I Found a Better Flaring Tool

"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
04/16/2018 at 12:00 • Filed to: wrenching, brakes

But managed to get by without it.

This is the OTC 4503, which is just like my old flaring kit, except that it has better machining on the clamp, and is probably made of something better than chinesium. There’s also a metric kit available for making bubble flares, item #4504.

Last week, the 1/4" steel brake tubing that I was trying to flare was just slipping through my old kit’s clamp when I turned the press, and I needed something that was going to hold it better than my old GRIP (Grand Rapids Industrial Products) tool (can’t find the part number).

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But before taking the plunge on a new kit, I had an idea. Some of the fancier flaring kits use clamping dies that are noticeably longer than the clamp on kits like this, and have more surface area to grab the tubing. So what if I just ran on down to the local Autozone, borrowed their flaring tool kit, and clamped a second clamp behind mine to brace it? That might work!

I returned home with the second kit (an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and soon realized that this crazy idea wasn’t going to work after all. The second clamp was just getting in the way so that I couldn’t hook the press around the first clamp. Derp.

So I decided to try the one from AutoZone by itself before returning it. I had my doubts, as the machining was better than my Grip, but definitely not as sharp as the OTC tool. It worked... sort of.

The clamp held the tubing just fine. But the die was worn from other customers beating the crap out of it, and the cone in the press was off-kilter too. I had to combine my press and my die with AutoZone’s clamp in order to make a successful flare.

It worked! I returned the loaner tool and got my deposit back. And that Silverado is back on the road again. I’ll probably buy one or both of the OTC tools once my tax refund comes in (unless I find an even better option). No hurry, though. The GRIP tool will work just fine IF I keep it away from steel tubing. And !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! how much I hate that stuff.

DISCUSSION (7)

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro
04/16/2018 at 13:54

That’ll do!

I have a really nice old flaring tool that I found while cleaning out my wife’s aunt’s house (her uncle probably stole it from the Village of Skokie thirty years ago), but it only does single flares. I have been using a combination of the clamp from that set, then the press and dies from my Harbor Freight set to start the double flare, then the good press from the old set to finish it off. It’s amazing how much better the good clamp and press are.

I wonder if I could just order a good double flare press and dies?

Urambo Tauro > shop-teacher
04/16/2018 at 15:13

I never thought to look until now, but apparently dies are available separately: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-900310-1 (I assume they’re universal)

Not sure about the press. I kinda doubt that it’d be available by itself. Looks like you can get new cones, though. https://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.com/45-Flaring-Cone-P30198.aspx

(Hm, it appears that I’ve been overlooking that there was as difference between 45° and 37° flares. I wonder if I’ve just been lucky in accidentally using the correct angle, or if my tightening technique is forcing it to seal.)

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro
04/16/2018 at 15:34

No amount of tightening would make up for an 8 degree difference when you’re dealing with brake fluid. I can’t remember which one it is, but one of those is much more common.

Urambo Tauro > shop-teacher
04/16/2018 at 15:45

I dunno, that NiCopp is pretty easy to deform. I bet it would adapt if you ran into a discrepancy. (I hope that’s not the case here though.)

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro
04/16/2018 at 16:11

I don’t think so, brake fluid is very unforgiving.

That said, I’ve never used the NiCopp, so I don’t speak from experience here. I’ve never done this kind of work on a vehicle I was planning to keep long term. The day of rekoning will come for my GMT-800 though. I’m probably just going to buy the relatively cheap powder-coated kit from GM though.

Urambo Tauro > shop-teacher
04/16/2018 at 16:37

Just to be clear, I’m not trying to suggest that it’s ok to ignore the proper flare angle and just trust that the metal will deform to make a good seal. I’m just hypothesizing that maybe that’s a contributing factor to my good record for no leaks.

But who knows. It’s probably just a happy accident that I probably haven’t had to deal with any 37°s yet.

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro
04/16/2018 at 16:57

No, I didn’t think you were. 45's are simply way more common. It’s not that crazy that you haven’t run into any 37's.