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Can't believe all these years of people dealing with this hose connector and those god awful OEM clamps, and this is the first time I've seen there's a tool for that.
Granted its been several years since I did this, but I do not understand the hassle of the OEM clamps. Take the pliers, open the clamp until it locks into place (locks open), remove. To install clamp, put on hose, take pliers and unlock clamp. Done. Whole job took me less than 1-hour and on a Coupe there is far less room to work than on the sedans. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Had to get your best impression of hobbit hands into that tiny space, squeeze and hold that PITA wide open while trying to wiggle it away from both sides of that fragile connector-over a piece of 10 year old swollen hose. Snap! Pliers let go and momentum thrusts your hand into some random piece of sharp metal hiding in that dark crevace. Flashlight you are holding in your to mouth light that void comes loose and falls deep into the engine bay. Swear words are shouted.
Last edited by socketz67; May 12, 2024 at 08:27 PM.
Had to get your best impression of hobbit hands into that tiny space, squeeze and hold that PITA wide open while trying to wiggle it away from both sides of that fragile connector-over a piece of 10 year old swollen hose. Snap! Pliers let go and momentum thrusts your hand into some random piece of sharp metal hiding in that dark crevace.
You ain't never lied. Took me and a buddy a LONG time using regular pliers to get the original connector out. Took me alone MAYBE 5 minutes to get the worm clamps off and the oem clamps back on with the hose clamp pliers.
Had to get your best impression of hobbit hands into that tiny space, squeeze and hold that PITA wide open while trying to wiggle it away from both sides of that fragile connector-over a piece of 10 year old swollen hose. Snap! Pliers let go and momentum thrusts your hand into some random piece of sharp metal hiding in that dark crevace. Flashlight you are holding in your to mouth light that void comes loose and falls deep into the engine bay. Swear words are shouted.
Mechanix gloves (the thin ones) and a headlamp are always in the emergency pack in my car.
Having said that, no project is successful without blood sacrifice - this time, a fingernail that got split.
Welp, found out the hard way that my Ezpass account had an issue…ended up receiving a stack of bills with hefty admin fees (think Ill get out of most).
But the pipes look pretty good via security cam
Last edited by STownSaint; May 15, 2024 at 06:30 PM.
HA! I'm waiting on a few photo-toll bills myself, as I don't have EZPass (SC just doesn't use it) and apparently all the major roads around Durham NC are now toll. Oh well.
Two years ago, I was sent a photo and a bill from the NYS Toll-road system, before I got an EZ Pass. The date, time, car & driver was certainly me, however the direction indicated was incorrect, and the bill was for a length of highway I didn't drive on. So I disputed the claim, as instructed. Then I was sent a second bill, this time with a late-fee and was instructed to dispute the claim again. So I did, and was sent a third bill with a much higher late fee. At this point, my fees exceeded the cost of the toll. Thinking I had a principle I needed to stand up for, I called them and spent nearly an hour arguing with numerous people. Eventually I was told to either pay the original charge and they would waive the fees, or the next fee was going to be much larger.
I gave up. It was just a highway toll, and clearly I wasn't going to win this, no matter how much I was in the right. Ironically, months later I received a letter telling me my dispute was denied. LOL
It was a humbling lesson, involving truly irrelevant money, and the hill I thought I would die on was worthless. So I purchased an EZ Pass that I almost never use. You can't fight with the wind.
Last time I was in Germany, we were driving through Stuttgart and my in-laws were in a car behind me. We got snapped on photo radar for speeding in a downtown area (purely non-intentional) and about a month later I get an email from the car rental company all in a panic (this was SixT which we use a lot).
Had to translate the online payment page - luckily I had a german-speaking intern. Total fine = $22. For both. I think we were about 10kph over. :shrug:
Conversely I got pulled over in heavy traffic on a 5-lane each way highway for 'not signaling for long enough'... because I had an out of state plate on my company car. Cop saw my case files in the front seat, saw I was dressed for court, and I just watched his face fall. "This a company car?" "Yep." "Are you an attorney?" "Yep". "Never mind". "Yep."
Oddly I have an EZpass on the company car, though it will almost never go on a toll road.
I'm at the point in life where if I do get pulled over for anything, whether I did it or not, I just file a Rule 5 discovery request, Brady motion, and Motion for Dismissal and let the judge dismiss after a few months of the cops not having their, shall we say, poo in one sock.
