Radiator Hose Clamps - Lesson Learned

StuJohnson

New member
Darn - I knew better then this, but did it anyway and forgot to fix.

In the pic below you will see what can and will probably happen to your radiator hoses if you use the wrong type if hose clamp.

As of yesterday I have now had to replace both of my 2 lower hoses. Yes makes me very mad.

Bike came with one already installed and I did the other one.

DO NOT USE CLAMPS LIKE THE ONE ON THE RIGHT!!! It will eventually eat a hole into the hose.

Only use the OEM ones, the crimp style and/or a hose clamp that has the dempels that don't go all the way through the clamp.

y5ute3e6.jpg



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Oh crap, I have two of those on the right side of my bike when I installed the temperature sensor for my trailtech computer. Where can I buy a bag of those oem style clamps and one of those tools? Btw what size are those clamps? Thanks for the heads up!
 
Oh crap, I have two of those on the right side of my bike when I installed the temperature sensor for my trailtech computer. Where can I buy a bag of those oem style clamps and one of those tools? Btw what size are those clamps? Thanks for the heads up!

OEM came from Mark at GoFasters

Honestly maybe don't use that other clamp one with yellow tool. That I got at Home Depot. The clamp is actually too tight so if you go that route I would make sure it is the right size. I know Jake has talked about these before.

I would use these if can't get the OEM ones. I see they are on DennisKirk.
https://www.denniskirk.com/samco-sport/radiator-hose-clamp-kit.p273659.prd/273659.sku

y5ejymyb.jpg


I bought some single stainless steel ones from a local boat shop. But they literally raped me at $8 / each....!!!! Ouch
 
I bought some single stainless steel ones from a local boat shop. But they literally raped me at $8 / each....!!!! Ouch

That's cause you went to a BOAT shop! That'll teach ya! Anything with word marine or the such gets an automatic 200% price increase.

I have an 18' Fourwinns and need new carpet, $500+ for a 12'x6' patch of carpet and have the old one as a template......sorry, needed to vent on that one!
 
look for them at Fastenal or some other local industrial supply house. They are about $3-4 for the lined hose clamps in stainless steel.
 
That's cause you went to a BOAT shop! That'll teach ya! Anything with word marine or the such gets an automatic 200% price increase.

I have an 18' Fourwinns and need new carpet, $500+ for a 12'x6' patch of carpet and have the old one as a template......sorry, needed to vent on that one!

HAHA
I totally agree. But I swear I went to every frickin auto store in Seattle and they all looked at me like I was crazy (which may be true...). So I went to Marine shop and sure we have those!!!!
I needed ASAP or otherwise no riding.
 
Yes - those are them. And you can get the tool like mine (the yellow one) at Home Depot.

I thought those clamps were called Oetiker hose clamps. But I guess Oetiker is the brand name of them. Here they are on Grainger....

http://www.grainger.com/category/hose-clamps/pneumatics/ecatalog/N-afrZ1z0qh6h

Thanks! Damn, I feel for you man..wow. $8.00 a clamp but on the Grainger site a bag of 100 clamps for $47.00. So, a 100 count bag of your clamps would have been $800.00???? Ouch.....
 
Oh I forgot to mention. Grainger is very expensive!!! That is crazy. Only used that link for an example.
eBay is a good spot to buy them too.



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I've reused the stock ones with no problems.

Shouldn't be anything wrong with using the normal worm driven clamps either. Trick is to not get too crazy with the tension. It really doesn't take much to hold the hose on. It also doesn't take much to over tighten and have the clamp start to cut into the hose.
 
I ruined a set of CV4s with those crappy clamps. It was a trackside fix, though, so I didn't have many options. :(
 
Jake - you are right as I probably over tightened!

Pic below:
Left clamp - YES (Notice the rolled edges and no holes that go all the way through the clamp)
Right clamp - NO (in my opinion)

a2u3y9ar.jpg



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Roger that Stu! Without a doubt you get what you pay for. The one on the left is a much friendlier design. Good thread!
 
Your welcome. So are you going to bug the clamps from CarrMcMaster?


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Yep, I'm going to measure one of my oem clamps to make sure that I get the correct size, then buy a bag of them. I going to rebuild my topend in the near future so it will be good to have a supply of clamps in the toolbox. I have two trailtech screw type clamps. I checked them today and they seem to be okay but they might be a little too tight.
 
torque on hose clamps

A few decades ago, I worked on domestic water wells and pumps for a living. We had to send hose clamp installations over 200 feet deep, every day. And those hose clamps were bearing weight, on top of their sealing duties (hanging a 20 pound pump off of black plastic pipe). Failure was not an option.

The solution was a nut driver with built in torque limiter. Something like this (which goes to 60 in-pounds):
http://www.amazon.com/Worldwide-Sourcing-DT-077-Torque-Wrenches/dp/B004Y75REO

The correct torque is lighter than you'd think by "feel".

Thanks for the heads up on the hose watch. I have a couple crappy clamps on my bike right now.
 
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I Have used the "wrong" clamp several times over the years with no issues.If you over tighten the clamp eventually it can damage the hose
 
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