Bad bubble flare, cheap tool or..?

[RPH]

I’m with ISB on this one. I bought the same set and it solved the flaring problems. Flared fittings are usually on systems that require reliability. Cheap tools give poor results on the flare. This will lead to early failure. Good flaring tools and the knowledge to use it are cheap insurance in the long run.
Plus it saves personal frustration when the flare comes out right, the first time!

 

[Burt Shaver]

I’m with ISB on this one. I bought the same set and it solved the flaring problems. Flared fittings are usually on systems that require reliability. Cheap tools give poor results on the flare. This will lead to early failure. Good flaring tools and the knowledge to use it are cheap insurance in the long run.
Plus it saves personal frustration when the flare comes out right, the first time!

I agree also, however I believe you can get a quality tool for less than 600.00. If I can get a good tool for 200.00 then that will be for me. I’m just a father fixing his kids cars, if I were a mechanic by trade and doing brake lines every other day I would definitely consider a 600.00 flaring tool. I will know if I have a good flare or not, just need a tool that’s not Chinesium and had the ability to do a good flare.

 

[racecougar]

I agree also, however I believe you can get a quality tool for less than 600.00. If I can get a good tool for 200.00 then that will be for me.

I've been using this one since '16. It makes flaring a cinch. I believe I posted a photo of it in your last thread about flaring.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X6F5XW6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

EDIT: Yep, I did. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/which-brake-line-to-use.530424/#post-10603852

 

[Burt Shaver]

I've been using this one since '16. It makes flaring a cinch. I believe I posted a photo of it in your last thread about flaring.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X6F5XW6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

EDIT: Yep, I did. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/which-brake-line-to-use.530424/#post-10603852

When I press the link it says it couldn’t fetch that page, I’m in Canada, usually doesn’t matter though as for links opening

 

[racecougar]

When I press the link it says it couldn’t fetch that page, I’m in Canada, usually doesn’t matter though as for links opening

 

[Burt Shaver]

I've been using this one since '16. It makes flaring a cinch. I believe I posted a photo of it in your last thread about flaring.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X6F5XW6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

EDIT: Yep, I did. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/which-brake-line-to-use.530424/#post-10603852

And I didn’t listen, never done learning, lol. The Chinese Stuff was good for pressing plates for my press but when it comes to a tool where the tooling needs to be good hopefully I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve been buying all my car parts from Rock Auto with no issue so I had in my head that they where vetting their products closely so that’s why I opted for that cheap flaring tool from there. I was wrong

 

[RPH]

The cost is not bad. Factor over a lifetime and the frustrations saved it will save you money and time.
Just an er visit for chest pains will cost more.
Cheap insurance.

 

[Mike65]

OTC is a good option for me, it’s the right price range, what does worry me though is you bought yours in 2015 and I think I remember reading somewhere on here at one time that OTC used to be American made and now it’s made in China? Have you heard this? Doesn’t mean the tool will be junk but.... may not be same quality as when you bought yours

No I have not heard this. Doing a Google search I found as long as the tool is not a OTC Stinger branded tool (which is made in Tiwan) it is made in the USA. When I worked in new car dealerships the Ford dealer's specialty tools were all OTC tools.

 

[Burt Shaver]

I finally made a decision, this tool had 4.7 stars from 34 reviews. Does both inverted double flare as well as DIN/ISO flare. Also found a good video and learned a little more about flares, the flare I had made was an SAE bubble flare which is pretty much useless unless working on British made vehicle. The top of this SAE bubble flare has a different angle than the DIN/ISO single mushroom flare, too is at 115 degrees.

 

[backupbeeper]

I had to make a flare on a line that was on the car , and make a new line

I bought the Eastwood hydraulic flaring tool and it is very good tool

And we got the good quality nicop line .


It’s cheaper than taking the car somewhere and paying someone else to make a new line .

 

[Burt Shaver]

I had to make a flare on a line that was on the car , and make a new line

I bought the Eastwood hydraulic flaring tool and it is very good tool

And we got the good quality nicop line .


It’s cheaper than taking the car somewhere and paying someone else to make a new line .

I paid 900 and some dollars a few years back for rear pads and rotors and maybe one caliper on my 2016 Ram. I decided then that I was going to start doing my own automotive repairs again.

 

[Burt Shaver]

The. Capri flaring tool I ordered came in tonight. I tried a test DIN flare and it came out perfect on the first try. This is a beautifully made tool, has a bit that you screw in the opposite side to **** the end of the line up to, no guessing how much stick out. Top and bottom of the flare is perfect. I would highly recommend this tool for someone who wants to do DIN flares and SAE inverted double flares. Thanks to everyone who inputted on this thread

 

[steve855]

I have the Capri tool on the way, arriving today. I'll post up here once I give it a try. Car is my kids' 2000 Civic. Lines are 3/16" with SAE double flare, M10x1.0 fittings. I pulled one line to check it while waiting for parts.

