Hello All, I'm replacing the heater hoses. Do I need to replace the hose clamps as well if they are in good condition? Thanks, Charlie
In general, I replace them. There comes a point that they're aged such that they don't tighten and hold as well as they need to.
Well, if original, they are not readily available.. The resto tread on the 1979 for Itailiano Concorso had good luck in finding our OEM clamps. Amazing...I'm sure he had some left over. That said, I can gauge as they tighten if they are still working. You certainly want to err on the side of functionality...
I'm not too interested finding OEM clamps. My car is definitely a driver. I would think hose clamps from NAPA would suffice.
Go to McMaster Carr and search: Worm-Drive Clamps with Smooth Bands for Soft Hose and Tube These are the best kind of clamps as they are kind to the outer casing of the hose and have a proper 'European OEM' look that you can't get with hardware store gear clamps.
Clamps aren't rocket motors. If it's not bent, distorted or corroded and functions as designed then there is absolutely no real reason to replace it despite how cheap it may be. Most people, myself included, are just going to put new clamps on a new hose but that wasn't your question.
If they’re original clamps with out slots that cut into the hose then re use them. Metric cloth covered hose is too expensive to mess up with cheap American clamps.
Funny, despite the fact that WM is a marine supply store, in the boating world, NOBODY that does a lot of boat work buys anything from West Marine! That, of course, has nothing to do with the fact that they DO usually have a good supply/selection of hose clamps.
West Marine is like Big 5 or Harbor Freight. You can just walk in and come out with what you were looking for and half a dozen things you weren't.