

I've been using "gold seal" brand ones from Lowes when I feel I need new ones,and they seem pretty good,but I think most all of them,even "good" brands like Gates And Ideal that were once good,are now made in some third world country from recycled scrap metal..lately I've found more good "old" used hose clamps at the junkyard on older cars that were made of good stainless..
 
NTXJIMMY said:
Look for constant tension clamps the are the best and what all the manufacturers are using now. Not to much more than a regular clamp and 100 times better.
Rock auto has them for the best price but autozone looks at you like you are stupid if you ask them. Napa has them in stock and hit or miss if oreilly's has them.
Click to expand...

I dont care for those,they "clamp" good,but aren't fun to remove or install--most late model vehicles use those because the clamps are hidden in some spot no screwdriver or nut driver can access--thats when you need to buy a pair of these--and they are not exactly cheap..

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You get one of those tools like D4m showed, and you will learn to love the factory clamps.
They make it easy to take them off and put back on, plus hold them open until you are ready.

Personally, I have always liked the idea of spring loaded T-bolt clamps. You can set the amount of pressure you want, and they will give slightly when things get hot so the clamp does not dig into the hose.

Then they contract with the cooling hose so the pressure does not fade with repeated heat/cool cycles.

But, I have never felt the need to pay the higher cost. I would in certain high risk situations though.

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NTXJIMMY said:
Look for constant tension clamps the are the best and what all the manufacturers are using now. Not to much more than a regular clamp and 100 times better.
Rock auto has them for the best price but autozone looks at you like you are stupid if you ask them. Napa has them in stock and hit or miss if oreilly's has them.
Click to expand...


and these snap the tabs off on a lot of removal jobs and then are real fun to get off.

also jeep libery v6 engines have problems with lower rad hose clamp breaking and dropping the hose and frying a engine . seen a few before I got out of the mechanic biss few years back .

the plyers posted above are great if you can even get in there with your hand to hook them up.

ideal hose clamps is the good brand to buy . not the blister pack 2-4 clamp for 4.99 behind the parts counter at the china parts stores.
 
The other thing about those spring loaded clamps is that you need to pay attention and get them on before connecting the hose. :whistle:

Interesting about the tool though. I didn't know about that.
 
Has anyone used the heat shrink type of hose clamps. I see a lot of the rodder crowd using them and they seem to be happy with them. You have to cut them off to change them but once your cooling system works how often do you change them really? Was thinking about them for my rig. They give a clean look too.
 
Some guys trust those new zip ties with stainless steel teeth and "toungues" but I wouldn't...I'd fear they would swell up when hot,then be looser when they cooled off..

I prefer old fashioned worm gear clamps,mostly because they are adjustable,and fit a lot of sizes--those squeeze type ones have to be the perfect size or they will be too small to get on,or too loose to clamp good enough..those pliers cost 100+ bucks for a decent name brand pair,you can buy a lot of worm gear clamps for that kind of money!..

One thing I hate is they make so many different widths of worm gear clamps--sometimes in a pinch you need to put 2 together to make a longer clamp,and usually they wont "interface" from one brand to another...
 
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