Alright, so yesterday I went to change out the upper radiator hose on my 94 Cherokee. It was a bit harder than I thought it would be. First off it has the clamps that pinch instead of use a screw to open, and it looks like they have been in where they are for a LONG time. My multitool pliers open almost nearly enough to deal with depressing the nubs on the ends of the clamps, but in no way make it something I could get done even in twenty tries.

The other end of the hose is tucked under the plastic hood for the fan and a real treat to try and get to. Anyone have any good tips for getting those clamps on and off easy?

I managed to get the one end back on most of the way when I realized there had to be an easier way to get this done, but the hose slipped off a block from work today and the beast is sitting in a parking lot. Gonna go back on my lunch break to try again.

Here's whats at my disposal.
Sog Multitool
Phillips screwdriver maybe 5 inches long
Flat Head maybe 5 inches
small adjustable wrench

I was thinking maybe get two larger hose clamps and loop them over the tabs, tightening slowly to open the other clamps. So far, that's the best plan I have. So all help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

yeah, they are a pita, but they do make a special tool for those clamps. but for the money they want for them, it's cheaper to just cut the clamp with a die grinder and replace with gear clamps.

hose clamp pliers





try removing the lower rad hose on a grand cherokee with front skid. almost impossible without these pliers. lol

 

My approach has been one of 'total commitment'. I take a big knife, cut the hose in half and tear it loose.

 

Wooooooooo. Would ya look at that sweet piece of tool fresh off an alien probing table! haha. There's one for every little job ain't there. Don't think I have a grinder handy. Could do it with the multi, slow and steady, but I think that would run past the lunch hour. haha. Thanks for the tip, I'll keep my eye open for one of those from now on. Maybe someone at a garage sale won't know what they have, or one will make it to the clearance section one day.

 

The tearing could work for sure, but what about getting those monstrous clamps back off and then back ON the new hose. The real tough bit is actually depressing the clamp. I mean I'm not saying I have little ballerina hands, but dang it's hard. And that end of the hose that's connected to the radiator is tucked up in there good. Gives me maybe 4cm clearance to touch the top tap of the clamp.

 

I have had great success using a nylon cable tie. Loop it over the lugs and ratchet it tight.

 

Other than the fancy cable tool, which does work very well, the best tool I know of for the factory spring clamps is channel locks. Most pliers won't open wide enough to get a good angle on the clamp.

I really dislike the factory clamps and usually replace them with screw type clamps. The factory clamps do work well, though, if you have the tool or the patience.

 

X2 on the channel locks. If you spend the $8 on a nice medium size, (10 in.) pair you will have a really handy tool for all sorts of things. Mine are always on-top in the box. Get the real thing, blue handle? The cheap ones are made to slip it seems. Yea, I'd toss the clamp also. Life is too short, they just saved a dime on those at the factory. We can make more blood when we skin our knuckles!

 

Actually the spring clamps do serve a purpose. They are reported to put more of an even pressure all the way around the hose as opposed to the screw clamp where most of its pressure is at screw part which could damage hoses. Now i would cut hem off and use screw clamp

 

Honestly anybody doing this its wayyyyyy easier to disassemble the header panel and remove the radiator before trying to even take the lower hose off, and while in there maby change water pump and thermostat.

 

I had to replace some hoses on my Audi. I ended up buying . Saved me so much hassle. Now that I have that tool, I really prefer the original style clamps since they will not break from overtightening (ask me how I know). As someone else said, remove the couple of bolts for the metal header panel and you can get in there much easier. There are two bolts on the top on each side and 1 on the backside. You may have to move the battery to get at the bolt on that side. Once you get those off, the metal header can be moved out of the way.