Stainless braided lines
 

I was just browsing around and found some instructions on how to make my own braided an lines. Is it going to be cheaper to buy the fittings and line and cut my own lines for the oil drain and feed or will it be more cost effective to just have a local hydraulic shop fab them up. Can I buy braided line and fittings in small quantities?

Yes, make your own.
Ebay.
I've also bought a few things from Aeroquip.

Should cost around $30. God knows what a shop would charge.

Haha this post actually came up because I saw you're post on the CR mail thread. Any links to what you bought?

I bought Startlite hose. It's a non abrasive braided hose. So it won't chew through things. My oil return now has a rubber sleeve around it now because it's stainless braided.

I'm not going to shop for you. But i bought an "an" fitting for my oil return a couple of straight -10an fittings, couple feet of braided stainless line, cut it to size and screwed it on.

I bought some from this user. Seems to have the generic aluminum fittings found everywhere else online.

getfast1 on eBay

Thanks for the info!

My return line. Took me all of 5 minutes to make.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1378611168

Come to think of it. I don't think i've ever bought actual hose off ebay. Usually Jegs, or Summit for quality stuff. I've read a few things about knockoff ebay hose not being very good. Not much bad about ebay fittings though. Bryan(Fab9) told me about the Startlite hose. I can't wait to try it.

AN Adapters & AN Hose Ends and Hose | AN Plumbing pretty much has everything you'd need

go with steel fittings to save some $. you don't need aluminum

I prefer ptfe hose and appropriate fittings

One and done, don't do ebay. Aeroquip or other name brand for hose and fittings, they'll be what, $10 more than something cheaper? Don't even bother with summit fittings, they'll start leaking after taking it off a few times.

Thanks guys. This is exactly what I needed to know

I get Aeroquip fittings and lines from my local hydraulic shop. Assembly of lines is free. I go in 1 day and get fittings put on one end of the line. I then take it home and measure the exact length I need. Then back to the shop the next day. to put the other end and fire sleeve on. Total cost is a bit more then me using mocal fittings and assembling lines myself, but it is so much easier.

Personal bad experience with ebay fittings? Because i mean, $40 vs $4 for a single fitting is HUGE.

For an ebay oil cooler line, yeah. I know an oil cooler is pressurized, but anything in the oil system is not something to cheap on.

I mean i read this thread. It really had no data. Just "i wouldn't use them because they're cheaper" which goes against what this site is partly about, and one "it seeps slowly over time.
https://www.miataturbo.net/general-m...eptable-69682/

I also read: kinda mixed bag (ironically Keith Tanners posts seem to be the best there, Specifically: "Being sold on eBay is no guarantee of quality - good OR bad.")
When are Ebay AN fittings ok?| Grassroots Motorsports | forum | Grassroots Motorsports


I have Earls, Aeroquip, and Ebay fittings here in my batch and they certainly don't feel MUCH different.

I am in the anodize business and feel i can professionally judge the finish on these.

The Straight fitting is Ebay brand. It "feels" the worst i guess. There is a "squeak" that neither of the other ones have. At my company there is an anti squeak coating we can add. I would suspect this may not have been done on this product.

The 45* fitting is an Aeroquip unit. It is probably the best quality. The finish looks to be the thickest of the 4 and generally feels better. But it's very marginal.

The Hardline to AN fitting is an Earls unit. If i didn't take it out of the Earls packaging i would assume it was Ebay.

The Union is also Ebay. It seems to have the worst finish out of the four. BUT is made out of a thicker, bigger material. It seems more "heavy duty".

Racking marks on all of these are very hard to spot and almost non existent, they seem to be run very well. No dye voids, no bleed out, no burns, for the most part very good quality anodizing. (none of the plants my company owns does parts like these that i know of. I'm assuming they're coated overseas.) I may bring a few in and see if i can get thickness readings with the permascope. Since the sealing surface of AN fittings are on the 37* face i can't see any of these being a problem unless that is out of spec.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1417901292

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1417901292

(different alloys will anodize different FWIW)

I will be using these on my fuel system. We will find out of they work or not.

Wait a minute. Did Ben start both of those threads? ^^

I recently put in a pretty sizeable order at racepartsolutions.com for my oil and water turbo lines as well as fuel lines for the Subaru. They carry Fragola (USA made) in the black anodized finish and the nylon braided line (which I prefer over stainless braid). Likely not as cheap as the eBay ish, but I'm of the do it once and do it right mindset.

Good luck!

Yeah Keith's comment sums it up for me, I'm sure you could use some ebay junk without failure even in the long term, but I don't wanna risk it.

And the finish is the least of my concerns.

Other than the finish you can't tell these apart.

You're measuring quality by the visual aspect of the part it seems. Fitting quality is usually measured by the thread quality and the sealing angle conformance to the tolerance (amongst many other measured features).

While the oil drain isn't supposedly under extreme pressure, it still is a fundamental part of the oiling system.

Aeroquip has an FAA-approved quality system to make these parts for aircraft. The ones for aircraft use ("AN" stamped on them) will be made in USA. Aircraft Spruce is a good source if you want to be sure you're getting the highest quality parts. Some of the prices are comparable. Others . . . .