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.

 

I'm not sure why when members of the forum post an honest, simple question they get baraged with responses, none of which answer the question.

Not sure if you are still looking for these clamps but the correct OEM clamps for my 1996 F250 with 5.8l engine are PN F5TZ-8287-B, Motorcraft PN YF 2219. I suspect they will work for your coolant hoses as well but they aren't cheap ($16/ea). They are widely available at online OEM parts retailers and RockAuto which is probably the cheapest.

 

The OP has a 2006 with a 5.4L engine. How do you know that the clamps for a 1996 with a 5.8L. that you suggest are the only answer to his question, will even fit a 2006 with a 5.4L?

A '96 5.8L is an entirely different engine, engine family, and engine bay design, produced a decade earlier than a 2006 Triton 5.4L installed in a newer body style truck and heat exchanger stack arrangement.

A caveat to selecting constant tension spring clamps is that unlike worm gear clamps, spring clamps need to be the right diameter to begin with, so that the range of clamp expansion and contraction maintains the constant tension over the hose diameter and nipple being clamped.

The OP stated that he wanted to retain the use of spring clamps (as opposed to worm gear clamps) and then asked if anyone had any resources for "quality" spring clamps, after saying that spring clamps were no longer available from Ford. Amidst the "barrage" of responses, he was provided with the leading supplier in the automotive industry for quality spring clamps, NORMACLAMP, as he requested, which is the category defining brand that is like the Coca Cola of cola drinks.

More significantly, he was also asked a pivotal question: What did he mean by these clamps are "unobtainable from Ford"? You were able to obtain clamps from Ford for your truck that was 10 years older than his. I was able to show examples of spring clamps from Ford that I was careful to note were not for his specific application, but simply presented as proof that Ford does sell spring clamps.

And the most on point tip provided in one of the responses above was the following:

This turns out to be the case for the OP's situation, and could explain why he was unable to obtain the right size spring clamps for his application... because the spring clamps are included and attached to the upper and lower radiator hoses, and while the upper radiator hose is still available and obtainable at Ford, the more complicated multi-orifice lower radiator hose is discontinued.

2006 Model Year Ford F-250 with a 5.4L Triton:

Upper Hose: Ford 5C3Z-8260-AC (includes new spring clamps, attached) $28



Lower hose: Ford 5C3Z-8286-AA (includes new spring clamps, attached) Discontinued



This is one reason why everyone's suggestions on the topic, including yours, contribute to answering a simple question, when the answer is not as simple as the question, due to part discontinuances, the fact that not all radiator and cooling systems are the same for all engines and model years, and that multiple resources may need to be explored, after measurements are taken, to ultimately obtain a suitable solution.

 

Recently replaced the hoses on my daughter's 2001 Jeep and decided to swap the aftermarket worm gear clamps back to constant tension.

Jeep site I frequent recommended this site: https://belmetric.com/clamps/constant-tension/

If you know the OEM dimensions or measure yourself, it's pretty easy to find the exact match. Clamps I installed were of good quality and fit perfectly.

 

Just wanted to provide an update...

The spring clamps were not available through Ford as a individual part, they came with the hose, but...I had ordered the hoses through Ford (Tascaonlone) and neither the upper or lower came with the clamps. They are now discontinued...but I did find a few dealers that had them on their shelves and when I contacted them they informed me that they DID NOT have the clamps on them.

I ended up wire wheeling 5 of the 6 clamps, they cleaned up nicely and gave them a nice coat of paint...ordered a used one on eBay (Surprised it was in excellent condition)