Worm gear vs spring type hose clamps?

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Lately I've had two coolant leaks from a radiator hose at the stock
spring clamp attachment area. These are constant tension and supposed
to be better than the aftermarket worm gear type clamps.

I'm thinking of tossing the spring clamp and going with a worm gear on
radiator hoses...

Which is really best?
 
By worm gear are you talking about the stainless steel band clamps? I find I have to periodically tighten these up if they are in an area where vibration occurs. Either that or the hose just squishes down and causes slack in the clamp.
 
Don't buy the ones on the shelf at the auto parts stores, those are garbage.

Behind the shelf they sell them in a cardboard box in bulk that the shops buy. They're actually really cheap and better quality. A buddy of mine is a mechanic and he gets them for me.
 
How old are the clamps? All springs get tired over time. I normally replace the clamps with new OEM when I replace the hose. Costs a couple dollars but keeps things simple.
 
Round spring clamp, or flat spring ? Flat spring clamps are known as Corbin clamps. I find they work really well
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In the old days, hoses were generally thick in construction and had a more elastic material. So screw/band clamps worked well. There was enough to compress and the "rubber" pushed back. Now days we have thinner hoses and things do not seem to work as well as long ...

AND, we have higher operating temperatures, which puts higher stress on everything
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Screw/band clamps still work well on Gates Green Stripe hose, but that is prolly not what you are dealing with ...
 
Originally Posted By: TheLoneRanger

I'm thinking of tossing the spring clamp and going with a worm gear on
radiator hoses...

Which is really best?


This subject seems to rear it's ugly head about every 6 months or so, similar to Pandora's box or thumpin' a bee hive.
In my area, quite often if you remove a spring clamp, the spring will stay unsprung, thanks to the effects of road salt. They work fine until then.
 
Only used the worm-gear on my BMW - which I purchased from a hardware store plumbing section (small town FTW). Top quality SS stuff that weigh a bit for their size, and cost about $8 a pop.

Main issue I've had is getting them to seat again when I've removed the radiator hose. Could not, for the life of me, get it right. Multiple adjustments and tests, and seating it exactly in the old grove to no avail.
Indy noticed the seep and adjusted it, no more leak (no new hose or clamp either) and me flabbergasted.
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Trouble I would see with the spring stuff is age/wear. They loose tension over time, and you can't just tighten the screw a bit to compensate. Its a whole new clamp or slow seepage...
 
You don't state the car, its age, its miles, or the condition and type - metal or plastic - of the radiator fittings. Is it the clamp or something else?
 
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I have never had OEM spring clamps weaken and fail. If you don't know how to remove them you can damage them. Cheap worm gears will leak when temps change. You need a constant tension clamp like truckers use. You can get them at NAPA.
 
I like ABA and Gemi screw clamps, especially for smaller diameter hoses. They're non-perforated and have rolled edges. I get them at a local metric hardware distributor.

For critical applications like fuel or coolant, they also get replaced, not reused.

It's also important to remember that clamps aren't supposed to provide the primary seal, the hose and its fitting are, so over torquing them serves no purpose. If a joint still leaks with a properly fitting clamp, then it's time to replace the hose, not crank it even tighter.
 
I have given nipples a wet twist or two with steel wool to clean them.
Don't tell anyone but once or twice I've applied a thin smear of silicone rubber to a dry barb to just fill any pits or voids.
 
I've have had a few old pitted outlets and old hoses that didn't want to cooperate. I also have found a good cleaning with steel wool or scotchbrite and a lite coating of high temp RTV solved the problem.

I read somewhere that the spring clamps were better due to constant tension under the expansion and contraction from heat. I have over tightened the worm clamps to the point where they cut into the hose a bit so be careful if you use them. The aftermarket spring clamps I bought once were very poor quality. Sounds like NAPA might have some good ones though. Or go to the dealer if you can afford it. Most of the time old, worn out, rusted up OEM parts are better than the PRC made ones hanging on the shelf at the auto parts store. Clean them up on a wire wheel, and put some white lithium grease on them to prevent any more rusting.
 
Guys, the purpose of the clamp is NOT TO SEAL, all a clamp does is keep the hose from sliding off. The seal is formed between the nipple and rubber.
 
Spring type is better, but I've found that a drop or two of blue Loctite on the screw threads will often stop a quality worm gear clamp (like Ideal) from loosening, until they get some rust going on the screw.
 
Worm style create pressure points which can be bad to the hose and especially to any plastic necks.
 
Originally Posted By: Bamaro
Worm style create pressure points which can be bad to the hose and especially to any plastic necks.


Wouldn't a spring type clamp be doing the exact same thing?

Normally worm-gear clamps are thinner than the spring version so I could see this being a bit harder on the hose, but that is about it.
 
If I remove a hose from an aluminum nipple, it gets a coat of Permatex #2 Aviation Forma- gasket before I slide the hose back on. I take pains to set the head of the screw back where I can reach it easily to tighten when it loosens. Forma- gasket doesn't harden. Should you need to remove the hose, it will slide off without damage.
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