I have also switched over to Ni-Cop lines. Had to redo all of the lines on our other kid car about 5 years ago, 2000 Buick LeSabre. I used Ni-Cop for all of it, and it's holding up well so far here in PA. Much nicer to work with than steel. For that job, I borrowed a buddy's Mastercool set and it worked fine.

If I have to borrow a tool more than once, I prefer to buy my own. After some research it seems like every passenger vehicle since the 60s uses 3/16" (4.75mm) size brake line, so I didn't see any need for a kit that does 5 other sizes that I'll never use. I'm not running an auto repair shop, just maintaining my own fleet here. Kids' vehicles keep me busy enough though.

I wanted the SAE double flare, and also the capability to do ISO bubble flares. I have a 2003 BMW that is probably that type. Never had to replace a line on it yet, but I'm sure it will happen eventually. If I recall, the Buick used bubble flares with M10 tube nuts, which I thought was a little odd for an early 2000s American car- but that whole car is a mix of SAE and metric. You need ALL the tools for that thing. It's a good runner, 3800 V6.

 

[Burt Shaver]

I have the Capri tool on the way, arriving today. I'll post up here once I give it a try. Car is my kids' 2000 Civic. Lines are 3/16" with SAE double flare, M10x1.0 fittings. I pulled one line to check it while waiting for parts.

I have also switched over to Ni-Cop lines. Had to redo all of the lines on our other kid car about 5 years ago, 2000 Buick LeSabre. I used Ni-Cop for all of it, and it's holding up well so far here in PA. Much nicer to work with than steel. For that job, I borrowed a buddy's Mastercool set and it worked fine.

If I have to borrow a tool more than once, I prefer to buy my own. After some research it seems like every passenger vehicle since the 60s uses 3/16" (4.75mm) size brake line, so I didn't see any need for a kit that does 5 other sizes that I'll never use. I'm not running an auto repair shop, just maintaining my own fleet here. Kids' vehicles keep me busy enough though.

I wanted the SAE double flare, and also the capability to do ISO bubble flares. I have a 2003 BMW that is probably that type. Never had to replace a line on it yet, but I'm sure it will happen eventually. If I recall, the Buick used bubble flares with M10 tube nuts, which I thought was a little odd for an early 2000s American car- but that whole car is a mix of SAE and metric. You need ALL the tools for that thing. It's a good runner, 3800 V6.

For sure, let me know what you think. As you probably seen I thought it was a quality made tool. It was recommended to me in this thread. It’s been awhile, since this thread but if memory serves me correctly this tool does the DIN flare and SAE double flare. The 09 Hyundai used a DIN flare that that is sometimes referred to as a bubble flare. I’m in the exact same circumstance as you, not a mechanic but between my 2 kids who each have 09 Elantra’s, our 2012 Mazda 3, 2016 Ram and 2012 Savanna for business it keeps me busy enough, I enjoy it because I’m sure someday either I won’t be able to work on the kids cars or they won’t need me to.

 

[Burt Shaver]

I have the Capri tool on the way, arriving today. I'll post up here once I give it a try. Car is my kids' 2000 Civic. Lines are 3/16" with SAE double flare, M10x1.0 fittings. I pulled one line to check it while waiting for parts.

I have also switched over to Ni-Cop lines. Had to redo all of the lines on our other kid car about 5 years ago, 2000 Buick LeSabre. I used Ni-Cop for all of it, and it's holding up well so far here in PA. Much nicer to work with than steel. For that job, I borrowed a buddy's Mastercool set and it worked fine.

If I have to borrow a tool more than once, I prefer to buy my own. After some research it seems like every passenger vehicle since the 60s uses 3/16" (4.75mm) size brake line, so I didn't see any need for a kit that does 5 other sizes that I'll never use. I'm not running an auto repair shop, just maintaining my own fleet here. Kids' vehicles keep me busy enough though.

I wanted the SAE double flare, and also the capability to do ISO bubble flares. I have a 2003 BMW that is probably that type. Never had to replace a line on it yet, but I'm sure it will happen eventually. If I recall, the Buick used bubble flares with M10 tube nuts, which I thought was a little odd for an early 2000s American car- but that whole car is a mix of SAE and metric. You need ALL the tools for that thing. It's a good runner, 3800 V6.

What kind of motorcycle is that in your Avatar? I recently picked up a 1978 Kawasaki KZ400

 

[johninct]

Anyone use the knock off line flaring tool?
You can find it for just under $100 and the die is much longer and doesn't leave the crimped ribs.

