Anyone that considers themselves a car nut has seen these types of fittings. They're on everything from the Space Shuttle to high-end show cars to the fastest dragsters and race vehicles in the world. It's what they use to quickly connect and disconnect medium to high pressure lines for fluid or air transfer. For us engine nuts, it's the ultimate way to get fuel and other fluids from one place to another. The AN fittings are fairly universal, and come in a variety of sizes and colors. It's a great way to not only upgrade the performance of your engine, but also it's looks. Most of the time you'll see red/blue connectors like this one: There are other colors available, like all-black: ...and chrome, and unfinished, and black/gold, etc. Pick a color, and you can find it on someone's ride. AN connectors are usually available with the following turns: - Straight - 45º - 90º - 120º - 180º Sometimes you'll find hoses that are pre-assembled, like this: The length is set and connections have been built for you. This DIY article is for those that want to build their own. We'll start out with some basic specs on AN fittings and hoses, courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN_thread It's a great reference. Bookmark it. Most of the time we're trying to match up the inside diameter (I.D.) of our hoses, but AN works off the outside (O.D.) of the line involved. It's something to think about when you're re-hosing your vehicle. A little thought goes a LONG way. Popular sources for AN fittings are: - JEGS (www.jegs.com) - Summit Racing (www.summitracing.com) For this project, I'm working with -10 ("dash ten") AN fittings and matching nylon braided hose: I opted for the black/red fittings as they more closely match the theme in the engine bay of the truck. A few bucks extra for the bling. I had to do it. LOL How non-cheap? Well, that's about $120 right there. No. I'm not kidding. The lines I'm running are for the oil cooler for the Viper engine. It took me a while, but I finally figured out the proper size fittings for both the engine in and out, as well as the oil cooler in and out (7/8-14....or -10AN). Once you have your in and out fittings for the piece(s) you're working on, you can start in on your lines. For this project I'm using nylon braided lines. Why not stainless steel? Because of the the heat. Viper engine bays get VERY hot, and stainless steel retains heat much longer than aluminum or nylon. Making the lines is EASY. So easy, a caveman could do it. Just remember to cut them a little LONG. Trimming is easier than re-doing an entire line. Trim your line to the desired length, leaving a little extra....just in case. There are 2 main pieces to the connector: - Main connector (black in the picture) - Locking nut (red in the picture) Slide the nut over the hose end: With nylon it's easy to get all the braiding inside the nut (fingernail works great..heh heh). With stainless steel braid, you'll probably want to use something like the Koul Tools hose building guides (about $180 for the full set, but worth it if you're doing anything more than 4 lines). When cutting either type of hose, wrap some masking tape around the area you want to cut. This will keep the hose from fraying after the cut is made. Remove the tape before sliding the locking nut onto the hose. Make sure that you don't push the hose into the nut too far! You only want to go until the hose reaches the 'bottom' of the threads inside the nut: If you go too far, you risk breaking the nut and or crushing the tube of the main connector. Apply some lubricant to the tip and threads on the main connector: (sorry...crappy night time pic, but I did spray PTFE on it, I swear!) The lube will help the tip and threads of the main connector slide inside the tubing. For about half of the threads, you can just hold the nut, and use a combination wrench to thread on the main connector. After that, you'll need something stronger to hold it. I used my little vise with the rubber grips. It worked fine, but I may invest in the plastic vise mounts. Again, the more lines you build, the more the investment in tools will pay off. Here's the completed connector: Only tighten it until you can't see any more threads. Don't 'butt' the locking nut up against the main connector nut. The one thing I did do was line up the "flats" on the locking nut with the "flats" on the main connector nut. Took about 10 extra seconds, but looks a little more pro. That's it. Now you're ready to build some AN hoses! Enjoy! EDIT- Okay, after further testing (and knuckle-busting), I have come to a conclusion: GET THE AN-SPECIFIC TOOLS!!! I scratched up (slightly) a couple of the connectors, and with the price of these things....the right tools are definitely worth it. - I shopped around and found a GREAT deal on a full set of AN wrenches: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/2932,248_Aluminum-AN-Wrenches.html $50 for a set of 8. - For the connectors, I've seen a few different things, but I'm going to try out the 'connector vise' from JEGS: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/80548/10002/-1 $25. The other one that looked decent was from PermaCool (via JEGS): http://www.jegs.com/i/Perma-Cool/771/15199/10002/-1 $35. IMO, the the tools will pay for themselves after their first use. Here are some torque specs for connecting the fittings once you've built them: Code: SIZE......MAX TORQUE (ft.lbs) -03..........8.75 -04..........11.5 -06..........16.25 -08..........29 -10..........35 -12..........45 -16..........70 -20..........85 The other method, and this is all over the vintage hot rod forums, is: Finger/hand-tight, then add 1/4 turn. Not quite as scientific, but....it's working for those guys. REMEMBER: These are ALUMINUM fittings, so they can be damaged easily if you torque them too far. A little goes a LONG way. I've seen a few DIY articles online where the person uses thread sealant or teflon tape when assembling fittings to hoses. This not needed as the fittings are using a metal-to-metal seal (not a thread seal). Just add a drop of oil/lube on the threads during assembly and you're good to go. All content is ©2008 Kevan J. Geier ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Okay, after further testing (and knuckle-busting), I have come to a conclusion: GET THE AN-SPECIFIC TOOLS!!! I scratched up (slightly) a couple of the connectors, and with the price of these things....the right tools are definitely worth it. - I shopped around and found a GREAT deal on a full set of AN wrenches: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/2932,248_Aluminum-AN-Wrenches.html $50 for a set of 8. - For the connectors, I've seen a few different things, but I'm going to try out the 'connector vise' from JEGS: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/80548/10002/-1 $25. The other one that looked decent was from PermaCool (via JEGS): http://www.jegs.com/i/Perma-Cool/771/15199/10002/-1 $35. IMO, the the tools will pay for themselves after their first use. You're welcome! A bunch of black hose with black fittings on your badass 300C would be hot!
Great DIY Kevan, as usual. This works great for me as I will be replacing at least five hoses for my After Cooler. Was wondering how these actually work. haha And yes, these are pricey, but well WORTH the money in looks and functionality. I will be going stainless braid on most lines. Thanks buddy.
Kevan thats alot of work trust me I have cursed those SOB's for hours before giving up great work man
Thanks everyone! I'll add it to the original post as well, but here are some torque specs for connecting the fittings once you've built them: Code: SIZE......MAX TORQUE (ft.lbs) -03..........8.75 -04..........11.5 -06..........16.25 -08..........29 -10..........35 -12..........45 -16..........70 -20..........85 The other method, and this is all over the vintage hot rod forums, is: Finger/hand-tight, then add 1/4 turn. Not quite as scientific, but....it's working for those guys. REMEMBER: These are ALUMINUM fittings, so they can be damaged easily if you torque them too far. A little goes a LONG way. I've seen a few DIY articles online where the person uses thread sealant or teflon tape when assembling fittings to hoses. This not needed as the fittings are using a metal-to-metal seal (not a thread seal). Just add a drop of oil/lube on the threads during assembly and you're good to go. Ron- you're very welcome. Might I suggest that you look into nylon braided lines for the engine bay. Stainless sure is pretty, but it's also HEAVY, and REALLY retains heat. Just a suggestion. (Pssst....just took the truck out for it's first jaunt with the new oil lines, and oil temp is down about 5ºF!)
I will need to see how sturdy the nylon line is. As it is now, the CRAPPY design of my former S/C company used Heater Hose and all 5 lines I am replacing are either collapsed or kinked. The steel braid is sturdy for this need, and they all run under the motor bay. Thanks for the tip.
Awesome Kevan! Now if I could just figure out the right size... Ron, the Stainless braid doesn't really add anything to keep the lines from collapsing or kinking. It's all for abraision, anti-ballooning/swelling and bling (granted, braided lines are usually made with more substantial lines inside). The downside is that grit gets between the braid and the hose causing more wear than a non-braided line. Given the rest of your ride, I think the only way for you to go is custom bent, rigid tubing!
You're welcome. I'm selling some -12AN nylon braided line tomorrow....CHEAP (I cut it so they won't let me return it...heh heh). Check the Parts FS section tomorrow for the listing.
Kevan's right, the hose is not cheap! I went to Summit and was surprised by the prices of the line and connectors. A set of tools was about 69 bucks for AN wrenches.
This is awesome! Does anyone know (by the very off chance) what all is needed to upgrade all the lines on the Charger????
It'd be VERY easy to just take a measuring tape and dimension out all of the lines you want to do. Total it up. Divide by 12. Voila! There's your required hose footage. Do a 'map' on a piece of paper, and 'draw' out your fittings and hoses. This REALLY helps when it comes to ordering fittings. A/C lines are extremely difficult because of the fittings (and the pressure involved). I think Russell now has some A/C fittings...and black SS braided tubing for those high pressure lines. REMEMBER: A tad long is better than 1/64" short.
