You didn't chamfer the edge of the line you Will have a leak,,,I have made my lines for years,,most of my friends get me to do there lines,,,every now and then I will have a line that doesn't work properly,,just a matter of cuting it and reflairing the end. The way you chamfer the tubing is with a small file and work it evenly. HRP
One other problem I have had is that AN/JIC (racing) fittings are a 37* flare and DOT (street car) fittings are 45*. Just something to check. Bob Shutt
I PM'd you with how I chamfer the end, but I'll state it here also. I use a Burr King belt sander with a fine belt but a fine hand file works great also. About 1/8" down and an even 45 degree or so angle. take your time and make it smooth. Here's a poor photo, ends a little jagged and shouldn't but you get the idea. I also want to add that it's very important to get a good square cut, tubing cutters work best and to de burr the inside of the line before flaring.
If it's leaking at Flared unions make sure they are proper 45 degree unions. I had gotten a bunch of 37 degree union by mistake from my parts place. Took me a while to figure out why they were leaking. Then I noticed the wear pattern in the fitting. Also a nice side note about residual pressure valves. Those are 1/8" pipe thread so you can't just put a 45 degree flare in there. I've seen this a few times. You need to use an adapter. All other info given is good too.
Everyone gets at least one leak I don't care how cool you are or how many cars you've built. It just happens, don't down on yourself. Trust me, you're not the only one here. That's why you should bleed the brakes before you put the body on your ch***is, it's alot easier to chase down and tighten up the fittings (or reflare in extreme cases) on a ch***is with no body sitting on it. Also if you're gonna be doing this often get your self one of those hydraulic flaring tools, Save that one you tighen by hand with a wrench and toss it in your trunk with your other junky "just in case" tools. http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/MAS-71475.html
When doing the last step on the double flair I find it helps to not tighten the tool super tight, let the fitting finish the compression when you tighten it. Vergil
I flare lines with a 60 year old Imperial Eastman flaring tool. I am sure it has done thousands of flares. I have had it for over 30 years. I can't remember the last time I had a leaker. Here is how I do it. First, I cut the line with a band saw. a tubing cutter works, but causes other problems. I square the end of the tubing with a belt sander. I chamfer the outside of the tubing with a small mill file. I chamfer the inside of the tuning with a deburring tool. This is where a tubing cutter makes problems, it leaves a big burr on the inside of the tube, get it all out. If the flaring insert is hard to get in, deburr it some more. When you put the tube in the anvil, make sure it is sticking out the right amount, too much is better than too little. When you tighten the clamp on the insert, let it center itself, forcing it will make crooked flares. After you upset the tube, and you are doing the second flare with the cone, DON'T OVER TIGHTEN IT! You want the second flare to have some spring in it so it will seal on the fitting. as C9 said, tighten it more than you think it needs, that will compress the flare for a good seal. If you look at the br*** fitting after it has been tightened and removed, you will see some distortion of the seat in the br*** fitting. If it keeps leaking, get a steel female fitting, thighten the flare into that, then back to the br***. The steel fitting is hard enough to center the flare. But if you flare it right in the first place it won't be a problem. One other thing, always use line wrenches, open end wrenches will just screw up the fittings, not get them tight. I have plumbed 3 cars in the last month, at least 10 since the first of the year, and no problems on any of them. I have seen some tubing, made for OE applications on Fords, that is just too hard to flare by hand. You need a hydraulic flaring tool to do that.
I've never seen anything about a chamfer on any instructions or tutorials I've read for flaring lines until this thread, this is great info, thanks. Ran into this problem last week on an OT 90's Mercury, now I don't feel so bad!
practice makes perfect. dont give up and you wiil have a new skill. the tighten and re tighten usually helps.
Hey guy's thanks again, once again the hamb comes through, i am still relatively new at this so thanks for your patience.
ditto on the KD instructions talking about the chamfer. I keep a countersink tool in the flare tool box just for this.
My nomenclature was off a bit. Went to Summit They list them under Earl's Performance Aluminum Crush Washers with the following description: Sure sealing from Earl's Performance. These Earl's Performance aluminum crush washers are designed to provide a leak free seal connection. They are available in several different hole sizes to fit your application. The washers are made of an aluminum material and have a natural finish for use with any type of fuel. Hope this helps. Regards, Ron
Well last night i tried loosen and tighten like everyone suggested and sure enough they still leak. So tonight im going to re-flare all the lines with a flaring tool that one of my buddies droped of last night. Its much better than the piece of **** ive been using up till now. Will keep you guys posted on the progress. Thanks again for all the response.
I just ran brake lines on the roadster project. I didn't want to invest in a flair tool - I would though if I did this all the time. I simply cut the lines, bent them to shape using a bender and then took the lines back to the local NAPA where he flared the lines on his high $$$$$$ machine he also uses to make hoses, etc. Seems to work perfect so far.
Ok guys, so I started right after I got home from work last night. I used my friends tool which was way better than my piece of ****. I re cut all the lines, filed, chamfered and re flared. I found out what I was doing wrong. When I was doing the second step without the little die, I was squeezing way to hard, I turned until it was snug and that was it. Also my flaring tool was ofset just a little bit so when it was squeezing the line it was making it oval, that will teach me to buy ****ty tools. Thanks again guys for the overwhelming response to my question, you guys are amazing. And real big thanks to ENJENJO, your the one who told me not to over tighten on the second step, thanks alot!
The Jalopy Journal
