I am trying to replace the head gasket of my car with a buddy and desperately need some help identifying and knowing where to find replacements for certain parts we have broken.
If you cannot figure out how to loosen up a clamp, I doubt that you and your friend should be tackling a big job as a head gasket.
The picture is not a close up enough of the clamp to identify what type it is.
I’d say that they are just spring clamps that have two tabs that you squeeze together to release the pressure.
I would then just slit the hose and take it to any auto pars store and they can sell you a new hose.
They will sell it to you by the foot, so be sure to bring the entire length of hose.
Forget Parts Geek for this.Hoses like this are replaced with a bulk hose that any auto parts store will sell.
Yeah, kind of agree with @Yosemite You just use a pliers on the clamps or go buy the special pliers that won’t slip off. I’ve used a pliers or needle nose for 50 years though. Normally, if the hose doesn’t come off easily you just slit the end and cut it off. If not enough slack in the line, you buy a new length. Just take a piece of the old one to NAPA or someplace where they sell bulk hose of all sizes. That’s not something I’d tackle though without a good factory service manual.
And they WILL break when you try to remove them . . . not surprising because the car’s old and the hoses are brittle with age. You have to be EXTREMELY careful removing the hoses or you can destroy the intake manifold. You might want to use a heat gun. Another alternative is to very carefully slice the hoses off with a razor blade
Don’t bother trying to save them . . . have the new parts on hand
These should be the parts you need. There’s just about 0% chance that auto zone or pep boys will have the parts, or even be able to get them. Might be easiest to go to the dealer and order them, as nobody and I mean nobody will happen to have them sitting on the shelf.
If so I think they are one use only…Just cut them off with some side cutters and get some new ones. Hoses as well.
BTW 3.5mm is the inside dia. of the hose and 7.5 is the outside dia.
Good luck guys… I think this will be a great opportunity to get in some quality male bonding time.
I’m not being sarcastic either. Every one has to start somewhere in their auto repair learning journey…why not start with a Merc:) A repair manual of some sort is going to be a necessity tho.
@bing “If that is your real name”
Dang man your looking pretty good for having 50 years of hose clamp experience! What’s your secret?
10/30 facial scrubs or what?
snap-on may have the special hose clamp pliers for the type of clamps Mercedes uses. VW hose clamps requires special pliers too. Maybe it’s a European manufacturer thing. My sol’n to that on my Rabbit was just cut the clamps off when I needed to remove the hose, and re-attach with the common worm drive clamp. I think VW used those special clamps b/c w/the proper tool it reduced the amount of time the ass’y line needed to spend attaches hose clamps. Maybe saved them $2.50 per car in labor expenses.
Guess I got it backwards…
No smoking, copious drinking, Romanian girlfriend and I’m on the work till your dead plan…
No wonder you look 20 years younger than me.
More power to you!!
I can see why a person’s mother’s nationality might make a difference, but not why their wife’s nationality would. @bing, did you mean to type “no smoking” above?
For some reason I’ve noticed French women throw stuff when they get even a little mad, but the country right next store, German women, they never throw anything no matter how mad they get. Isn’t life a wonderful mystery? … lol …
I should just know when to shut up. My aunts were all German and they would never have to throw anything. Just the stern look would do it or they’d grab you by the ear. No such thing as a fair trial.
**Thanks everyone for the thoughtful input. db4690 thanks so much for the hoses! I managed to slide the clamps around using pliers but the air hoses just would not come off so I ended up ruining them to remove the intake manifold.
Thanks also for input on the pliers. I’ll try to get a specialist tool to remove/install those clamps for the future. (These are close ups of the clamps)
