Not Fond Of Kubota's Hose Clamps

[bp fick]

When I got my new Kubota B2320, one of the little things I noticed was a small drop or two or anti-freeze on the shop floor. As with any new piece of equipment, a concrete shop floor is your friend in spotting any small leaks or drips.

Wasn't too worried about it, but today was the day to take a look. The drain hoses have pretty hokey spring tensioned clamps. I don't have a whole bunch of confidence in such devices. I replaced them all with worm gear band clamps. No more leaks or drips.

It's a small thing, but those cheapy little clamps don't belong on that beautiful Kubota D1005 engine.

 

[Shimon]

I agree. But most engineering decisions have to be made while keeping cost considerations in mind. Sometimes it's a fine line.

 

[JimRB]

My truck which is 20 years old has a lot of those clamps with no water leaks. My car which is a different brand also has the same style of clamps without leaks. Granted those vehicles are low miles with 280,000 miles on each so maybe when they get some miles on them I might have a different idea. I believe one of the theories is the spring type clamps can allow for more thermal expansion and contraction without damaging the hoses. Maybe that is just a theory in my mind as the screw type clamps worked for years on many applications.

 

[Skyco]

Those clamps all are all over the place on many cars/trucks/motorcycles/marine/tractors..I don't care for them when having to mess with them but JimRB is right- they are there for a reason and usually work just fine.

 

[bp fick]

There are indeed dozens of kinds of hose clamps. Some, while appearing similar, have considerably more tension. Some are almost a 3 mm gauge wire, while others are two heavy wires pulled together with a screw.

The gauge and tension of the little stock spring clamps I removed with very weak. They leaked. They got replaced. Now, there's no leak. Done.

 

[Chilly807]

I noticed a few drops of AF when I first got my L3400, but it turned out to be that the rad needed to get rid of a bit extra under full temperature condition (max expansion) It hasn`t dripped since.

I did notice that they used the same spring clamps on the hydraulic suction hose, to my way of thinking that should have been a JIC fitting. Probably a price point issue.

Sean

 

[bp fick]

Just to be clear, the spring clamps were on the drain hoses. Two different sizes and two different tensions.

Two of them had reasonable tension capability, while two others were so extremely light, they simply couldn't (or at least didn't) provide enough tension.

Bottom line is: They didn't do their job.

Since the system is pressurized, it just seemed prudent to be done with the issue. I try to keep a few clamps of various sizes in my shop anyhow.

 

[Skyco]

The only drain hose I've found on my BX24 is the radiator bottle overflow and it isn't pressurized.
I did find a cap on the radiator drain that had one of those clamps...it was a PITA to get loose, due to restricted space, and like you I replaced it with a worm clamp when I put it back on. Next time I think I may extend it with a piece of hose to a more accessible place.

 

[Elcid76]

I was diggin a pond with my new L3240 HST when I suddenly smelled fuel and started generating smoke!! Fairly alarmed, I pulled it out of the hole and shut it down. The fuel return line from the filter to the tank FELL OFF the tank! I was amazed (because I knew that I never messed with that line...), until I saw the hose clamp. The line is small (I never could find a replacement that small)... so once I identified the leak I reattached the hose, hosed down the diesel that spilled and went back to work. Needless to say it happened more than once. After searching for a clamp that small, I ended up just "encasing" the tiny hose in a short length of "normal" fuel hose and used a standard hose clamp at the tank. It never fell off again. Recently I found some small "clamps" at Home Depot that might work in a pinch and just keep them in the tool box. Take a look at the clamps on some of the hoses, it is amazing...