Hose Clamp Cable Pliers

I can’t speak to how well these pliers will hold up over time, but in trying them on various hose clamps, they work perfectly fine.. The ratcheting feature is great as it locks in the position and there is a release lever that allows you to open them back up and reinstall the clamp. The handles are comfortable and the tool provides good leverage. It’s easy to operate with one hand and open clamps of various sizes. I did notice some wear on the gear teeth of the ratcheting mechanism after only a few uses, but this was due to releasing the locked position without squeezing the handles together first. Still, the metal used for the gear should be more resistant to deformation. If you don’t release the tension between the gear teeth and the teeth on the locking lever by squeezing the handle, over time the teeth will probably deform enough that the pliers won’t hold their position, making them useless. Another potential issue is the tabs that grip the clamp ears and force them together are not very thick metal. I can envision them snapping off under enough tension with a particularly stubborn hose clamp. A third nit pick is the locking positions. I found on some clamps that another position closer to fully squeezed would have been ideal. Also, there are tabs on both sides of the pliers end, because you can’t get full range on just one side. A design that allows full range on one side would be a bit more convenient. These pliers do come with a lifetime warranty, but compared to some other styles I have seen, I’d be hesitant to invest in them as a professional, as you may be warrantying them frequently. As a DIYer, these will probably hold up fine, and buying them through Home Depot means ease of warranty.

This GEARWRENCH HOSE CLAMP CABLE PLIERS works very well. I have fought with this type of hose clamp for years. The pliers always slip off. Busts your knuckle. I found this and thought it had to work better. It is a knuckle saver. You can remove the clamps with two hands. Use o one hand to compress the clamp and one hand to wiggle the clamp off. Very nice.

Save yourself from the aggravation and time waste it is to remove hose clamps with a set of pliers when space is limited. This is one of those tools that you may not use often, but when you need it is golden! Tool works great. If you work or do maintenance on cars/trucks or boats, get this hose clamp cable plier, you'll be happy you did. The tool is well made! I would recommend to anyone.

This tool works very well and has some good ideas built into it. It has a ratcheting mechanism that allows you to hold the clamp open just as much as you want to. The pliers seem to be quite stout and doe not flex much even on heavy clamps. There are two sides to the clamp gripper, one side for smaller and one side for larger clamps, this is kind of good and bad, as there was not enough range to completely open a couple of the bigger clamps I tried it on, a little more range would be better. Also the double sided clamp is a little bit of a hindrance in really tight spaces. The cable is about 23 inches long (27" with the clamp gripper)The bigger side of the gripper operates from about 1 3/8" to about 3 1/4" the small side operates from about 1/4" to 2". When the pliers are completely open it is a bit of a stretch to operate it with one hand. It also comes with a little cable clamp that I am assuming is for if you break the cable???? All in all not perfect but a really decent tool and something every toolbox needs.

These hose clamp cable pliers are worth every penny. They really allow you to get to those hard to reach spring clamps. I can’t tell you how many times I have pinched my fingers trying to get spring clamps on radiator hoses off with the incorrect tool. I was able to get the lower radiator hose clamp off of my Cherokee Cherokee without having to get under the Jeep in the snow to change the water pump so that automatically makes these a winner in my book. They also worked great on the upper radiator hose even though an a/c line was right beside it. I can tell you these are some tough cable clamp pliers because my clamps were rusty and stuck to the hoses pretty good, and these pliers held up great.

I've always just used channel locks to remove and install spring clamps, so while I'm sure this type of tool has been around for a while, this was quite a revelation for me. Regular pliers are great if you've got good access to the clamp, but on these modern cars, I find that's not the case a large part of the time. This tool is easy to place on hard-to-reach clamps and the ratcheting function holds nicely, though it doesn't always hold as tight as I'd like.

This is a great specialty tool that is indispensable when a spring-type hose clamp is in a difficult place to reach. Water pump pliers work fine if the clamp is right in front of you, but this tool makes removing, reinstalling and repositioning spring clamps a breeze. Be sure to understand that this tool is specifically designed for flat, spring-type hose clamps…however, I found that it works well on wire-type spring clamps as well. (See photos.) There are probably some other uses that I have not discovered yet. The tool has a loosely rotating, sliding head that has angled tabs or “jaws” that grip the ears of the spring-clamp. The clamp ears are squeezed together by closing your grip on the tool handles. The tool includes a ratcheting mechanism that is self-locking and holds the clamp firmly while maneuvering it out of and into place. The head is at the end of a sheathed cable that is 23” (58.5 cm) long and including, the head, it is 26-1/2” to the tip, which provides a long reach. The cable itself is 16 gauge (3/64” or 1.2 mm diameter). The head has a capacity for 0-2” diameter hose clamps on one side, and 2”-3” diameter clamps on the other side. The actual jaw openings are 1-7/8” and 2-15/16” respectively. Although the ratcheting mechanism is self-locking, the stroke of each ratchet click is 1/2 inches. The small clamp side can be compressed to zero on the fourth click of the ratchet. The larger side locks down to 1-inch on the fourth click. The jaws are spring-loaded, so they hold the clamp firmly. The spring loading means that the lock needs two hands to release it: one hand to take the pressure off the ratchet and the other to open the release lever. The release is the red PVC coated lever in the photos. The clamp head is constructed of light gauge metal (maybe the metric equivalent of 16 gauge (1.2 mm), but it seems durable and did not deflect during use. The design of the tool provides just enough handle leverage to open even a larger clamp and lock it open. **************************************************************************************************************** Footnote: There are French, Taiwanese and two USA patent numbers stamped on the tool. I found that Pi-Liang Wu is the inventor with the most recent patent number 7104162, issued 09.12.2006, scheduled to expire in 2025. Interestingly, the drawing associated with that patent is different than the actual tool. Instead of having a head with small and large “jaws” on opposite sides, the patent drawing shows the jaws on the same side—one fixed and two jaws or tabs on the same side of the sliding head. I guess that I have the latest version, which is an improvement, and that there is probably another patent application pending.

Automotive hose clamps are usually very difficult to remove and replace due to their age and the locations which usually involves very tight quarters where neither regular or needle nose pliers can do the job. This Gearwrench Hose Clamp Cable Pliers set, not only lets you get into the tightest of locations with the cable attachment but allows you to get leverage through the displaced pliers handles. The handles incorporate a locking device which allows one to compress the clamp and remove it while the handles maintain tension on the clamp without effort from the operator. The cable is approximately 18" long which allows non-cramped access to nearly any portion of the engine. The clamping mechanism has a range of 0-2" on one side and a 1-3" on the other. A very handy tool to have.

The Gearwrench hose clamp pliers are a most have for any mechanic or shade tree mechanic. It is very well built, with a all metal construction, even at the hose clamp end. It's made from a decent gage metal so it won't deform or break with use. They have a nice Rubber grip so even with Grease slimly hands you still have a great grip on it. They also include a repair coupler for you to repair the cable when, if it was to break so you don't have to go buy a new one.

I’ve never owned a set of hose clamp pliers before and I’m looking forward to using them on my new car project Thad requires them. Gearwrench makes good tools and I’ve never been let down by them. The downside to these is instructions are non existent. For someone like me who isn’t a professional mechanic it would have been helpful if instructions were included.