AN soft and hard lines. Opinions?

[Stomis]

Im considering running aluminum hard lines for my feed and return on my diesel swap in the trooper. It will save me from having to have a flare to AN adapter if I use steel lines. However Im concerned with aluminum in an offroad situation. Do I need to worry about it catching dings easily? Obviously if something is going to crush a line its going to crush a line. Im more concerned with say a branch hitting a line and aluminum tearing really easy compared to steel that might have more strength.

Also are there any line options for power steering other than braided stainless? I know that power steering is in the range of 750psi and stainless seems to be the only thing I could find which is rated up to 1000psi.

 

[76zimmer]

Aluminum line should be ok, but excessive vibration and age can cause brittleness from what I hear....BUT consider that A/C lines are aluminum from the factory, it should hold up for a considerable amount of time. I know a bunch of race cars run it, but they aren't subjected to the riggers of offroading either.
Power steering does have specific teflon lined braided, but you could always have hydraulic hose made to fit your application....Parker store or NAPA can custom make lines to fit.

 

[blazinzuk]

yah biggest things with aluminum lines is making sure they are clamped good and wont' vibrate much.

 

[jt512]

Dave already mentioned it, power steering just go with hydraulic lines. I run all Parker hoses on my equipment rated at 4k psi (my stuff can see 32-3500psi) , when I did my hydro assist on the K30 I used all JIC fittings with 3k #6 hose, way overkill, but I do my own crimping/ hose making.

 

[Stomis]

Dave already mentioned it, power steering just go with hydraulic lines. I run all Parker hoses on my equipment rated at 4k psi (my stuff can see 32-3500psi) , when I did my hydro assist on the K30 I used all JIC fittings with 3k #6 hose, way overkill, but I do my own crimping/ hose making.

Yeah my buddy told me to use field service fittings with hydraulic lines. He said they set up in the hoses just like AN fittings and you can get them with AN on the other side.