Hard Line wins.

I bought the 25 foot roll of OEM 1/4" line from Sumitt and tried to flare the ends last night. I couldn't flare it for the life of me. The flaring tool just pushed the line out the back side. It was a $47 double flare thing-a-ma-bob. I am not sure what the $15 version is that people refer to here on TGO. I actually took a piece of line to the store where the tool was from and played stupid, asking the guys there to make a flare, just so I could see what I was doing wrong. They actually stripped the threads trying to get the tool to clamp onto the tube. Made it real simple to return the tool and get my $$ back.

Went to NAPA and they have a $100 dollar flare tool and a $150 bubble flare tool. Can't see spending $250 on tools for a roll of $25 tubing. I will be ordering a pre-bent, flared, fitted line from Inline Tube Monday.

Those of you that have managed to flare your lines, what tubing are you using? Which tool are you using to flare with?

Thanks all,
Jim--

 

are you tighting the wing nuts on the flairing tool? You get what you way for, you buy cheap tools, you get cheap quality. Anyways, at the shop, we use a snap-on hydraulic flairing tool. Its nice, does bubble, double,and GM quik disconnects.

 

i had the same issue, I have a SAE size flaring tool and the 1/4" line would just push right out of it. I bought a cheap 18 dollar metric size tool and used it on the 1/4" line and it worked perfectly

 

I bought a cheap one from Speedwaymotors Trandapt I believe. It works well but the tool has to be tight as hell on the 3/16 line. The tool will leave teeth marks in the tube after making the flare. These need to be filed down before the fitting will slide over. I have used this tool on my back flaring lines that connect fron the chassis to the flexible line going to the rear end. No leaks.

I have made probably 50 flares witht the tool and I am very pleased.

 

I definitely tightened the wing nuts, I used the handle for the pressing part in the wing nuts for extra leverage. I didn't think to try the 3/16 hole though, maybe that would have been better.

I found a hydraulic tool on Inline Tube's website but that's $450. That's a bit out of reach for my garage project.

Thanks for the answers gents,
Jim--

 

You can also try clamping the holder into a vise rather than relying on the wing nuts and cheap steel those tools usually come with. If the tubing slides through, its not tight enough.

 

thats a good idea too. I went at the wing nuts on with with a longer bar to tighten the F out of them and managed to breaks the pins holding the tool together.

 

I had to use a 12" crescent wrench on the wing nuts to tighten it enough. I ripped one of the ears off the wing nut. The other ear is holding though. I usually put the tool in a vise, and use the crescent wrench to tighten onto the tube until it screams for mercy, then I can double flare it. Using a cheapo $13 tool as well. It's a pita for sure. Also, make SURE you've cut the line square, if it's a bit angled it'll never ever seal. Use a file if you have to, to square up the cut, then do the *double* flare. (or bubble, not sure what you're doing.)

 

A bench vise is in my near future. I definitely have wanted one for a while and this is one instance where it would be handy. Thanks for all the ideas guys.

 

The line doesnt absolutely have to be perfectly square, but it helps. Moreso than that, after you bubble the line and go for the flare, often the flaring tool will go sideways as you tighten it. Dont let it do that. Make sure it stays 90 to the line at all times, especially while turning it. Otherwise you'll end up with a leaky line. Dont overdo the flare either, if you do you may crack the line and it'll leak then too. If the line isnt installed, you can spin the line in the nut after its done and it'll be easy to tell if its too far out of shape or not, and thats a good time to inspect it for any cracks as well.

 

if a vice isnt around vice grips work well too.

 

So here is what I have learned in the giant pile of messed up tubing I have.

those cheap flare tools work, but you need to mount the mandrel in a vice, this is why the one side is longer than the other. Frees up your hands and makes the tool stable.

when you clamp the tube, tighten each wing nut evenly, this helps secure the tube, I also use the handle as a lever on each wing nut.

make sure the tubing has a nice flat edge on it. Use a tubing cutter or hacksaw, but always use the ream on the tubing cutter, or a file to get rid of excess metal/egde of the tube, make it a nice and clean cut.

when performing the first part of the flare, slightly snug the clamp and check for the squareness. I will snug it slightly more, and force the clamp to 'square', with my hands, while at the same time, quickly screwing down the clamp to fold the tubing. Since the tubing work hardens, it's critical to perform this step as quickly and smoothly as possible. Make sure the small adapter is centered in the tubing as well as you can.

perform the same operation on the final part of the flare, and you should be OK.