One thing I cannot stand is a half-assed work around when trying to perform maintenance on anything mechanical. I also can't stand the kind of people who will use common tools when trying to remove special fasteners and end up breaking the fastener, the part, or both during the process. My other pet peeve in this process is when people replace the specific fastener with an inferior or incorrect fastener which still leads to problems. These individuals then blame the "idiot engineer" who designed it.

Later model vehicles are equipped with the spring style hose claps. These are superior over the cam driven/worm drive clamps of old in that they cannot be over-tightened, have consistant holding force, and have an almost indefinite lifetime. These clamps speed assembly time on the production line (time = money) and won't crush or damage the plastic neck of newer style radiators.

After having cussed, screamed, and scraped my knuckles trying to remove these clamps with pump pliers, I finally snagged a set of the proper pliers on E-Bay for $60. I had to wait around two weeks for shipping, from England, but it was well worth it. Using them gave me a chubby. No cussing, no fussing, just swivel the jaws, apply pressure, and voila -- peace of mind.

 

Hey, you have two pairs. Send me one.

 

Fat chance of that! The one set has a locking cam.

 

I'll give you two dollars.
Final offer.

 

You'd better spice up your offer with a hooker and some blow.

 

I have one of these.

 

Wow -- do you want a medal, or a chest to pin it on

Honestly, I almost got that particular style. How well do you like it? I'm on a quality tool buying spree right now, and I may just snap up a set.

 

offical name of the tool? i have always believed in the right tool for the job!!

 

They are called Flat Band Hose Clamp Pliers.

 

I'm that guy who will use needle-nosed pliers and spend the 60 bucks on something I need

Seriously though, I had no idea there even WAS a special tool for those clamps!