Hose clamp kit

[goodfellow]

I needed to change a few clamps on three of our family vehicles. You all know what a pain modern spring clamps are. I really hate those clamps, but this $39 kit from Amazon has three specific styles that made the job easier. Should have bought this a long time ago -

I do have hose plies, but needed the off-set and large jaw capacity pliers for working on the Wife’s Traverse





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[skfarmer]

all that for 39 bucks? i assume they are not top shelf but from the pics they look  serviceable. if they cover most of the possibilities and make your life easier they are a good fit for home use and may even help out  the flat rate guy. a decent cable type pliers like in the top cover cost that much on it's own.

better pics of the individual parts are needed. i am not familiar with some of them.

[J.A.F.E.]

I have the cable operated pair I got at Sears a few years back and if I recall correctly they ran about 50 so you're ahead of the game already with just those.

The screwdriver sort of looks like the ones that come in the German car tool kits. Those are not quite Oxwall Quality quality but pretty close.

[chevy302dz]

I have a similar set with red handles most likely the same in all reality (I've taken them out of the case long ago). And even after multiple uses I have no complaints and would also recommend them.

[walrus]

The cable operated ones are a blood saver  keeps your arms out of tight places when you are trying to squeeze a pair of pliers.

[goodfellow]

It bears to look at this set a little more closely. Point of origin is unknown. Nowhere on the box or wrappings could I find a COO mention; hence we'll assume it's Chinesium.

I do have older pliers - specifically a great old tool from US KD that was valuable for removing spring wire clamps that were common in the 1970s on Euro cars. These pliers will work on some modern spring forms but the jaws are not made for that technology.





The two red handled pliers are 1990's Craftsman and were a set. Good Taiwanese construction, but again, the jaws on the non-cable version are too small for many larger clamps these days. The cable version is adequate, and well made.

Compare the new Chinese cable version to the older Taiwanese version, the cable is slightly shorter and the clamp compression fitting doesn't look as sturdy on the new version than those on the older one.





This bent version was what I needed for the Traverse (and why I bought it) -- big jaws and wide opening.





One thing to note about this set versus the older versions is that the ratcheting mechanisms are much smoother and better adjustable due to the smaller teeth in the ratchets. This is a plus!



The other pliers that I absolutely needed for lower radiator clamps was this large jaw straight set.





Other pliers in the set include a Euros style band clamp crimper.



....a counter-leverage (push) set that I often use for fuel line fittings.



... and two standard smaller variable jaw pliers that are used for small/medium sized ring and band clamps (I pretty much had these covered with my older sets)





Overall I'm quite happy with this set -- for occasional uses like mine, they are worth the $39. Many times you'll pay that much for just the cable clamp pliers and the medium sized straight jaws alone.

[J.A.F.E.]

Thank you for covering the set. It looks like a must have after reading your writeup.

[goodfellow]

Thank you for covering the set. It looks like a must have after reading your writeup.

Thanks Steve! Yes, after finishing the job and removing the hoses, this set made the job definitely a lot easier. I could have used vice grips or slip joint pliers (as I have many times in  the past), but that would have required the removal of other nearby hoses or accessories. The fact that the ratchets easily lock in place and keep the clamp under tension while using the hook tool to break the seal made the job quite doable and without a lot of frustration.

[J.A.F.E.]

I bought the cable pliers when I did the intake gaskets on the real J.A.F.E. (2000 Explorer with 5.0). The upper radiator hose I had options but the lower could not because of the position of the tabs and the cable was the only option. Same with the heater hoses at the firewall nothing else could open them all the way and not foul on something else.

It will be nice to have the options though.

[ken w.]

I bought all those tools in this set seprately and spent probably 10x that amout thru the tool trucks.