OK Real Mechanics; Do You Use Hose Clamp Pliers?

Long short, I was replacing the radiator in my Outback last night and put the spring clamp back on the lower radiator was a bear.

I do not have hose clamp pliers so I was using channel lock type pliers......................so in this case does the proper tool make life that much easier?

Note putting the ower hose back on must have taken me 45 minutes of fiddling; I had to pull the spring clamp back off at one point as it didn't seem to spring back to the fully clamped position. The job other than the clamp took me all of 45 minutes...............sigh. 

They are such a game changer that I paid way too much for the Snap on variety

It was kind of funny. I was struggling and cursing changing the water pump on my Avalanche when the Snapon rep came by. He saw what I was doing, walked away and returned a few minutes later with these. I was super pissed, grabbed the tool and within moments the clamps I had been struggling with for a half hour were off. I shouted "Damn you!" and handed him my card instantly while he laughed at me.

Edit: I don't neccesarily endorse the Snap on. I am sure there are dozens of options that work just as well for a fraction of what I paid. 

If a spring clamp is in a difficult position I go with a screw clamp.

In reply to Trent :

Knowing the level of work you do, I now feel like less of a hack................I'm sure that clamp was mocking me.

Pliers are now on my shopping list.

Are any of the remote style hose clamp pliers good?  They look like a great idea but I worry that you have to spend SnapOn $$$ to get a good one.

mfennell said:

Are any of the remote style hose clamp pliers good?  They look like a great idea but I worry that you have to spend SnapOn $$$ to get a good one.

I have this tool, it mostly does the job. though it some hard to reach spots it kind of sucks to use, especially those tiny small ones that are on the back of the block on Hondas...

Amazon  has some that look just like that for under $15.00.  I will order a pair since I am getting ready to change all the water hoses on my miata.  Hopefully faster than the channel-lock method.

Those tools changed a Mazdaspeed intake install job from an hour of struggling to an easy 10 minutes. Love them. So much better than channel locks.

In reply to mfennell :

I bought a version from o'reilly and they're terrible. I can never get them to unlock. Could be user err though.

I bought a pair of these when Sears was going out of business and never used them until I had to do a quick swap of a heater core hose on my wife's Escalade before a cross country trip.  I won't do cooling system hoses without this tool now. These go in my travel tool box every single time now.   They are especially nice when you are dealing with a hot system in a pinch, they keep your hands at a safe distance from hot coolant.

In reply to mfennell :

i bought some autozone ones to get a hard to reach clamp changing out the air oil separator on my cayman after struggling for a while with normal pliers. Immediately regretted not getting them from the start. Would recommend

I have the ones from lisle. I've used them a a handful of times. Normally I use the pair of 9" Matco channelock style pliers, I found on a repair job, for most clamps.

Ranger50 said:

I have the ones from lisle. I've used them a a handful of times. Normally I use the pair of 9" Matco channelock style pliers, I found on a repair job, for most clamps.

I'm not a "real" mechanic, but similar.  For the easy-to-get-to clamps the channel locks work well (and are better than the remote plier), but they blow chunks at ones that are buried in the engine bay.  The remote pliers are middling at everything, but I'll take middling over blowing chunks any day of the week!

After cursing that style of clamp for too long I bought these to see if they were worth a darn. They are, I haven't come across a size I can't release and hold open.

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-9409A-Pliers/dp/B003D3N7YW/ref=pd_rhf_d_se_s_bmx_s1_sccl_1_3/146-9134477-8120113?pd_rd_w=ndPWq&content-id=amzn1.sym.fe28507f-5260-4a05-b321-2ef0fab23237&pf_rd_p=fe28507f-5260-4a05-b321-2ef0fab23237&pf_rd_r=YV71YMZ9DNEEAD4XTFVV&pd_rd_wg=Fe4Pt&pd_rd_r=7efe507c-4b82-4ce6-b75e-e6eff0914340&pd_rd_i=B003D3N7YW&th=1

Total game changer.  I have the amazon box set and they are fricking amazing.  Can't believe I fought with them and pliers for 25years...

Thanks for all the replies...........it's good to see I'm not the only one. I'm not a great mechanic but I can do basic jobs.

For $40, just get the whole set.  Worth every penny.   I bought a similar set from the Toolwarehouse.net many years ago.  

Seriously. Once you have the proper tools for them, you'll want to replace every worm drive clamp you encounter with a spring clamp.  They're that much faster/easier to deal with.

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

For $40, just get the whole set.  Worth every penny.   I bought a similar set from the Toolwarehouse.net many years ago.  

In my cart!  FTR, Trent's pic didn't show up the first time I looked at the thread.  I didn't realize he was already talking about the remote ones!

In reply to aw614 :

I bought a cheap pair off Amazon for $30 to change air oil separator on a Porsche.  It saved hours on labor.   

I've had one of the old style pliers with the notches cut in them for years. They work great.  The remote version looks interesting

I like to pretend I'm a mechanic and I love my remote house clamp pliers. They turned me into a spring clamp believer. 

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

For $40, just get the whole set.  Worth every penny.   I bought a similar set from the Toolwarehouse.net many years ago.  

Seriously. Once you have the proper tools for them, you'll want to replace every worm drive clamp you encounter with a spring clamp.  They're that much faster/easier to deal with.

This is the set I have.  I've used the strap-on ones, and these aren't as good as those, but they're totally useable.  A SO one will take a 45 minute job to 1 minute, these are more like 3 minutes.  Not enough of a difference for the home gamer to justify SO.

I have the most basic hose clamp pliers. They made owning a VW tolerable.