[Bradley]

I preface this entire post with the statement that in no way consider myself a great mechanic, however have been able to get by pretty well working on cars in the past as a hobby..

NOW.. Last night I decided to go ahead and install the line lock while the heads and turbo are off to allow me a little more room to work. Last night I started removing a few lines, rebending a few lines to just clean up the lines a little...

This morning, knowing I needed to add a few lines for the line lock I decided I needed a line flaring tool and bender. No big deal, I contact a few folks who usually have any spare tools I need. This case how ever none of them do. I decide, screw it, I can justify the purchase since I have a few lines to do.. and finding one to borrow has seemed to be a problem.

First trip to Napa. No love on the brake tools. They only had a standard flaring tool, no double.. wont do me any good for the POS currently in a go zillion pieces in my Garage..

Next closest to the house, Advance. They have the double flaring tool. 20 bucks, comes in a little tray to keep the parts separated. I dont like buying stuff from Advance and Autozone but I figure for this, something I dont use often, I can justify NOT spending the extra money for a good one. (NOTE: This is where my day started down hill). SO I bought the $20 dollar Advance tool.

Get home from Advance, start my project, Less than 1 ( ONE, UNO, SINGULAR ) minute into the project the bane of my brake work existence will come to haunt me..

Before:

One minute later:

This little bastard is whooping my butt! BACK to Advance I go receipt in tow.
I return the entire flaring tool, get credit, and where do I decide to go next... AUTOZONE! (Second bad Idea of the day)

"GET IN THE ZONE, AUTOZONE" has another tool... for $33 bucks in no case, just some ~~~~ty plastic that I KNOW I will loose all the little anvils..so I decide against it...

"Hmm where next"? I ask myself
"DUH, Workshop Tools at the beach".

Off I go. Arrive at the store, walk straight to Automotive tools and get my flaring tool. $14 bucks, in a nice plastic case with a lid that closes and snaps. (They OBVIOUSLY invested more in the case than the tool)

Get back home..I should have been completely done with the project by now but with the running around its approaching 11:30 pretty fast.

Get started and this happens:

