Stainless Steel / Brake and fuel lines

[mnido]

For those of you that have successfully made your own stainless steel brake and fuel lines can you offer up some tips on flaring ? Did you use stainless flaring nuts or steel on your lines ? What brand of flaring tool did you use ? I know the typical tips with flaring , tube cut square, ends chamfered, de-burred, lube the tubing and fitting when tightening. Anything else ??

 

[Apogee]

Are you set on using stainless? If not, you may want to consider 90/10 Cu/Ni tubing as it is almost just as corrosion resistant as stainless but with none of the drawbacks...it cuts, bends, and flares very well and quite easily, even if you need to go back and rework something.

The only advice I would have regardless of tubing material type is with respect to actually assembling the fittings and getting them to seal. The number one mistake I've seen is over-torquing the tube nuts in an effort to stop weaping or very small leaks which can be caused by the numerous tolerances associated with creating flare fittings. A better way to handle those leaks if/when they occur is to loosen and retighten the tube nut multiple times until the flare on the tube and the mating surface can settle into one another and find their happy place. Even though it can take several times on more stubborn connections, you shouldn't end up with stripped wrench flates or stripped threads in the end.

Tobin

 

[mofoco1]

Have been doing my entire rig in SS hardline and some Braided flex. Very easy once you get the hang of it. Ii ponied up for the nice flare set at Sears. Tired of the HF cheapies. I love it and get a premium tubing cutter, makes a world of difference. And it looks Freakin Sweet! I do use a couple of different radius tubing benders from HF, I use then alot and broke the rivets, so I used SS bolts instead.,....Mo

 

[ransil]

I found it easier to but the pre bent SS brake line kits from the vendors.

I just picked up this flaring kit, way better that the "manual" ones

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W1X41Y

 

[mofoco1]

That's a nice set, if I did enough to justify. that would be one to get.

 

[Broncitis]

I found it easier to but the pre bent SS brake line kits from the vendors.

I just picked up this flaring kit, way better that the "manual" ones

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W1X41Y

Randy,

Make sure you can use that on SS. The Eastwood site warns not to on a kit that looks to be the same.

http://www.eastwood.com/universal-hydraulic-flaring-kit-not-for-stainless.html

Here is another kit that looks much nicer than most.

http://www.eastwood.com/universal-hydraulic-flaring-kit-not-for-stainless.html


The cheap autoparts store HF tools are junk. I got a nice standard type that AFahey picked up for me from his mobile tool guy at work, I can not recall the brand offhand, but it works nice. At some point I would like to get one of these more extensive kits that can do more types of flares, easier.


Sure beats splicing old lines with compression fittings! %)

 

[Ranchtruck]

Second on the copper/nickle brake tubing. It's so easy to work with, doesn't corrode, and works great. It's DOT legal as well, it is not straight copper tubing.

A friend of mine redid his corvette with SS lines and had a hell of a time getting them to seal at the fittings.

I've tried every kind of aftermarket steel line and had them rust off within 3 years. The copper/nickle stuff is great.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Doing stainless is usually done in AN fitting, which are 37° flare. This is a special flaring tool you don't find at the local parts store. The standard steel is a 45° double flare and the home copper line flare is the same 45° flare tool but only done in a single flare.

Use the wrong tool, wrong fittings, wrong flare or any combonation of the above and you will be fighting leaks. Guy at work doing a Cuda is fighting the fuel system leaks because he did 45° flares on all his AN fittings. Every single one leaks. We think we can save most of the stainless tubing by shifting a few things around and a couple new braided lines to correct length issues. A few will need replacing.

 

[mnido]

Doing stainless is usually done in AN fitting, which are 37° flare. This is a special flaring tool you don't find at the local parts store. The standard steel is a 45° double flare and the home copper line flare is the same 45° flare tool but only done in a single flare.

Use the wrong tool, wrong fittings, wrong flare or any combonation of the above and you will be fighting leaks. Guy at work doing a Cuda is fighting the fuel system leaks because he did 45° flares on all his AN fittings. Every single one leaks. We think we can save most of the stainless tubing by shifting a few things around and a couple new braided lines to correct length issues. A few will need replacing.

So with stainless use non AN fittings, 45 degree fittings and 45 degree flaring tool or use AN fittings and a 37 degree flaring tool....correct ?

 

[Broncitis]

Second on the copper/nickle brake tubing. It's so easy to work with, doesn't corrode, and works great. It's DOT legal as well, it is not straight copper tubing.

A friend of mine redid his corvette with SS lines and had a hell of a time getting them to seal at the fittings.

I've tried every kind of aftermarket steel line and had them rust off within 3 years. The copper/nickle stuff is great.

I do not think I have ever worked with this. Where can you get it? Is it in straight lengths, or in a roll?

I often like straight lengths so they are, well, straight except for where I want bends. Sure you can straighten it out and get close so striaght, but it takes a lot of time to get really straight if you are trying to do a super clean install.

 

[Ranchtruck]

You can get straight lengths pre-flared but it's cheapest to get a roll. It bends easily by hand and is damn near impossible to kink. I love it for jobs where the brake line runs through a ratsnest of wiring and lines across a firewall (think most modern cars). You fish the line through and press it into shape where it sits.

 

[Apogee]

I do not think I have ever worked with this. Where can you get it? Is it in straight lengths, or in a roll?

I often like straight lengths so they are, well, straight except for where I want bends. Sure you can straighten it out and get close so striaght, but it takes a lot of time to get really straight if you are trying to do a super clean install.

If you have a tubing straightener (staggered roller type), then you can get rolls of any type of tubing perfectly straight but it'll cost you a couple hundred for the tool. If you're on a budget like most of us, then a couple of 2X4's, a drill for the size of the tubing you're using, and some ingenuity works pretty darn well too and pratically for free.