Arrghhh AN-16 Hose Assembly

[Tspringer]

I am deep in the midst of totally replumbing my RSR as I am reassembling it.

I have a front smugglers box mounted SRP oil tank, right front fender mounted Elephant cooler and front mounted Setrab cooler. I am running AN-20 braided stainless lines from the front tank to the engine and AN-16 braided stainless lines everywhere else.

At least I think I am.

So far, assembling the AN-16 hose ends and braided stainless line has been a nightmare (no attempt on the AN-20 yet).

My first attempt was on a 44 inch section of hose. I cut the hose with my die grinder, hosed it out with high pressure hot water and solvent really good, blew tons of air through it, sealed off one end and began to try and assembly one hose end.

What a *****! I used oil inside the line and on the fitting but the amount of force required to get the hose end to even begin to be fully screwed on was absurd. I also didnt have the perfect tools and by the time I had both hose ends assembled they were all chewed up looking. I then pressure tested them and one end leaked, though not at all from the hose end but from the fitting on the other side!

So, I ordered another section of line and 2 new 90 degree hose ends from Summit' Racing (the previous ones were Jegs). I also ordered the special alloy -16 wrench and alloy vise jags to prevent the pieces from getting buggered up.

Again using lots of oil to lube it, I attempted to assemble. Again, the hose end was extremely difficult to tighten. The red end that goes over the hose beign held in place in the vice (with the hose pushed in to within 1/16 of an inch of maximum) and using the alloy wrench on the blue fitting I tighten it together. At the point where the fitting is still well over 1/4 inch from being tight together the force required to turn it was so great it BENT the fork of the special alloy wrench!

This is a bit crazy. What am I doing wrong? I searched google for any instructions (guys at Jegs and Summit had nothing helpful to add) and found some info at Earls site but using their instructions (as above) this is what I got.

Does anyone know a shop that sells the line, hose ends AND assembles it to lengths requested?


EDIT: Here is a description of exactly the procedure I have followed except this says the maximum gap allowed is .031 and I cannot get anywhere hear close to that. The wrench literally bent first.

http://www.stockcarproducts.com/aqp1a.htm

[TimT]

What brand ends are you using? Earls, XRP, Aeroquip , etc, all assemble with different levels of frustration.

I know Hoerr Racing will build hoses to suit, these will be swaged fittings not screwed on fittings though. I'm sure there are others that will make hoses to suit.

Also having assembled a bunch of these fittings... the aluminum wrench isn't for assembly, or building the hoses just for tightening and loosening the hoses from their respective fittings.

Use a quality open end wrench and a cheater, lots of oil on the pieces, and once you start turning the wrench , dont stop till its snugged up.


I know all the instructions say otherwise, but thats the way I find the least grief building these hoses..

[TimT]

oops, also, we gave up using cut-off wheels to part the hoses years ago.

Just buy a cable cutter, from an electrical supply place, about $35 and it make clean cuts that turn all the wire sheath "in" a bit, and doesn't require a flush of the hose before use.

[gestalt1]

i also had a hell of a time getting the an-16 hoses built. what i found that the vice jaws are nessesary and a big cresent wrench. what you want is the nut part of the fitting to be on the hose enough that when the fitting is pressed in the first thread is just at the end of the nut part. with the nut clamped in the vice press with the palm of your hand and turn the fitting with the wrench until you have a full turn of thread in the nut. quckly re-adjust your wrench and still apply pressure with your palm, as you know aluminum threads are easily pulled out. another trick is before inserting the fitting look at the hose in the nut and check that there are no stainless wires imbedded or crossed over into the rubber of the hose. take and xacto knife and push or bend the wires outward so that when the fitting goes in it is digging into the rubber, not trying to cut into the stainless. after doing this you really appreciate the socketless style hose ends! hope this helps. - matt

[barney911rs]

I feel your pain, BTDT. One trick I learned was to wrap some masking tape (1.5-2.0" wide) around the hose where you are going to cut it. Make the cut in the middle of the tape, and leave it on. It keeps the metal braids from spreading. It won't effect the seal. Lots of lubricant and patience are needed. You'll get a knack for it after you do it for awhile.