Cheap azz pot metal I guess, threads gaulded, won't screw out.. only backwards.

~~~~...what to do now. This is where I felt I had my most ingenious idea of the day. Use parts of multiple tools to achieve the desired goal. OH CONT RARE says my wonderful hard as ~~~~ brake lines.I bust out the brake tool, and harmonic balancer remover and commence to create a tool of all tools, a mans tool, a work of ******* awesomeness..

I am SOO full of win its not funny.

Until the SECOND! Yes SECOND little friggin anvil decides it doesnt want to remain in one piece. WOW!

(yes same picture as above as I didnt take pic of the first one I broke..and needed more dramatic effect for this post)

AGAIN? Surely not, but yes.. and after all of that crap.. a wasted morning...what are my results on the ONE end of the line I tried to flare?

SO...folks when you need a good tool, BUY THE GOOD TOOL! I am stuck here now with no flaring tool, 5 lines to fix, and install the line lock and out of parts stores to try and get a good tool from. It's after noon so I guess its Miller time.

 

[jandmmustangs]

Dude if you were closer id let you borrow my double flaring tool kit. I think I spent like $150 on it a few years back. Its saved my ass more times than you can imagine.

 

[SPRAYED Z]

wow thats fucked up and my great tool works well...buy a better tool

 

[Iron Fist]

Wow.

 

[Bradley]

Gonna see if I can contact a Matco or snap on man soon.

 

[markadams]

That's the new offset flare tool.

 

[Old Junk]

Yea man, struggle.com right there.

Buy a good one. You wasted 4 hrs @ shop rate, you came in behind and still don't have the tool OR the job done. So goes life, we have all been there.

Miller Time indeed! :finga:

 

[badss540]

Stick them together with JB WELD!!! then you'll really classify as a *******

 

[RayL]

spend the couple hundred bucks on the hydraulic flare set and be done with it.

 

[BDHABT]

spend the couple hundred bucks on the hydraulic flare set and be done with it.

Exactly!We have the Mastercool tool at the shop,and it saves tons of time when doing brake lines.

They used to have great deals on them on Ebay;check it out.

 

[B-man]

I have a PROCOMP one here,works great!

 

[50bmgshooter]

http://www.tooltopia.com/mastercool-71475.aspx
this is the one you need

 

[rcktpwrd]

that sucks Dude!

ToolTopia has a decent selection: http://www.tooltopia.com/search.aspx?find=double+flare

 

[projoe87]

Only snap on for that, double and single and bubble flare tools, I used to have a few sets of those cheap ones, But when you feed your family working on stuff, I forget how much i paid back in day. But worth every cent. I dont always buy snap on stuff, I have a good mix of stuff even craftsmen sockets/wrenches.

 

[Donnyman]

Stick them together with JB WELD!!! then you'll really classify as a *******

I was thinkin' high pressure solder!...
I can run a wicked bead!...

BTW: Love that angle handled 3/8ths ratchet, that's the first one I grab out of my box EVERYTIME!...

 

[1quik70]

Have you used these tools before? I'm trying not to jump to conclusions but, I have flared a lot of lines using an el cheapo flare kit from Vato Zone and never had anything bad like that happen. In fact, I have a cheap kit I've had for a long tim that works great. I may have to lean towards operator error on this one!

 

[Donnyman]

Have you used these tools before? I'm trying not to jump to conclusions but, I have flared a lot of lines using an el cheapo flare kit from Vato Zone and never had anything bad like that happen. In fact, I have a cheap kit I've had for a long tim that works great. I may have to lean towards operator error on this one!

Yeah, may have been too much material sticking out of the clamp!... :smt102

 

[7817]

Have you used these tools before? I'm trying not to jump to conclusions but, I have flared a lot of lines using an el cheapo flare kit from Vato Zone and never had anything bad like that happen. In fact, I have a cheap kit I've had for a long tim that works great. I may have to lean towards operator error on this one!

Yep. Read the instructions...
You are leaving a bur in the tube, thats why you broke the pilot off the die, unless you are just clamping it really crooked.

 

[Bradley]

I deburred the end of the line, I measured the amount of line sticking out using the Anvil as I have done in the past when I used friends brake tools. I know what I am doing, granted I am not doing this for a living or daily. I haven't had to flare lines in a year or so for anything.. but these tools just suck.

 

[86_Notch]

:smt082

I preface this entire post with the statement that in no way consider myself a great mechanic, however have been able to get by pretty well working on cars in the past as a hobby..

NOW.. Last night I decided to go ahead and install the line lock while the heads and turbo are off to allow me a little more room to work. Last night I started removing a few lines, rebending a few lines to just clean up the lines a little...

This morning, knowing I needed to add a few lines for the line lock I decided I needed a line flaring tool and bender. No big deal, I contact a few folks who usually have any spare tools I need. This case how ever none of them do. I decide, screw it, I can justify the purchase since I have a few lines to do.. and finding one to borrow has seemed to be a problem.

First trip to Napa. No love on the brake tools. They only had a standard flaring tool, no double.. wont do me any good for the POS currently in a go zillion pieces in my Garage..

Next closest to the house, Advance. They have the double flaring tool. 20 bucks, comes in a little tray to keep the parts separated. I dont like buying stuff from Advance and Autozone but I figure for this, something I dont use often, I can justify NOT spending the extra money for a good one. (NOTE: This is where my day started down hill). SO I bought the $20 dollar Advance tool.

Get home from Advance, start my project, Less than 1 ( ONE, UNO, SINGULAR ) minute into the project the bane of my brake work existence will come to haunt me..

Before:

One minute later:

This little bastard is whooping my butt! BACK to Advance I go receipt in tow.
I return the entire flaring tool, get credit, and where do I decide to go next... AUTOZONE! (Second bad Idea of the day)

"GET IN THE ZONE, AUTOZONE" has another tool... for $33 bucks in no case, just some ~~~~ty plastic that I KNOW I will loose all the little anvils..so I decide against it...

"Hmm where next"? I ask myself
"DUH, Workshop Tools at the beach".

Off I go. Arrive at the store, walk straight to Automotive tools and get my flaring tool. $14 bucks, in a nice plastic case with a lid that closes and snaps. (They OBVIOUSLY invested more in the case than the tool)

Get back home..I should have been completely done with the project by now but with the running around its approaching 11:30 pretty fast.

Get started and this happens:

Cheap azz pot metal I guess, threads gaulded, won't screw out.. only backwards.

~~~~...what to do now. This is where I felt I had my most ingenious idea of the day. Use parts of multiple tools to achieve the desired goal. OH CONT RARE says my wonderful hard as ~~~~ brake lines.I bust out the brake tool, and harmonic balancer remover and commence to create a tool of all tools, a mans tool, a work of ******* awesomeness..

I am SOO full of win its not funny.

Until the SECOND! Yes SECOND little friggin anvil decides it doesnt want to remain in one piece. WOW!

(yes same picture as above as I didnt take pic of the first one I broke..and needed more dramatic effect for this post)

AGAIN? Surely not, but yes.. and after all of that crap.. a wasted morning...what are my results on the ONE end of the line I tried to flare?

SO...folks when you need a good tool, BUY THE GOOD TOOL! I am stuck here now with no flaring tool, 5 lines to fix, and install the line lock and out of parts stores to try and get a good tool from. It's after noon so I guess its Miller time.

Hahahahhaahhahahahahahahahahahahah:smt082:smt082:smt082:smt082:smt082:smt082:smt082:smt082

I'm NOT laughing at you, you've described exactly what I went thru this past summer from napa to autozone thru 1 cheap flare tool to the other . I feel your pain brother and I too have been there !