How much to tighten worm gears? (Hose clamps, jubilee clamps, band clamps)

[454cid]

What is the spec on the worm gear clamps ? I found a torque wrench on Amazon for $51 USD, 1/4 inch drive, 10 to 150 inch pounds.
Funny the bigger ones seem to be cheaper as low as about $35 USD.

That link that volvolugnut posted had some specs (ranges) but the smaller clamps were 10-15inlbs which make a 10-150inlb wrench not the ideal tool. Torque wrenches are not very accurate at their extremes.

[volvolugnut]

A beam type torque wrench is inexpensive and good enough to avoid too loose or too tight.
One like this:https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool ... 35&sr=8-14
volvolugnut

[MrAl]

What is the spec on the worm gear clamps ? I found a torque wrench on Amazon for $51 USD, 1/4 inch drive, 10 to 150 inch pounds.
Funny the bigger ones seem to be cheaper as low as about $35 USD.

That link that volvolugnut posted had some specs (ranges) but the smaller clamps were 10-15inlbs which make a 10-150inlb wrench not the ideal tool. Torque wrenches are not very accurate at their extremes.

Hi,

In this case then buy a spring scale they come in many sizes. Measure the length of a wrench, then use the spring scale at the end of the wrench to pull the nut tight noting the reading on the scale. The reading will correlate with the torque as the cross product of the force and the radius. In this application that simply means the torque is the force times the length of the wrench. So if you measure 10 ounces and the point from the center of the nut to the point where the spring scale attaches to the wrench measures 8 inches, then the torque is 80 inch ounces or the more modern 80 ozf in (ounce force inches). If you measure 5 ounces and 8 inches then it is 40 ozf in. If you measure 5 ounces and 12 inches the torque is 60 ozf in. If you measure N ounces and M inches the torque is N*M ozf in.
I intended to do this a long time ago with something on my older car but misplaced the spring scales i had purchased. They are available on amazon for reasonable prices. I got a couple different ones to handle different torque ranges. If i could only find them now

Oh if you are pulling horizontally this should work well but if pulling up or down you have to account for the weight of the wrench which is distributed across the entire length of the wrench so it's not just the total weight of the wrench. If you need that calculation i can provide that too. If you are pulling on an angle relative to the horizontal (slightly up or down but not exactly straight up or down) then you have to take into account the angle too. It's not that hard to do though if you have a hand calculator.

[Sveedy]

Tighten them till they seem snug. Not too much - not too little. Just kind of .....snug. But tight.

[FireFox31]

Tighten them till they seem snug. Not too much - not too little. Just kind of .....snug. But tight.

That's what I did on the thermostat hose and it's leaking. I have an 1/4" torque wrench for inch lbs, so I'm curious to see how far off the 10-15 in lbs I was.

Some of you swear by Oetiker clamps. Yet, when I replaced my cooling and power steering hoses, I used all Volvo parts for the clamps. The majority of those were Norma worm gear clamps. The Volvo PCV clamps were Oetiker, but not the larger, more accessible hoses.

[abscate]

You both swear by oetikers at installation, and swear at them for removal. ThenDr Dremel comes and tells you all be will be ok. Zzzzzzzzzzz - pop!

[MrAl]

Tighten them till they seem snug. Not too much - not too little. Just kind of .....snug. But tight.

Hi,

Yeah now that you mention it i never once needed a torque wrench to tighten a worm gear hose clamp
I remember now why i got the spring scales. It was to tighten the valve cover on my old Hyundai. The torque spec was very low and i didnt have a torque wrench that would go that low and when i priced them they were like $100 or something.

[Sveedy]

Oetiker - Translation in Swahili - " Gazelle with broken leg "
Seriously, they are a joke. You need a " special " tool, and more room, ( as opposed to a basic screwdriver ) to either install or remove them. Having to pull out a electric tool to remove a hose clamp is comical. Try tightening up or removing one while on the side of the road, and I doubt you'd be laughing.

They are not reusable, so they are wasteful.

And I'd love to see someone install or remove the turbo hoses where they connect to the turbo housing using Oetiker clamps, pliers and a Dremel. Popcorn time....

[FireFox31]

I finally checked my thermostat coolant hose clamp. It was shockingly loose. The hose had pushed back from the housing stop a tad. I reseated it and tightened the clamp tighter than 15 in lbs. Seems my smallest torque wrench only goes down to 5 Nm, not 1.5 Nm needed, so I can't measure this.

I focus on this because I lost an engine to a coolant line blowing off. Don't know why it happened so I like to ensure I have good clamps tightened properly.

[abscate]

Well, Firefox, I just stole 15 minutes of your life