How to: Replacing the coolant degas tank

pektel said:
Hmmm... The only ones I can find in town are pretty badass. They are the ones with the cable, to get into hard to reach areas. The question is... Do I want to spend $40 on them?

Like these:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...kS9riNoWMNcG2_Uc&sa=image&ved=0CAwQ8gIwATgA#p

I was thinking either cough up the money and get these, or just buy 2 worm clamps and not reuse the spring clamps.
Click to expand...

Yes, you do.
Of course, you can do it without them with more pain and effort. A good pair of pliers with a 90 degree bend at the end will work for this particular location, but the real hose clamp pliers are better by far.
I like the spring clamps much better than the worm gear type. The spring clamps apply the same force as parts heat up and expand or cool and contract. They don't vibrate loose and you can't over-tighten them and cause damage.
 
I completely agree. I think these cable ones will be awesome to have. Out comes the credit card I guess.

The nice thing is these lock too, so I can have both hands free.

But you know, that hose at the coupling by the firewall is impossible to remove from the hard line. After much cussing, I was finally able to remove the spring clamp there, but I couldn't pull the damn hose off the hard line. Never had that problem before. But since I can barely fit my hand down there, i can't twist the hose while pulling.
 
pektel said:
I completely agree. I think these cable ones will be awesome to have. Out comes the credit card I guess.

The nice thing is these lock too, so I can have both hands free.

But you know, that hose at the coupling by the firewall is impossible to remove from the hard line. After much cussing, I was finally able to remove the spring clamp there, but I couldn't pull the damn hose off the hard line. Never had that problem before. But since I can barely fit my hand down there, i can't twist the hose while pulling.
Click to expand...

Time for another tool. What you need is called hose pliers. The end is curved in the shape of a circle so that you can grab the hose and twist it free. Harbor Freight has a pretty cheap assortment of these.
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa....do?search.keyword=hose+pliers&submit=find+it
 
Closest HF is over an hour from me (one of the not so nice things about living in the middle of nowhere.) I'll see what they have at Carquest (the only place in town that has a hose spring clamp pliers in stock.)
 
No hose pliers at Carquest. Did pick this up for 39.99 + tax:

Wondering why they would use PURPLE on a hose clamp pliers. When is a woman going to use these? (generally speaking, I know there are some female mechanics out there, but not enough to necessitate using feminine colors).

IMG_9645.JPG
 
pektel said:
No hose pliers at Carquest. ...
Click to expand...

Okay, here's how I have done this in the past when I was out of options. Take a sharp knife (a drywall knife works well for this) and cut the hose lengthwise where it is over the metal tube. Do this carefully and in multiple passes. You don't what to scratch the metal tube as the new hose then might not seal to it. Once you have it split, you can peel it off of the tube. (This of course assumes that a new hose came with your degas bottle.)
 
Thanks for the tip. But I ordered a Dorman part instead of the Motorcraft one, so I'm stuck reusing the hose.

I'm still going to call the other places in town to see if they have anything available.
 
You know, I'm just going to reinstall that clamp on the coupling by the firewall. I bet this new tool will get into the area to just disconnect from the bottom of the degas bottle.

I wonder why it's such a bitch for me. Thought this would be like a 1/2 hour job. Such is life.
 
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