Clamps in the Engine Bay

[Douglas]

quote:Originally posted by Vince Canepa

The cotter clamps were indeed used on the late 280SL.  ...but they were used in large enough numbers to be correct.

This is news to me. Thanks for sharing this info, Vince.

Douglas Kim
New York
USA

[J. Huber]

Alfred, I just went and tried to count my clamps. There are at least 20 hoses (by this I mean things with a clamp) just in my bay. That would be at least 40 clamps right there. Then there are a couple I know inside the cabin (heater hoses?) Then any fuel connections underneath...

James
63 230SL

[Jonny B]

I think I need to find something better to do on a Sunday afternoon!

I counted 55 clamps. To whit (using the very technical term of small, medium, large, etc. - and in no particular order) Also, I have an early 250SL with power steering and automatic. I don't believe any of the oil or fuel lines had clamps, they were fabricated lines with metal fittings for the connections.

Radiator lower hose - 2 large
Radiator lower small hose from expansion tank, 2 medium near the radiator and 2 more at the tank.
Overflow tank, line to top of radiator - 2 small
Overflow tank, clamps holding it in place - 2 XL
Radiator hose at top of radiator - 2 large
Hose at Thermostat - 2 med
Oil cooler line on left side of engine - 2 medium
Oil cooler line on right side of engine - 2 medium
Oil cooler line at Y - 2 med
Oil cooler line on upstream of Y - 2 med
Oil cooler left side of engine rear of cooler - 2 small
Heater (underneath) 2 med
Air cleaner - 2 XL
Fuel injenction thermostat - 6 small
Pwr steering 6 med
Breather pipe across the top of the engine - 3 med
Vacuum line to brake booster - 6 small (these are cotter key style on my car)
Cooling coil at air inlet - 4 small
Air idle adjustment hose - 2 small
Heater at firewall, right side - 2 med

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[66andBlue]

Sorry for extending this discourse longer but there are two comments that made me wonder.  First

quote:Originally posted by Douglas
... Another alternative is to use the Normas and to substitute a philllip-head screw in it. Looks pretty darn close to the original and you'd have the added assurance of having new clamps.

Douglas are you sure that only a Phillips head looks original?
There is a picture (Fig. 07-12/2) in the early BBB showing a 230SL injection pump with clamps having a slotted head.
Download Attachment: IP-HoseClamp.jpg
60.24 KB

The second  comment was this one by Tom:

quote:Originally posted by Tom230sl
... I guess what I think is the correct\original finish is more of an imperfect tin-like silver-gray of galvanized, rather than the highly polish jewels of stainless clamps. The two look quite different.

This got me thinking about the Norma clamps that I had received since I did not recall that they were real shiny.  (I haven't installed them yet because the car is still at the paint shop.) Sure enough they are "silver-grey and dull" which made me suspicious enough to check whether they are magnetic. And they are! So I called Norma-USA in Michigan this morning and the fellow there confirmed that a 540 clamp is made from galvanized steel. Somehow during our last conversation several months ago the signals got crossed. He informed me now that stainless steel clamps are special order only and are VERY expensive because they are of the highest W5 grade.
So the good news is that the 540 clamps (W1 grade) look more original and are stronger (have a higher fracture point) - if that's what you want -  but they don't last as long. The ABA group (which bought up Gemi) has a nice comparison of the differences between W1 to W5 grades if you are interested: http://www.abagroup.com/Corporate/Page____437.aspx

Even better news for those who must have original Gemi clamps is the fact that you still can buy them from ABA up to a diameter of 21 mm. They are called SM-9 clamps and come in W1 or W4. Go to: http://www.abagroup.com/ABATemplates/Page____450.aspx
and download the Gemi catalog.


Alfred
1966 blue 230SL automatic

[230SL67]

Although I sold my 230SL almost 2 years ago, I still check up on the group from time to time.  I have a word file that lists all of the clamps that I replaced on my car, many of which were still the original clamps that came on the car.  You need to buy the MB hoses first, many of the original clamps will not fit because MB has increased the outside diameter of the hoses over the years.  I hope that someone finds this helpful.

Chris
(proud owner of a BWM 3.0CS coupe)

Download Attachment: Hose Clamps.doc
22.51 KB