[T3] Oetiker clamps?

Daniel Nohejl d.nohejl at gmail.com
Sat May 13 06:28:10 PDT 2017


Here’s a link to what happened with the OG filler hose. It was worse at the opposite end but I didn’t take a pic of that. At first I thought something had gotten stuck in there but it was the lining of the hose coming up:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=1642368

The new filler hose, sold by a place that specializes in Ghia and Beetle parts (this hose was sold as being suitable for Ghia and Type 3) , was about 1/2” too long and had to be trimmed down. It also has a slightly narrower ID than the original hose and despite using contact cement to secure the rubber bands in place there was absolutely no way to get the hose on without peeling the rubber bands up and having them bunch up at the ends of the hose. It has been leak free without the rubber bands for more than 2 months. I’m sure that will come to an end, but we’ll probably just deal with it again when that happens. 

For hose everywhere else, I’m using 5/16” from Gates and I’ve always used smooth clamps like these:

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance-Products/555/16046/10002/-1

I’ve had mixed luck with clamps though. The best I’ve used were from Advance Auto Parts. The ones I linked to above seemed slightly larger than any other I’ve bought and required a lot of cranking on the screwdriver to get them to snug up. But aren’t they all probably made in the same factory somewhere?

What are the plastic snap clamps you referred to?

With all the different brands of 5/16” hose I’ve used, I’ve found clamps to be essential even where there are bulges like at either end of the injector rails, the fuel pressure regulator, etc. I seem to remember you saying before that clamps there are almost redundant but I’ve always had leaks at those places unless I had tight clamps in place. What’s your secret, Jim? 


> On May 13, 2017, at 8:40 AM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:
> 
> Even tiny fuel leaks are annoying and always worth chasing down and fixing.
> 
> For the large gas tank filler hose, you need to make sure that you have the 
> wide "rubber band" seals under each end. I've never seen that large hose 
> deteriorate, but others have reported it so it must be possible.
> 
> For the 5/16"/8 mm hose, it's important to get the connections sealed right 
> from the start, because some of the cheaper hose comes with an inner tube 
> that is compatable with gas but an outer jacket that is not. So a leak there 
> will damage the outer jacket. This may, or may not, be reversible when the 
> leak is gone and the outer layer can dry back out.
> 
> If you're using the usual worm gear hose clamps, it's important to not 
> overtighten, as once the outer jacket starts to extrude thru the slots in the 
> band, the hose is ruined. And, note that the smallest sizes of worm gear 
> hose clamps come with a "buckle" that is curved to match the hose 
> curvature. If you use a clamp that is for a larger size, the curve of the buckle 
> will not match and sealing becomes difficult.
> 
> The 2 long steel fuel lines that run thru the car are simple straight cylinders 
> at each end, making them harder to seal than all the others, which have a 
> bulged portion that usually makes sealing trivial. On connections over a 
> bulged tube, install the hose clamp BEHIND the bulge, not over it.
> 
> I've also had trouble getting the cylindrical connections to seal, even with 
> Oetiker clamps. The Oetiker clamps are particularly suceptible to causing 
> the hose to lift under the pinch ring, so they are hard to install successfully in 
> many cases. I don't tend to use them in most places. The solution that I've 
> found that always works on the cylindrical connections is to use the nylon 
> snap clamps that have the little teeth that click to the appropriate tightness.  
> 
> I have good hose and all 3 kinds of clamps if you need them. I've never tried 
> to find a supply of the nice OE style of FI hose clamps. I would have 
> expected them to work, but they are just too expensive. They have the 
> advantage of full 360 constraint, but so do the plastic snap clamps, which 
> cost 1/6 as much.
> 
> Jim
> 
> On 12 May 2017 at 20:40, Daniel Nohejl wrote:
> 
>> Over the past two months or so, we chased down a number of fuel leaks in 
> our ´69 Squareback. First, we noticed that both ends of the filler hose in the 
> trunk were leaking. The hose was ancient and delaminating inside and we 
> replaced it. The smell went away but came back a few weeks later. Turns out 
> there was also a leak on the inlet side of the fuel pressure damper on 
> account of a loose clamp¦.so loose tha fuel was dripping to the ground. 
> Snugged it up. A week later the smell came back and it turns out this clamp 
> was loose again. Replaced it. No more leak. Fuel smell returned. Found that 
> the outlet side of the fuel pressure regulator was leaking at the clamp. 
> Trimmed the hose and replaced the clamp. No more leak. Fuel smell 
> returnd. CouldnTMt find a drip or anything anywhere. After a few days, we 
> decided to look at the where the fuel lines connected to the nipples in the 
> frame up front. Dry. In the rear, they were wet but not quite dripping. 
> Tightened the clamps back up (got a bunch of turns on one of them) and no 
> smell all week long for the first time in  good two months!
>> 
>> This was all with 5/16" FI clamps. 
>> 
>> So would Oetiker clamps be a better idea all over the car or are they only practical/desirable in certain locations? They´re not terribly easy to get off, but how often do they need to be replaced? Is it possible to use the clamping tool in most locations or is it too big restrictive? Just curious....
> 
> -- 
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
> 
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