Heater Hose Clamp Problem

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FrostyGreen318

FrostyGreen318

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A friend of mine has a 69 Dart GTS 340 with a 70 intake. He has an issue trying to use a correct style corbin hose clamp on the heater hose to the intake. The correct clamp is a little too big and the hose will not fit tightly.

Has anyone had this problem and found a solution other than using a different clamp or black RTV sealant on the hose? He has meticulously restored this engine and wants to retain factory stock appearance.

Any advise?
Thanks, Mike
 
The 69 and 70 intakes are the same so that shouldnt be the problem. I gonna bet that the heater hose nipple is the original one from 1970 and had corroded away a bit making its smaller in diameter so the hose wont seal to it correctly.
 
He replaced nipples with new from Year One and new clamps from R/T Specialties. 70 intake has 1/2" nipple vs 5/8" for 69. New 1/2" correct heater hose was used.
 
Some of the heater hose you buy today is a very thin wall, shop around for the old style hose and the clamps will seal
 
I think he should compare the repro hose to others and see if indeed the outer wall thickness is less. Other than that, I wonder if slightly smaller (odd) size corbin style clamps exist. I think next size is 5/16" which might be too small.
 
So your using a 1/2" nipple and 1/2" hose. What size is the corbin clamp for ?
 
He can try heating the clamp up a bit and bending it a bit more. That should tighten it up.
 
Those clamps should fit the hose just snug. Slips on about like a wedding band. Todays hoses probbly do have a smaller OD. :(
The clamp is positioned to sit just below the bung on the fitting.
If you push the clamp far down the fitting it could leak.
Those type clamps were the original quick connect or quick assembly atleast.
They applied a small amout of adhesive to the inside of the hose to first lubricate then seal after they shoved the hose with clamp into place. That adhesive was is the same stuff we used to glue patches on inner tubes.
To scuff the shine off of the inside hose wall will help too.
 
Yes the clamp is for a 1/2" hose and nipple. Just won't fit tight enough to hold the hose on without being able to grab it and pull it right off.

Maybe the hose is a little loose and oversized as well. We talked about him getting a piece of standard 1/2" heater hose to check and see if this would work better than the correct repro stuff.

Thanks for the continued responses.
 
I bought a repro clamp kit from Quicksilver Classics (or is it Diecast?) on eBay, and all the clamps helt tight as a drum except the bypass hose clamps. I thought it was a little loose when I put them on but didn't give it a second thought....until the bypass hose blew off the water pump about 6 miles from home one Sunday morning. I since removed those 2 clamps, and used regular worm drive clamps until I figure out a solution.
Now you say your buddy has the same issue with the heater hose clamps. I wonder if manufacturing tolerances are a little too "lax" in the spring department.
I did notice that the repro clamps are easily bent out of shape if you're not careful, and I never saw spring steel do that, so I assume they're made from stainless steel.
I think I'm going to try what Adam suggested and bend the clamps closed a little more and see how the fit is.

George
 
Interestingly, my friend was able to contact the actual manufacturer of these corbin clamps and the discuss the issue. They apparently have some "in-between" sizes and are sending out a few for him to try. The concern is that the clamps might be oversized or incorrect.

I will update when I know more.
 
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