I have the Eastwood one and it makes perfect flairs. I have a job coming up. Can/ how do you use the Eastwood tool to make bubble flairs?

 

[racecougar]

I have the Eastwood one and it makes perfect flairs. I have a job coming up. Can/ how do you use the Eastwood tool to make bubble flairs?

Assuming you're talking about this style of tool (see below), you use the DIN dies.

 

[racecougar]

 

[steve855]

What kind of motorcycle is that in your Avatar? I recently picked up a 1978 Kawasaki KZ400

Honda CB175, 1972. It's not fast but it's fun. Keep off the interstates and it's great. I've had it for about 15 years.

 

[steve855]

the Capri tool (# CP21110-SD) showed up today and I did a couple test flares with it. I'm calling it a keeper.
Seems to be well made and it was easy to make nice flares in Ni-Cop tubing. I tried both the SAE double, and the ISO/DIN bubble flares and both came out well. Considered testing with steel line, but I have no plans to use steel again unless I have no choice.

I like that the tool can be used in a bench vise, or on-car if needed.

The body/clamping dies appear to be made using some sort of powdered metal or MIM process. Very crisp details and everything fits well. Clamp left no ridges or tooth marks in the tubing after flaring, which is unusual in my experience. The whole tool has a solid feel and it doesn't require any fiddling around to line things up- it just fits. The clamp bolts are m6 x 1, grade 12.9 and fit the clamp body well. Same with the punches or rams, the threads are clean and they appear to be nicely machined from good quality steel. They thread into floating machined steel inserts in the clamp body, see pics. It seems like this tool should last through a lot of brake jobs. I've used the old design tools with the wing nuts and so on, this tool is a big step up from those.

I'll be making new lines for the 2000 Civic next week sometime. Any problems, I'll update here.

 

[Burt Shaver]

the Capri tool (# CP21110-SD) showed up today and I did a couple test flares with it. I'm calling it a keeper.
Seems to be well made and it was easy to make nice flares in Ni-Cop tubing. I tried both the SAE double, and the ISO/DIN bubble flares and both came out well. Considered testing with steel line, but I have no plans to use steel again unless I have no choice.

I like that the tool can be used in a bench vise, or on-car if needed.

The body/clamping dies appear to be made using some sort of powdered metal or MIM process. Very crisp details and everything fits well. Clamp left no ridges or tooth marks in the tubing after flaring, which is unusual in my experience. The whole tool has a solid feel and it doesn't require any fiddling around to line things up- it just fits. The clamp bolts are m6 x 1, grade 12.9 and fit the clamp body well. Same with the punches or rams, the threads are clean and they appear to be nicely machined from good quality steel. They thread into floating machined steel inserts in the clamp body, see pics. It seems like this tool should last through a lot of brake jobs. I've used the old design tools with the wing nuts and so on, this tool is a big step up from those.

I'll be making new lines for the 2000 Civic next week sometime. Any problems, I'll update here.

I really appreciated this tool after the junk flaring tool i had ordered.

 

[steve855]

I really appreciated this tool after the junk flaring tool i had ordered.

I can believe that, it makes the job fairly simple. Looking forward to using it on this minor upcoming Civic repair with my sons.

Same as you, I have a small fleet to maintain. Civic and Buick I already mentioned, both 20+ years old. Also a 2003 BMW E46 wagon that I maintain.
Summer of '23, my son (age 19 at the time) had the optimism to bring home a 1985 C4 Corvette- it's bound to need brake lines sooner or later. We've had some good times wrenching on that thing. I can't complain too much, he has tools in his hands learning, beats playing playstation or something. Although working on that car makes my back hurt.

Wife drives a newer Explorer, with a warranty, so I don't do much on that one.

 

[no704]

Mastercool hydrolic is the gold standard. I’m pretty sure there are many knokoffs for less $$ now.

 

[steve855]

Mastercool hydrolic is the gold standard. I’m pretty sure there are many knokoffs for less $$ now.

I agree, I've used that tool. If you're wrenching on cars and light trucks as a pro, it's worth it.
For a person like me mainly just working on my own vehicles, I don't need all of the other sizes that the mastercool set includes. I need a tool to make quality flares on 3/16" brake line, and that's all. Why pay for dies that I won't use?

If I get into a situation where I need another size for fuel or trans lines, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

[Beelzeboss]

That Capri tool looks the goods, I've never had good luck with your original type from any manufacturer. I ended up with a cheaper version of yours which just does one size in bubble or double flares.



Dead simple and almost impossible to make a bad flare.

 

[Max]

Honda CB175, 1972. It's not fast but it's fun. Keep off the interstates and it's great. I've had it for about 15 years.

80 MPH @10500 RPM. Or at least that is what my ‘71 CL175 could do. 20 HP if I remember right.

 

[theoldwizard1]

NiCop tubing is much easier to flare !

