RJP 951

Anyone using nylon zip ties (wire ties) to secure vacuum/boost hoses other than for the small tubing? I received a shipment of clamps that are too big for the "medium" sized hoses (6-7mm ID) under the intake manifold, and now I'm wondering if the Mil-Spec black nylon type wire ties might be suitable, or even better in some respects.



Any thoughts?

As an aside, I'm finding that most of the larger hoses are in good condition. The ones with the braided covers seem to be the worst.

Thanks in advance.
Ron

Ski

IN the "plumbing" section of Home Depot, on the small accessory and fittings wall, they have some small tubing clamps. The squeeze together to open up(channel locks) and compress when released.

I have them on all my blue purosil hoses and have yet to have one come off in 5k of driving.

SidViscous

Just a bit of warning ski.

No they won't come off. That's the problem with them. When you need to get them off it is a serous pain. Break off one tab and it's all she wrote.

Always hated those things.

ClassJ

On my N/A. Whenever one of the vaccume hoses gets loose I just replace it wiht a new one from porsche.

I stock a few of them all of the time and check them periodicly.

To me, clamps would deter from the completely stock appearance that I happen to love.

Just my 2 cents

Perry 951

I am using small wire ties on all my small vac tubing. I went with all silicone stuff and brass tees, no factory hard lines anywhere. The wire ties are fine, cheap, and easy to cut off when you need them.

snappy

logic will tell me that whne it comes to anyting "fuel " related get the porsche ones. You can get away with the cable ties on the vacume ones "for the time beeing" but treat it as an "extention cord in your home" it should be a temp. solution not premanent. "Carmakers cut corners whereever they can to make the car cheaper to the end user. If they found a piece that could be plastic instead of steal. they would have done it. even now with an out of date part.. ching.. goes me 2 cents..

Perry 951

Why do you say "you can get away with cable ties for the time being"?

Most of the connections do not have any clamps or ties from the factory, and most times, it is not a problem. Ties insure that they will not leak or blow off during boost.

type951

Good zip ties will work - small screw clamps look better and won't break, but who sees them under the manifold anyway. For the small vacuum hoses and their rubber fittings, I use Permatex 97 High Tack Gasket Sealant to hold things together - keeps things stock looking and works well w/ reasonable boost - no more blowing loose & constant replacing of the rubber connectors - or lines coming off because you were working in the vicinity and had to move the line out of the way.

Just make sure not to clog the line with the sealant - put it on the hard vac line and metal nipple so it pushes away from the opening when you slide the rubber connector on the line or nipple.

RJP 951

Good ideas. I wasn't looking for a temporary fix, but thought the wire ties could be superior in some ways.

As I work my way through things I've been replacing the factory clamps with the nice smooth/lined hose clamps that don't cut through the hose. They're also thicker stainless steel, but they don't work well for smaller hoses (1/2" OD or less) because they are more rigid.

I'll definitely use the zip ties on the fittings for the hard lines, so it's the small-medium size hoses that I need to address. I wanted to avoid the hose clamps that have the slots in them. The replacement hose I bought makes for a very tight fit on the fittings, so the zip ties seems appealing.

I like the idea of using a sealant on the hard lines to the rubber elbows, etc., since there isn't anything for the tubing to grip in the way it would with an internal fitting.

I'm going to hold out for more comments. Thanks for the ideas.

Ron

cheetah chrome

does the permatex 97 contain any silicon?

ron i've also lightly cleaned the oxidation off all the electrical contacts under there w/ a fine brass brush if your itching for something to do in the mean time. i've been finding projects waiting for my hoses. hehe

RJP 951

[quote]Originally posted by sauerkraut:
<strong>i've been finding projects waiting for my hoses. hehe</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yes, same here. I cleaned my fuel injectors, painted the intake manifold, and added an auxiliary ground cable. On the electical fittings, I'm adding/replacing heat shrink tubing where it's brittle, and putting dielectric grease on all electrical fittings I can get to.

I told my wife I was just going to take my time doing this stuff over the winter! At this rate it'll be a couple more weekends of work, and then "hurry up and wait" until spring so I can actually drive the car...

Ron

Tom R.

I thought using new screw clamps was the deal until last week.

I have a coolant leak in my 7 month old Aurora. I spoke to a long lost cousin that is an engineer for GM. Told him I was gonna get rid of all those "pinch" clamps and replace them with ol'fashion radiator clamps.

He said the pinch ones are better because as the rubber dries, and as temperature shrinks/expands the rubber, the pinch applies equal torque to the fitting that the screw type cant.

I think zip ties would work the same as the screw type clamps.

SidViscous

Yeah but he's an engineer for GM.

Consider the source.

Buddy who does 3rd party work for Ford said cooling vanes in the oil pan would never work. Then I bought the Porsche.

Ohhhh look cooling vanes.

jim968

My own concern with the zip ties (wire ties, plastic racheting thingies) would be that, depending on the manufacturer, the plastic will become brittle over time and break. The underhood environment ain't exactly 'plastic friendly'.

Yes, the ones used by Porsche from the factory for fastening wire bundles to various things are pretty long-lived, but the cheesy crap that you may find at an auto store or Radio Slack are unlikely to have the same pedigree. If it's in a spot that's going to be hard to get to later, I'd vote for a proper metal hose clamp, if a clamp is needed.

Jim, as always, YMMV...