Hey everyone,

I was doing some cleaning today and I noticed that the clamp which secures the air intake to the throttle body might not be tightened all the way. Would anyone here mind taking a quick look at their engine and comparing it to mine (pics attached)?

It's probably not an issue as everything feels secure. I am more curious because of the fact that my engine was replaced when the car only had about 500 miles and I'm thinking that maybe the guys over at the AM dealership did not tighten to spec when they reconnected the new engine.

The second picture highlights the gap I noticed which to me indicates that there is room to tighten the clamp.

 

that's normal. the "teeth" serve as the adjustment for the clamp. the gap size would be bigger or smaller if the hose size was different. if there's no gap at all, you'd probably need a smaller clamp. if only a few teeth were interconnected, you'd need a bigger clamp.

 

^^^^^
What he said.....

 

thanks fellas; very much appreciated

 

no problem! i'd never seen these types of clamps before working on my V8V. they're a pretty interesting design, and look a lot better than the normal screw-type hose clamps.

 

These clamps are designed not to dig into the rubber as they get tight, much like the worm/screw style do. Seen a number of times were the screw style tears holes in the boot causing vacuum leaks.

Have seen though when the engine gets hot, the intake boot on the throttle body can come loose with these new clamps.

 

How do you remove this clamp without damaging it--I'm having trouble figuring it out and don't want to force it out with screwdrivers/pliers

 

A pair of flathead screwdrivers makes quick work of them. There's a little technique to it, just start off gently to figure out where to apply pressure without damaging the clamp. Think of it as an alligator's mouth biting something. You're basically separating the jaws to free the middle thing being bitten.