Re: Homemade oil lines-PowerGrip hose clamps

Posted by sgtslag on Jul 26, 2012; 12:55pm
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/Homemade-oil-lines-PowerGrip-hose-clamps-tp4025835p4025913.html

I had to hunt in the dark, myself -- I had never heard of a T-bolt clamp.  I went to an auto parts store, asking for high pressure clamps, after my oil cooler began leaking (I had two worm clamps on the hoses, but it was oozing oil out).  They showed me some smaller T-bolt clamps, intended for use on fuel lines, for fuel-injected cars.  The guy told me the injectors ran at around 40 PSI.  I bought a set, and used them to secure a bypass hose on the cooler, to get us home.  (The jet stream of oil running past the worm clamps had occurred earlier, and the use of two worm clamps seemed to be working...)

I could not find larger (1") T-bolts locally, and I looked -- I visited more than 6 shops, of varying types!  I ended up buying them off of e-Bay, and waiting for them to ship.  In the end, it was worth it.  I never knew (Thanks, Mark!) what their pressure limits were, but I knew they could handle far more than worm clamps!  They've been on the cooler's hoses for over 2,000 miles, now, without issue.  They come in different widths -- some are narrow, some have a 1/2" wide band around the hose.  They work, remarkably well.  I, too, hate worm clamps, as they are just not strong enough, for my comfort zone.  YMMV.

I checked into having a hydraulic hose company crimping on custom connectors for my oil lines, but each connector would have cost me $80!  I needed six of them, minimum...  T-bolt clamps were a whole lot more affordable (around $1 each, delivered).  Cheers!