Once the weather warms here a little I will be replacing the radiator hoses, and want to retain the use of spring clamps.

Since the are unobtainable from Ford, I noticed Advanced Auto has Dorman ones but the reviews are that they leak.

so...Does anyone have a resource to purchase quality ones?

Thanks!

 

Honestly? If I ever have to replace them I always just get a quality set of the screw-style ones. A high-quality one will seal just as well, if not better, than a spring-clamp.

That said, if you have screwed up your spring clamps enough that they need to be replaced, you've got other issues - I don't think I've ever actually had to replace one for a stock radiator hose in a LONG time - and even then it was only because we took them off, my idiot friend stepped on it and bent it, requiring it to be replaced. For a standard replacement of a radiator hose, slide the spring clamps up the old hose, take the old hose off, put the clamps on the new hose, heat one end of the hose slightly with a heat gun and slide it on, do the same for the other end, then move the clamps into place. Heating the rubber slightly makes it a bit more pliable, meaning the spring clamps have a better chance of sealing it up properly.

 

My truck is a 2006 and trying to keep it looking good and keep it stock. The original clamps are starting to rust and figure if I have the hoses off, great time to replace them.

 

I was in the same boat. I like the look of the spring clamps.

McMaster has a decent selection and I'd feel confident in their quality. However they don't have that aluminum coated look. Must be a passivation process.
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/ho...p-type~spring/

I ended up just going to some true SS316 hose clamps from McMaster as I live and camp at the ocean. So far they look brand new and I was able to get the proper sizes so they look clean.

 

What did you mean by unobtainable from Ford? Clamps in general? Or clamps for your 2006?

I didn't search for your application... but here are a couple of random examples of the types of clamps you are looking for offered by Ford parts.

parts.ford,com/shop/en/us/radiator-and-related-components/heater-hose-clamp-engine-coolant-bypass-pipe-clamp-27-x-12-p-w527312s44a

oemfordpartsdirect,com/oem-parts/ford-clamp-av6z3c650a

Don't give up on Ford... you may have encountered a parts counter that didn't want to do much research.

The clamps from Ford have a light gray color, which is a corrosion protection coating not present on black colored clamps of the same type. I don't blame you for seeking the OEM clamps for that reason. GM, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, and Mopar clamps are also light grey (baked on corrosion protection coating), as are the clamps produced for most OEMs.

Some aftermarket clamps that I have seen are simply black, or raw steel, or even painted, but with no indication of a more durable corrosion protection coating, much less a doubled layer of zinc / aluminum.

One OEM supplier of hose clamps to engine manufacturers as well as the automotive aftermarket is the Norma Group. As "Xerox" is a brand verb to photocopying, and "Google" is a brand verb to searching online, and "Adel" is a brand verb to rubber cushioned strap clamps, one might think of "NORMACLAMPS" (a registered trademark) as a brand verb to the type of spring clamp your are looking for. Since Norma manufactures a lot of other types of clamps, know that Norma describes the clamps that you are looking for as their "FBS" line.

Some OEMs sell replacement radiator hoses WITH new clamps, to ensure that the old clamps are replaced with the new hose. I don't remember if Ford ever did this or not. Naturally, people who don't realize the value of the included clamps don't buy the radiator hoses from the OEM, because they cost more than the hose they compare in the aftermarket, that doesn't include clamps. They reason that they can readily obtain worm gear type "Breeze" (another brand verb) clamps cheap enough, and some even believe that the worm gear style hose clamps are "better" than the spring clamp you are looking for.

As an example...

A screw-style worm gear clamp does not evenly distribute clamping force, and instead pulls the strap of the clamp from one end. The area underneath the screw body will not have the same "tightness" as other areas around the circumference. The areas of the strap with the diagonal holes for the screw will dig into the hose more than the flat part of the strap. Moreover, the strap of the clamp is not a spring, and this impacts the connection in a couple of ways.

1. As temperature rises, everything expands, and conversely, as temperature falls, everything shrinks. But materials have a different rate of expansion and contraction. And the strap of a screw style clamp, once stretched from expansion, may not return to it's original shape.

2. As rubber dries out, the cross section of the hose wall's material thickness may recede from the migration of the chemical compounds within the rubber dissipating to the atmosphere. A screw style clamp can no more self adjust for the shrinkage of the material thickness due to degradation than it can from the swelling of the rubber hose due to excessive heating of the coolant. (Thermal cycling in point #1 above)

On the other hand, a spring clamp is also called a "constant tension" clamp. Just like the name describes, the spring clamp's tension is maintained as a constant of the spring rating of the clamp. If the hose swells with temperature, the spring clamp automatically expands, but maintains the same tension. Conversely, when the hose shrinks as the temperature turns cold, and shrinks further over time to any extent that the material shrinks, the springiness of the clamp contracts, maintaining the same tension.

A spring clamp is a dynamic clamp, whereas a screw clamp is a static clamp. People often tighten the snot out of screw clamps, permanently deforming (sometimes to the point of breaking the surface skin) of the rubber hose in the process, because they don't want to have to open the hood and retighten or relax the clamp at every drive cycle. So they figure err on the tighter side. This can result in the hose surface under the screw clamp holes tearing a bit when everything really expands.

The constant tension spring clamp, which is consistently the choice of OEM of all makes and models for retaining radiator hoses subject to significant temperature fluctuations, is better able to consistently apply the calibrated amount of evenly distributed clamping force circumferentially in a more perfectly rounded manner.

I think you are on the right track in wanting to keep the stock type of clamps. You already paid for the engineering with the price of the truck. Might as well take full advantage of all the professional homework previously done for you.