Has anyone tried these? I would think they would make removing clamps alot easier in a tight spot. http://www.tooltopia.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9469
Buck_nekid said:And had to twist the clamp around to get ahold of it, knowing that my remote hose clamp plies were safe at home.
Must Have Tool and Keep One on Board at All Times, September 17, 2006
By alwaysprepared747 from Northwest Florida
Workmanship: 5 5
Value: 5 5
Performance: 5 5
Durability: 5 5
"I have a vehicle that has a Mitsubishi 2.6-Liter SOHC 12-valve inline 4-cylinder gasoline engine that was assembled in November 1988, and it has three small water hoses for the throttle body, and it also has two medium sized hoses for the engine oil cooler. One of the water hoses burst on 08/26/2006 and I thought it was a water hose for the engine oil cooler because I saw coolant that splashed all over the oil filter.
Anyways, I ordered all of these water hoses from the vehicle manufacturer and once the genuine OEM replacement water hoses arrived one week later, I had to remove the intake assembly, throttle body assembly, and the upper half of the intake manifold so that I can gain access to the hose clamps. The hose that burst was adjacent to the oil cooler, but it was for the throttle body. I looked at what I had to remove, but I had no idea how I was going to remove the spring loaded hose clamps. One of the maintenance guys at where I work told me about these pliers that operate like snap ring pliers, so I went to Sears in the automotive section and sure enough, I found this Cable Operated Hose Clamp Pliers 9-47390. It comes with a replacement cable set screw just in case the cable snaps on the pliers jaw side of the cable. You can also order the cable assembly and the Sears Replacement Cable Kit is 9-47399, sold separately. This Craftsman Hose Clamp Pliers has full unlimited warranty except for the sheath and cable because they are expendable. This tool is made in France and has a UPC of 0 45256-47390 1 and the Patent is 6,189,190.
I had to replace three small water hoses for the throttle body back in 2002, and if I had known that this tool existed, I would have been able to replace those three hoses within four hours instead of about thirty five hours spread within a two week time frame.
Since I ordered all of the water hoses before I knew exactly which one burst, I decided to remove the water hoses for the oil cooler. Due to the location of the hose, I would have been unable to remove the hose clamp without this tool, so this tool was a requirement for me, and not just a time-saver tool like it would have been back in 2002 for the water hoses for the throttle body.
You can use this tool to both remove and install the spring loaded hose clamps. It will lock in place so that you can slide out or slide in the clamp from or onto the hose. If the hose clamp did not open sufficiently when in locked position, you can still manually squeeze the handle even further to open up the clamp even more, and if you have an assistant to help you squeeze the pliers while you remove or install the clamp, it will be possible to replace those water hoses that are out of reach. Also, if you have a difficult time with sliding out the clamp while you are using this tool, use several drops of engine oil on the water hose so that the hose clamp will slide out very easily. Use the same principle when you are installing a new hose on to the assembly that accepts the new hose. Just dip in your finger in new engine oil and coat the mating surface with oil before you install the hose, because those new hoses have a slightly smaller inside diameter since they are new and it will be difficult to slide in new hoses.
I liked this tool so much that I am going to buy one more as a spare just in case I break it when I am using it because if water hoses fail on me or co-workers, I need to ensure that I have the ability to replace those hoses, so you should buy this tool and keep it on board at all times in your vehicle also.
This tool is a must have item if you like cars and if you like driving them and working on them. I rank this tool, in terms of importance, as the most important tool anyone can have when working on cars because this tool will enable you to replace those water hoses that are definitely impossible to replace without removing the entire engine from the vehicle."
Lower end tools especially those from Taiwan and China just don't last; you really are paying for what you get; just like in the 60's, there were alot of Japanese tools; being young and with less capital and possible less informed, purchase a bunch of these tools and watch them all break when I tried to use them ..stupidjet said:you guys are saying to get lower end ones b/c of price, but yet always bash on craftsman saying that they **** and only get truck tools...i dont get it...
Deafautotech said:I had that craftsman hose plier that i bought it about one and half years ago. it is very useful to me because lot of chrysler and jeep make little hard access in some of vehicles but it is very handy for me to replace hoses and clamps. also in my work , most of techs always borrow my craftsman hose plier and they said it save time but they just keep borrow my hose plier not buy it for themself.