Team Camaro Tech banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Alternatives to hose clamps???

Jump to Latest
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
D

dubs68camaro

· Registered
Joined
·
1,702 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
Maybe some of you might be with me on this one. Unless you are talking a race car or a fighter jet. I'm not a real fan of all the AN fittings and braided line on street cars. I love the look of new, rubber hoses and lines with white lettering. I think the old school fuel injection setups with the little black hoses are "da bomb".

When I put my tunnel ram on my pro-street truck this winter, I want to use all black fuel lines but I don't want to use "hose clamps" if I don't have to. Is there any cool connectors out there that I don't know about? Those band clamps can be cool looking but there are permanent. Could a guy use those new smokey looking AN fittings with rubber hose and not braided?? That might not look too bad. I'm really looking for some kind of alternative that looks tuff and still keeps my rat-rod theme. Maybe some of you guys in heavy equipment know of something. Tim.......where are ya??? Thanks!!!!
 
#2 ·
Most of the OEM's are using thick-walled shrink tubing for clamping.
Crimps are nice, but tooling costs, unless you can rent one and buy bulk crimps.
The bands are good also, but again, tooling costs.
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
dubs68camaro said:
What is shrink tubing??
Click to expand...
A larger dia rubber tube with heat activated adhesive inside it. When you apply heat the tubing shrinks down and clamps the hose. Originally it was used to insulate wire splices. If you want to remove the hose you cut off the shrink tubing using new when re-attaching... Also requires a high power heat gun, I don't think a hair drier would provide enough heat...
 
#7 ·
Do a search for plastic hose clamps .

http://pep-plastic.com/manufacturers/newage/kwikclmp.htm

This was one I picked at random that shows many different sizes. Some of the radiator hose companys, Dayco, Goodyear, etc. are selling them too, so you should have no trouble finding them.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#8 ·
Hi... The company that sells the clamps are Gates.They are called power grip.They worked as explained..but i would not call them shrink tube ,you would get the wrong part every time. Try your local napa store.I can look up a part number if you give me your hose sizes.
WES :noway:
 
#9 ·
I don't like braided either.
I used Aeroquip Socketless Fittings wherever possible.
I wanted the look of rubber with the 'strength/durability' of braided so I used socketless hose too.

Except for heater hoses and radiator hoses. In those cases I used the gates clamps. I get them from McMaster-Carr.

For the heater hose, I used Socketless fittings and the shrink clamps with regular hose.

Image
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#10 ·
Tim agree with you 100%, no use for stainless on a car. Modern day jet aircraft have almost no need for them either. The aircraft I maintain use almost no stainless braided hose. If you see it on a car it's just a matter of preference, no need for it though. If they aren't needed on a 3000 psi hydraulic system they certainly aren't needed on a 14 psi coolant system in a car.
But the do look cool if that's the look you are after.

I'd be careful and make sure you don't ask for heat shrink tubing. I can't imagine anyone using that to seal a fluid line. Like Jim pointed out it for sealing electrical connections, period. Perhaps the Gates product is more in line with what you're looking for. I also like the rubber hose with the fitting on the end like shown in the pic above.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
eville said:
I don't like braided either.
I used Aeroquip Socketless Fittings wherever possible.
I wanted the look of rubber with the 'strength/durability' of braided so I used socketless hose too.

Except for heater hoses and radiator hoses. In those cases I used the gates clamps. I get them from McMaster-Carr.

For the heater hose, I used Socketless fittings and the shrink clamps with regular hose.

Image
Click to expand...

Now we are getting somewhere. I dig that look big time!!!

Thanks for the link Dennis......that's more good info. I know I'm on the right track now!
 
#14 ·
That's pretty neat, it should actually seal the hose better than a clamp because it is compressing more area.

I don't have anything better for ya Dub. About the closest we use is some hose that's been out about 10 or 15 years that you don't put any stinking clamp or anything AT ALL on it. Just push it up on the barb nipple and that's it. The fittings look like ***, you wouldn't want them on a car. We don't have any in pressure service, I dunno how it would perform. But the stuff lasts forever, and you can spin it on the barb and it still seals.

There's also 'constant torque' hose clamps, like diesel Fords have on the intercooler tubes. Those are available in almost any size. Well, I say available, smallest I've seen is 2". I think they'd look skanky though.
 
#16 ·
Dub, here's a couple of better pictures.
For the heater and radiator hoses, I used regular hose with the socketless fittings and the gates clamps...
Image


For fuel line, rad overflow, pcv and others, I used the socketless hose and fittings:
Image
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
About this Discussion
15 Replies
9 Participants
Last post:
eville
Team Camaro Tech
posts
2.4M
members
90K
Since
1998
A forum community dedicated to 1st generation Chevy Camaros owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, builds, restoration, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, reviews, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Bench Racing Engine Body Shop Performance Brakes, Suspension & Steering