I still need to test the heater cores before installing one. I do not want to use the new clamps fearing they will stretch like the originals. I cannot think of anything that I can do besides wrap the joint with a section of inner tube before applying the clamps. I bought one of those skinny metric inner tubes. It may be the right size, but it has a Presta valve!
What am I supposed to do with a Presta valve!
I had wondered about using the valve from an inner tube instead of the method that I used.
One of the old screws stripped and I did not replace it yesterday. None of my Walmart screws fit, but the inner tube and other old clamp seem to work. The tube didn't seem to move at all!
I would have bought a narrower tube if I could have, but I am glad that I couldn't.
Sure inner tubes expand a great deal, but I had not realized how much they inflate inside the tire. I am pretty sure that the deflated width is narrower than it is supposed to be fully inflated.
It took some work to squeeze the inner tube over the tube, but not as much as to spread it over the joint, so I will cut a wider piece for the second one.
I do not want to risk stretching the clamp, but I expect to be able to replace stripped screws, so I went to borrow one of the new ones.
I absolutely cannot find the new clamps!
The other thing is the HVAC system bolts into metal on the top, but into plastic on the bottom, which stripped. The best solution that I found was to epoxy the hole, wrap the fastener with teflon tape, twist them into the hole, and remove it and the tape once the epoxy cured.
I epoxied something else first yesterday and when I checked this morning it was still soft. It is supposed to cure in 15 minutes! It didn't cure in 15 hours!
It is still soft.
I will be installing Helicoils tomorrow, buying replacement screws, testing the heater core, and reinstalling.