James R.

I'd kinda like to get a kit of Oetiker clamps...so that you can do work in the engine bay and leave things looking factory stock. There's a reason they use Oetiker clamps...they're quick, they're seamless and they work very very well.

I found the website www.oetiker.com but I'm having trouble finding a kit, you know like 10 pcs of ever size from A-Z plus the set of pliers. I found one kit for $55 but it wasn't the right clamp...they were the kind you have to crimp twice, aka two features 180 deg apart. I'm looking for the single crimp style.

Is there another brand...maybe non Oetiker, a knock-off brand that's easier to get in the United States and such?

Thanks,

James R.

Gjaime

I found nothing that we could use on the audi.. I did sure find a lot of places that sold the cv-boot clamps and the wrench to go with it. If you're friendly with your dealer, ask them where they get their supply from. They might hook you up..


jaime

Paul H. (near Annapolis, MD)

I bought some of these when I replaced the vacuum line to my BPV which had disintegrated. Not only did my dealer not have these clamps (or any idea where to get them), but I could not find any local shops that carry them.

Unfortunately McMaster-Carr doesn't sell them in kits, but I found that the 9/32 size (Stepless Ear Hose Clamps) is perfect for that braided vacuum line Audi uses for the BPV and FPR.

The pincers are at the bottom of the page. However, I got the side-jaw version and still did not have enough clearance at the nipple on the manifold or at the BPV itself and had to use needlenose pliers to do the crimping in these areas.

Also, McMaster-Carr generally only sells to businesses, but fortunately I had them deliver to my work, so I didn't have any problems. They don't need a tax ID number or anything, and if you order online it may not be an issue at all (I called in my order b/c I had some questions before I ordered).

Good luck! Also, if you follow the link you will not have frames, so you may have to go back to the main page for everything to work right. I just included the link directly to the product so you could see whether or not this was what you were looking for.

Paul<ul><li><a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/107/html/0185.html">McMaster-Carr</a></li></ul>

Dead

I think one of the main reason is this type of clamp can't really be over-tightened.
A lot of car makers use something similar for similar reasons. I don't like 'em. You can not snug 'em up when a hose gets older and the rubber more compresed. Sure, you may say that it's time to replce the rubber at that point but I'd like the luxury of being able to snug it up some more if I want.