Searched the archives here, but I couldn't find anything.

I went to replace my lower radiator hose. Whoever had it before me was a real genius, the hose clamp was situated with it's flanges exactly on the bottom. I tried and tried from every direction to get various vise grips on those clamp flanges...and I have a lot of different specialized vise grips...to no avail. I even cut the old hose off at the radiator inlet to get at it easier. Nope. Thanks once again, previous owner !

Then, one of the little flanges broke off. Looks like I'm going to have to pull the radiator to get this clamp off of there.

Here's my question. Are these steel spring clamps a Cummins item, or are the parts stores going to have something comparable in quality ?

Will a regular O-ring screw clamp suffice ?

TIA.

 

Every one I ever saw had plain old screw-driver/slotted-band hose-clamps.

Probably the best hose-clamps for protecting the hose were the old GM-style that had a stationary bolt that drew the two sides of a solid band tight.

The more common type that I first mentioned sort of cause the hose to "crawl" and the little slots cut into the rubber; then again, they hardly ever leak or cause problems.

From what you are describing, you must have the springy type with the squeeze-together ears.

 

I think that you are referring to a Corbin clamp; they have been a common item on Mopar for as long as I can remember for 50 years.

The advantage of a Corbin clamp to a band clamp is they clamp using spring tension that is always present instead of only what was applied by tightening.

I have had my injuries too from them snapping off the pliers and getting my fingers but the trick is to use regular old slip joint pliers or get a pair of Corbin Clamp Pliers.

http://www.shopwiki.com/_KD+Tools+%2...e+Clamp+Pliers

They usually break attempting to take them off with improper tools because the clamp is made of tempered steel.

I have had seen as many Aircraft style clamps fail because of someone over tightening them and stripping out the screw as it was tightened with the band cut half way through the hose.

Also if you remove a hose with a Corbin Clamp then you need to replace the clamp in its original location in the grove when you replace it or it will leak.

They are also known as Washing Machine clamps because they are used to clamp the hoses on washing machines where the pump and connections are always moving or rocking where here I have seen screw clamps loosen up by themselves.

But yes I do have Aircraft clamps on my truck and the proper shielded clamp on all of my silicone hoses.

Jim

 

This is what I use to those clamps off with.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ord=hose+clamp

Saved the skin off my knuckles many times with it.

 

Lost somewhere in the shop that I have no control over is a very old pair of the pliers that are like those that Jim Lane pictured.

I ?think? those pliers are actually specifically for removing the spring-steel "wire" clamps; whereas, the pliers pictured in dmosher's post are for the wide band spring-clamps.

Am I correct ??

I see lots of both style of clamp in various applications.

 

These pliers look like they are for removing the spring clamps that are used on most foreign cars, they are a flat band of steel where as the Corbin is round.

I have made my own by simply drilling a recess in the jaws of a pair of slip joint pliers you just need something to capture the end of the clamp.
Jim

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ord=hose+clamp

 

The large vise grips I have with the curved "grips" and large flat extended grip ends work great, that is, when the flanges of the spring clamps are in such a place that I can get at them. I make sure of this when I put the clamps back on.

These are on the very bottom of the radiator outlet, about an inch above the vehicle frame. It's either cut them with a dremel or pull the radiator now that one of the flanges broke off.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

 

Dremel cutoff wheel and a steady hand. Been down that road before. Good luck and be careful with the dremel tool.

 

Here are pictures of a few :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hose_clamp
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Occassionally, you will run into this type which requires a special clamp-crimping tool to tighten them and usually the clamp is destroyed to remove; these are often found on hose assemblies that the original manufacturer intended to be replaced as an entire assembly, but poor boys can cut away the clamps and usually make do :

http://www1.mscdirect.com/Ear-Type/H...ings/s800.HTML
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This type is a flat-band spring-clamp that is very common on fuel-line fittings and the like :

http://www.nutsandbolts.com/clamps-s...f78c415728e152
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This is what you want for silicone hoses, or any hose that you don't want the clamp to dig into :

http://happyterminals.com/index.php?...qg3ot2mqtq3v73
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If you want to look sharp, then this is what you want :

http://www.smithspecialtyproductsand...FeFM5QodUBRGeA

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Here are some more commonly seen styles; Ford used a lot of the type-A wire-grip clamps, 3rd picture down from the top :

http://www.murraycorp.com/index.pl/o...model_main.htm
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This is as close to a genuine "Corbin" clamp that I could find; it is more of a "double-Corbin", as a plain old Corbin has only one wire :

http://www.pspring.com/hoseclamps.asp
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As common as they are, search as I might, I had no success coming up with a picture of an actual Corbin clamp (or at least what I think Jim meant by a Corbin clamp).

Maybe some kind soul with an expensive fancy camera will take some pictures of a Corbin and post them.

 

lol these clamps have been on chryslers for ever. My buddy went to take off his top radiator hose on his 70 duster to find out what was leaking and as soon as he touched the clamp it fell into two pieces!!! I personally dont like the clamps just because I have seen them fatigue but I do think they do the least amount of damage to the hose.

 

Is this actually easier than pulling the radiator ? I've not messed with that yet on a First Gen, on some trucks it's very very simple and quick.

 

Sure... as long as you

 

Quote:
Occassionally, you will run into this type which requires a special clamp-crimping tool to tighten them and usually the clamp is destroyed to remove; these are often found on hose assemblies that the original manufacturer intended to be replaced as an entire assembly, but poor boys can cut away the clamps and usually make do :

This particular clamp is a Keystone Clamp.

A good place to see some of these is on any front wheel drive vehicle; check out what is retaining the CV joint boot on the drive axles.

BK you have probably looked at them 1000's of times and never paid attention to them every time you pulled off the front wheel, I have also had to remove these from high-pressure fuel lines and on some military hardware.

An inexpensive alternative to buying a pair of Keystone crimpers is to get a pair of Ceramic tile nippers like from Home Depot, the jaws close parallel but they will not cut all of the way through exactly what you need to crimp the band with.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100033894

I even have a miniature version of this clamp on the coolant lines on the liquid cooling system on my computer.

But when I started modifying the pump, I replaced them with these.

http://www.hellermanntyton.us/produc...?lon=SNP1010M4

Quote:
As common as they are, search as I might, I had no success coming up with a picture of an actual Corbin clamp (or at least what I think Jim meant by a Corbin clamp).

Maybe some kind soul with an expensive fancy camera will take some pictures of a Corbin and post them.

Also commonly refered to as a Mopar Corbin Clamp.

http://www.jimsautoparts.com/hose_clamps.htm

I cannot even remember how many times I have had the clamps twist and snap me in the fingers and even though you know better you will always snap yourself 3 of 4 times more before you are through or the pliers will slip and you will munch down on your fingers that are holding the clamp. Ouch.

Jim

 

Yes, that's exactly what I had pictured in my mind as being a Corbin clamp.


I also read in some guy's advice on fuel-line assembly that he preferred to use TWO Corbin clamps, turning the "ears" opposite one another.

 

Who sells these clamps ? I mean, not online, but which parts houses ? Does Cummins have them ? O'Reily/ Schmucks doesn't carry them. Autozone or NAPA maybe ? NAPA does tend to have a bunch of weird stuff like that.

Arggggh. I bought some regular O-ring screw clamps last night, and left them in my taxicab down at the garage an hour ago ! So, as long as I'm venturing out again to buy some more when I wake up later on (got Thurs night off) I might as well look for the real deal...