 

[theoldwizard1]

80 MPH @10500 RPM. Or at least that is what my ‘71 CL175 could do. 20 HP if I remember right.

You must have weighted 100 lbs !

My CL350 couldn't make 85 with my fat *** onboard !

 

[66Caprice]

Just so it's out there. These copper flair gasket/washers can really save your but when you have a leaky fitting!!

Amazon.com : copper flare washers

 

[DGersic]

I’ve been looking at the Capri tool, a friend has one and likes it. But I never got around to getting one. Then I needed to make some bubble flairs. So I picked up the HF flaring tool, and found that it makes decent bubble flairs.



I’ll probably get the Capri one as well, it looks like a nice option, especially for on-car flares, which I have needed to do.

 

[BombShelter]

I've got the Mastercool 71100 and the Gearwrench 41860, I use these very rarely but they work great for the handful of flairs I've done. I would have bought the big set but it was too expensive for the amount of use it would get.

I have never had luck with the cheap sets, even the old USA Models, most are pure junk but these above are just a hair more beefy and you can get into some tight areas if needed.

 

[Burt Shaver]

I’ve been looking at the Capri tool, a friend has one and likes it. But I never got around to getting one. Then I needed to make some bubble flairs. So I picked up the HF flaring tool, and found that it makes decent bubble flairs.



I’ll probably get the Capri one as well, it looks like a nice option, especially for on-car flares, which I have needed to do.

That flare you made looks like the SAE bubble flare that the first tool I purchased from RA made, The Capri makes the DIN flare that I needed for the 2009 Hyundai. I don’t know enough to say for sure but I believe a lot of today’s vehicles use the DIN flare for brake lines...

 

[DGersic]

That flare you made looks like the SAE bubble flare that the first tool I purchased from RA made, The Capri makes the DIN flare that I needed for the 2009 Hyundai. I don’t know enough to say for sure but I believe a lot of today’s vehicles use the DIN flare for brake lines...

Yes. I haven't yet needed a DIN bubble flare.

 

[ptabatcher]

the Capri tool (# CP21110-SD) showed up today and I did a couple test flares with it. I'm calling it a keeper.
Seems to be well made and it was easy to make nice flares in Ni-Cop tubing. I tried both the SAE double, and the ISO/DIN bubble flares and both came out well. Considered testing with steel line, but I have no plans to use steel again unless I have no choice.

I like that the tool can be used in a bench vise, or on-car if needed.

The body/clamping dies appear to be made using some sort of powdered metal or MIM process. Very crisp details and everything fits well. Clamp left no ridges or tooth marks in the tubing after flaring, which is unusual in my experience. The whole tool has a solid feel and it doesn't require any fiddling around to line things up- it just fits. The clamp bolts are m6 x 1, grade 12.9 and fit the clamp body well. Same with the punches or rams, the threads are clean and they appear to be nicely machined from good quality steel. They thread into floating machined steel inserts in the clamp body, see pics. It seems like this tool should last through a lot of brake jobs. I've used the old design tools with the wing nuts and so on, this tool is a big step up from those.

I'll be making new lines for the 2000 Civic next week sometime. Any problems, I'll update here.

Thanks for sharing. Wish I had this earlier this summer when I needed to repair a brake line on the Mini that I trashed. Bought a cheap tool from advance that lasted all of three flares before breaking. I needed something same-day so, I was somewhat in between a rock and a hard place.

I was trolling ECS Tuning while getting some other supplies today and noticed they have a version under their Bavarian Autosport brand that looks just like the Capri. On sale for $37.50. Added it to my order as cheap insurance.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bav-auto-tools-parts/on-vehicle-micro-brake-pipe-flaring-tool-bavarian-autosport/b8800083~bav/

 

[steve855]

80 MPH @10500 RPM. Or at least that is what my ‘71 CL175 could do. 20 HP if I remember right.

Yep that's about right. I rarely flog the old girl that hard though. Usually keep it under 75mph. Sweet spot is 55 or 60.

 

[steve855]

Agreed, the tool from ECS/Bav auto looks identical except for the handle- right down to the spelling error.
"PATENT PEDING"
Lol

As I mentioned, I wanted this specific tool because I have a BMW which I think has the DIN bubble style flares. I don’t know for certain because I've yet to replace a brake line on it. Car is currently at 198k miles.

(Cue furious wood knocking sounds).

 

[steve855]

Just to follow up, I got the Civic lines done. Fishing them between firewall and subframe was the worst part of the job. Capri tool worked very well. Did most of the flares with tool in bench vise, but I had to make a couple flares under the car. I put a 17mm deep socket on my Milwaukee 3/8 stubby impact and it was easy- better than trying to use a ratchet.