What flaring kits to use where?

[scott37300]

There are 45* flare, swage, single flare, double flare, metric double flare, bubble flare, and I'm sure there are a couple more out there!

I have a ridgid double flare kit and a snap on bubble flare kit that I have used on some brake lines. Just looking to see where the others are used and which ones I would need on which vehicles?

For example, what are some common vehicles that use metric double flare? Some common vehicles that use bubble flare? Are there any places I would use swage? 45* flare is for fuel lines right?

What types of flare kits do most have in their tool boxes?

Thanks

 

[pirate]

Probably not the info your looking for but I am building a car for autocross and track days and am using all AN fittings. AN fittings use a 37 degree flare but I like them because there is a sleeve the backs up the flare that the nut tightens against.

 

[wafrederick]

Most brake line fittings are bubble flares which are metric on these newer vehicles including with anything that is used in an ABS brake system.The manual versions,most shops are doing away with and using the Mastercool hydraulic set which saves tons of time and worth the money.Matco and Kent Moore also sell it which are both a rebranded Mastercool set.

 

[Motofixxer]

Well I found out Saturns use the bubble flare, and apparently GM has started using it a lot on recent vehicles. Other than that, I have only used double flares.

 

[scott37300]

Do they make a standard bubble flare or just metric?

 

[wafrederick]

Metric is a single bubble flare,the easiest flare to do and the sae is a double flare.If flaring for the first time,practice on some copper line first and this is the only time to use copper line.If it is a long line to replace,you are better off buying the line by the roll and use less fittings this way.Some of the lines,you can only buy pre bent from the dealer and I have seen this with GM and Chrysler so far,has the flex joint in them.

 

[scott37300]

So a bubble flare kit and a double flare will do most of the flares on a car right? Besides the 45* fuel line flares but I have never needed to do them before.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. The mastercool kit would be great but I already have a nice double flare and a nice bubble flare. Might sell them sometime down the road and buy a mastercool but for now they are working good for me. If I bought the mastercool set is there any reason to keep the flare sets I have now? Is there ever a time that the mastercool set won't work and I would need the kits I have now or would I be safe selling the kits I have now in order to get the mastercool kit?