Bubble flairs? ISO? DIN? What?
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:04 am
The front caliper hard lines on my 79 Westie are not good. Those and lines on other VW's need attention/replacement. Those front steel lines are wildly contorted and even the factory ones are a little funky. So, it's time to learn how to do it myself. Tried the "wing nut" bar type of flair tool. It's not consistent and is technique sensitive.
Even using cupro nickel (softer than steel) lines was not satisfactory. Got an Eastwood multi purpose flair tool that's one step down from a hydraulic former. Does the same as a hydraulic unit but less expensive. A really nice easy to use pro type flaring tool. Makes bubble flairs in many sizes of tubing. On the selector turret head is a die marked 3/16" DIN. Used it and got a perfect flair(of some sort).
Aye,there's the rub. The Eastwood literature states that "makes a perfect 45 degree bubble flair". Turret die says DIN but doesn't say ISO. The Fedhill site shows,with an illustration ,the specs for what THEY say is an ISO/ DIN flair. The half angle for the ISO(?) is 57 degrees not 45 degrees.
I suspect that terms commonplace to parts vendors do not track with engineering reality. In the end,what did VW really use for their tubing flairs? Is it a 45 degree or a 57 degree flair?
Are the never mentioned counter bores in the parts they fit into 45 degrees or what? Repair people like us need clarification rather than just buy what's on the shelf and hope it doesn't leak. Brakes are no place for guessing games.
Even using cupro nickel (softer than steel) lines was not satisfactory. Got an Eastwood multi purpose flair tool that's one step down from a hydraulic former. Does the same as a hydraulic unit but less expensive. A really nice easy to use pro type flaring tool. Makes bubble flairs in many sizes of tubing. On the selector turret head is a die marked 3/16" DIN. Used it and got a perfect flair(of some sort).
Aye,there's the rub. The Eastwood literature states that "makes a perfect 45 degree bubble flair". Turret die says DIN but doesn't say ISO. The Fedhill site shows,with an illustration ,the specs for what THEY say is an ISO/ DIN flair. The half angle for the ISO(?) is 57 degrees not 45 degrees.
I suspect that terms commonplace to parts vendors do not track with engineering reality. In the end,what did VW really use for their tubing flairs? Is it a 45 degree or a 57 degree flair?
Are the never mentioned counter bores in the parts they fit into 45 degrees or what? Repair people like us need clarification rather than just buy what's on the shelf and hope it doesn't leak. Brakes are no place for guessing games.