I've done this before and I had major leaks from all hose connections. the Hose clamps never got tight enough and stripped after a certain point. I could never get the oil to stop leaking.

IF we can find a very good hose clamp then it might work.

It did leak when I used only one hose clamp and I had to really tighten it down to stop the leak. I believe the reason is that the hose was much stiffer than I expected and as I did have to tighten those clamps more than I normaly would have.
Even though the leak had stopped I was uneasy with only 1 clamp on each end.
This is why I replaced the hoses (I bought more than I needed to complete the job) applied silicone sealant to the tubing barbs and used 2 clamps on each hose end.
I also waited 6 hours to give the silicone a chance to cure before I drove it.
I has been 7 days now and no sign of a leak.
I used shielded worm gear type clamps from NAPA (USA made).
I wanted to use "T" type hose clamps but could not find any locally with a small enough ID.
I also had trouble finding suitable hose large enough to fit over the front hose barb which is larger than the others.

I will be keeping my eye open for some better type of clamps more suited for this application. Since my origional oil cooler hoses were seeping I wanted to get the job done ASAP and used the shielded worm gear clamps because that is what was available and reasonably priced.
It also would be helpful if there was a suitable hose in metric sizes available.

I took my oil cooler,welded on AN fittings, did the same to the metal pipes off of the oil filter housing, then used SS AN fitting lines. Pics are in boostnbenz's mods thread.

What sort of upgrades have you done to your MB?

I updated my mods too.

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Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

Understandable, but it seems to me the factory hose would hold up better than those clamps.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

I don't know if the hose I put on will last as long as the factory hose. I do know that now it is easy to change that hose and I have 10+ feet of hose left over for spare hoses if I do need to change them. If I had to change them every 2 years I have enough hose for 20 years.
If you can find someone to sell you 2feet 2 inches of hose you have enought for a 84 300D the cost was around $3 per foot. The clamps should be reusable.
Speaking about the clamps it is clear that this job would be better with better clamps. I will continue to search the internet. T-blolt style clamps would be ideal as you can tighten down on them more but I only found 1 source that makes them small enough and it is not in the USA.

I've been mulling over your solution for the replacement hoses and I don't see any large risk here.

The hose is definitely as good as the factory hose offered by M/B. It's very unlikely that the hose will ever fail prematurely.

So, the question of suitability revolves around the clamps. If the double clamps provide the necessary sealing capability under the pressure of the oil system (maybe 50 psi.......??), and there are no leaks, I don't see the clamps failing in the future. Getting larger clamps that can offer higher clamping pressure is not desired as it greatly distorts the hose.

The only point of concern is the hose beneath the clamps. This area is subject to long term degradation.........in similar manner to the coolant hoses.........and changing the hose every few years would probably be a wise investment.

Other than the break with tradition...........does anyone else see a technical issue with this solution other than the need to replace the hose on a more frequent basis?

I sure don't. I've seen such repairs made on high pressure side lines of hydraulic earth moving equipment, which is a heck of a lot more pressure than the oil cooler hoses on our cars will ever see. Use a high-pressure, woven-core hose rated for oil, double-clamp them, and keep an eye out for leaks, and all will be fine. I am using clamps on my own car, and don't expect to have any trouble with them.

Clearly, even with factory-style crimped lines, they should be watched closely. Ever checked out the oil supply lines on the newer Nissan 3.5 V6 motors? (Or maybe it's a 4.0? It's been a while since I was under one.) The entire oil system flows through a rubber hose held in place with clamps from the factory. That's a factory solution, so clearly clamps on vital oil supply lines are not to be instantly regarded as a bad idea.

If you still don't like the idea, well, go buy hoses from the dealer. No big deal, right? It certainly looks prettier, and if a new crimped hose fails and your motor pukes as a result, I'm sure you can get a replacement motor out of the deal if you complain enough.

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- K.C.Adams

'77 300D Euro Delivery
OM617 turbo / 4-speed swap
404 Milanbraun Metallic / 134 Dattel MB-Tex

Current status:
* Undergoing body work

My '77 300D progress thread

Through hulls on boats are double clamped. If its good enough for a boat, its good enough for this application.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I'm sure it will work, but I'll pass. I don't like any more mechanical joints than absolutely necessary. I know my original hoses lasted 20 years, so there is no good reason to do anything different.

I agree on the 617.

However, please make make another opinion........or confirm same.......if the pair of hoses cost $350.

This is the situation with the SDL's.

I do understand the cost issue, but I think I would still use the OEM hoses. $350 every couple of 100K miles is still relatively cheap (maybe $0.002 per mile) compared to the total operating cost of one of these cars. Most of us spend at least $1000 per year on less critical systems anyway (I just put about $5-600 in my cruise control, and I don't even want to think about my total AC system costs over the years), I just don't think this is the best place to save money.

BTW, I recently spent over $500 for a single (dealer only part) AC hose for the '83 240D (along with about $150 worth of R-12). The SDL is always going to have lower production volume (more expensive) parts, just part of the cost of ownership.

On a good car you shoud get the proper OE hoses. I'm talking about cars that your just trying to keep on the road for a bit longer at minimal cost.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I agree that you should do whatever you can get away with on a beater, I just wouldn't be comfortable with DIY hoses on something I was planning on keeping indefinitely.

It's quite easy to rationalize any expense if you amortize it over 100K miles. That being said, I'd like to look at the result of a $20. repair versus a $350. repair.

Do we honestly believe that the $20. repair would be less durable over a three year period? From an engineering perspective, do we think the hoses or the clamps can fail in service?

From your comments, it would appear that you believe there is some risk of this occurring. If so, I'd like to analyze what that risk might be. It's not only an exercise.........I may need to do this exact same repair on one of the SDL's and if there is no basis for an objection..........I just might try it myself.