[fkemmerer]

Originally Posted by Dangerous Doug

Anyone put together their own steel-braided hoses and lines? I'm making a fuel line from pump to carb, and what a pain in the arse.

Seems simple enough: big hose into a small hole---nothing I haven't accomplished before---but no force is sufficient to get this one in.

Am I missing somthing? Special tools? Mechanical competence?

I have -6AN hose, and a -6AN connector that goes to a threaded connector (which in turn, will go to an elbow and into the pump). Cannot get the -6AN hose into the -6AN connector female. THEN, I've got to hold it in place while a male connector screws into the female with the male into the end of the tube.

I'd just be happy getting the large tube into the small hole.

Yes, I'm still talking about steel-braided lines!

DD

Doug,

Making braided stainless AN lines is very easy to do. If you are working with -6 or larger, you should have no problems (-4 lines [gauges, etc.] are harder but still doable). The most important part is to get the lines cut correctly. The best way to do this is the wrap the area to be cut with duct tape and use a new, fine toothed hacksaw blade to cut the line. If you do a lot of lines, I'd suggest getting a hose cutter like this one from Summit:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-900040/

Blow out the line after its cut to get rid of any dirt or shavings, remove the tape carefully to prevent fraying of the braid and then "screw" the hose into the fitting. You should get a set of AN hose end protector jaws for you vise and a good set of AN wrenches (including an adjustable AN wrench).

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AER-FCM3661/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-900101/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-900124/

AN wrenches are made of soft aluminum and they will minimize scratching of the finish on anodized hose ends. You may need to use a standard steel adjustable wrench for smaller lines to get enough torque to assemble the hose ends. If you do this, take you time and get a good, tight fit with the wrench before you start to tighten the hose end to assemble it to avoid scratching the fitting.

You might also want to get some VHT red and blue metal tint paint to touch up any scatches that might result during the assembly process.

http://www.vhtpaint.com/anodized.html

Use a heavy oil (or the special stuff made by Aeroquip, Earls, etc) to lubicate the inside of the hose and fitting before you screw them together. You should put oil in three places: 1) inside the hose, 2) on the nipple and threads on the hose end and 3) on the threads in the collar that you installed on the hose.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AER-FBM3553/

Your should tighten the fittings just a bit before the hose end contacts the collar. This way, you can line the wrench surfaces up nicely before the become tight. Lastly, if you are going to make alot of lines, you might want to get a pressure testing kit (Earls makes a good one) so you can pressure check you hoses for leaks before you put them into use.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EAR-D016ERL/

Also you can take a look at KOUL's AN hose assembly tools. These make getting the collars onto the hose MUCH easier. I recommend them if you are going to make more than a few hoses.

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...p?Product=3330

This is a useful item for speeding up the assembly of hoses.

The only things that you really need to do a few hoses is a hacksaw, electical tape, jaws for your vise, and a set of AN line wrenches. All of the rest of this stuff just makes the job easier.

I have found that the quality of AN hose and ends varies quite a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer. I pretty much exclusively use Aeroquip materials for my AN lines as I think their product is the best. They also have a really good catalog that explains all of the details on how to make AN lines. You get download their catalog at the following location:

http://hydraulics.eaton.com/products...E-MC001-E2.pdf

I did all of the AN lines on the blown motor shown below in my home shop. Give it a try. Its fun and the results look and work great! I hope that this information helps you.