I am going to be changing all of the coolant hoses on my Discovery II and was wondering if I should use the space saver clamps that come with the hoses or the traditional worm drive clamps.

 

Heavy duty worm clamps.

 

I'm with Spike.....Heavy duty worm clamps. No worries of them becoming weak.

 

All SS worm clamps. NAPA sells them (among others). They have several kinds, make sure you get the kind that have SS screws.

 

Thanks for the response guys. I was also leaning towards the worm clamps, they seem to be more reliable in the long run.

 

A good alternative to the normal metal hose clamp is the Flexi-Clamp. This new clamp is made from 66 Nylon so it is tough. Some key feature include no-rust, re-usable, non-conductive, can be tightened to 75 psi ( which is tighter than most metal clamps ) and can be installed without taking the hose apart. Come view the video:

Flexi-Clamp Hose Clamp

 

A solution looking for a fix.

All stainless clamps are no-rust, reusable and can be installed without removing the hose.
As for non-conductive, I've never had a hose clamp cause a short, might be because the hose is an insulator.
75 psi is tighter than a hose clamp needs to be (demonstrated by the fact I've never had a hose leak because a SS clamp wasn't tight enough).

 

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the response :-) All stainless steel clamps are stain proof not rust/corrosion proof. There are so many grades of stainless steel it is hard to go thru all of them. Two of the most common are Marine Grade and 301. Marine is the "most rust proof" where 301 is more commonly used because of price and strength concerns. The more "rust proof" a hose clamp is the softer the metal and hence it can not be made as tight nor re-used as often. On the flip side 301 stainless is more susceptible to corrosion and is often paired with a zinc coated screw for strength and re-usability ( which will eventually rust ).

While the stainless steel clamp can be re-used and installed without removing the hose, the Flexi-Clamp does it better as clearly demonstrated in the video.

You are right, the non-conductive feature of the Flexi-Clamp probably does not apply to you. It is meant more for the mining industry where any spark underground can spell catastrophe.

The "75 psi" statement is meant to dispel any thoughts that the Flexi-Clamp may not be as strong as it's stainless counterpart. I have never had a hose leak because the stainless steel clamp would not tighten enough either :-)

 

Whats the melting point of this flexi clamp?

 

I don't need a sales pitch or to be taught about stainless alloys.
I've been using all stainless hose clamps on Land Rovers for over 35 years, including in the north east a heavy road salt area. I've never had any fail or corrode even after years of use, including using them on header wrap. Though on the header wrap they did discolor because of the high temps.
I didn't watch the video, I don't have Quicktime, but I've never had any issues installing a hose clamp on an already installed hose.

I'm sure some people will want them, but I don't see any value add for this application.