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tube bending advice.

K

K5dreamer

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well, ive been banging my head against the wall trying to learn how to bend tubing without destroying it. Finally just made an ugly 90* elbow from the lift pump and ran soft line out to the frame rail, and up the firewall as far away from sharp edges and hot manifolds as i could so i can at least start the truck and move it if necessary. On the plus side the truck runs great, obviously i did have an issue with the old lift pump whatever that may have been (worn out spring, hole in the diaphram, etc. etc.)

In any case, i will still need to bend a hardline to replace the old one that broke. So..... someone asked me to post a pic of the worthless POS bender i was using that was destroying all my fuel tubes.

this link....
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00999090000P?keyword=tubing+bender

is almost exactly what i have. but i bought mine from advanceauto parts, and it has a red rubber grip on it instead of all metal (ouch).

Its worthless. or maybe im just using it wrong... i dunno, anyway, i had bought it on an impulse without doing any homework. learned my lesson, did a little homework, asked around on here, and just placed an order for a new bender from sears,

this link....
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950509000P?keyword=tubing+bender

which was a hair over 36 bucks shipped. if it works like its supposed to, it will be worth every penny. but its got 5 star customer reviews, and just looking at it seems like it would do the job wayyyyy better than what ive got now.


my only problem now is my brief attempts at using a flairing tool did not go well. the tube dosnt flair, it slides through the tool, no matter how tight i make it. which gouges up the sides of the tube, and dosnt create a flair. i may attempt to use some heat on the tip of the tube when i flair it to make it a bit easier.
 
V groove pulleys work EXCELLENT for bending fuel/brake lines. Just adjust the radius by the pulley diameter.
 
StevoandaRedK5 said:
awesome piece of advice scott...never would have thought of that:waytogo:
Click to expand...

I learned that trick YEARS ago. The V keeps the tubing from kinking. For a nice tight radius you use an alternator pulley and for a larger radius use a crank pulley, something in between use a water pump pulley.
 
I have one of those benders you linked at first from advance auto. Honestly man its a 13 psi tops fuel line if we're talking TBI. You could soft line it all with fuel injection style hose clamps if ya wanted.
 
I used the same tube bender as your first link. I found it good enough for the one or two things I'll do with it before saving money for bigger stuff. Just gotta have 3 hands to use it easily lol
 
I use a coat hanger to make my bends first then use boards and nails to duplicate it. I also use pulleys just not automotive ones they are smaller don't know where I got em they work great
 
The bender you just ordered is the same one I have. I think you'll be very pleased with it.
 
stomis - its a 6.2L and not a TBI, and is the fuel line from the lift pump to the fuel filter, so its the low pressure side of the fuel system, but i did some looking and it seems kinda shady the way i have it routed right now. Trying to keep the rubber hose away from sharp edges and hot things seems like a bit of a disaster waiting to happen. so, ill be redoing the hard line for sure. But, ive decided to do it two peice. one going from the lift pump up the front of the block, and the other going under the manifold to the filter hookup. Not to mention, i really should learn to do this stuff anyway, need to add it to my files of automotive knowledge. Besides, the bender i ordered should also work with AC lines, Tranny lines, Fuel lines, etc. etc. So I can use it for all kinds of custom projects i may wind up working on.

Mountain Man - some call me tripod, but i think that counts as three legs, not three hands ;) and i do most of my work alone, not many of my friends are handy with a wrench.

blazinuk - used the coathanger trick myself to mock up some stuff, but the nails and boards dont work for me cuz the bends are in multiple axis of direction. so i cant lay it flat to bend it.

Prong - nice to know i got it right this time :)
 
Ahhh 6.2 got ya. Didnt even think to check/ask.

Yeah fuel line sucks. With a dinky hand bender anything over 75* is gonna start to close out. I know because my return for my tbi is a 90* and it started to flatten a bit but I've had no problems. Like I said low PSI but the heat I could see being an issue. How about stainless braided line?
 
As far as flaring goes it sounds like you aren't using the right size hole on your flare tool or you have a POS flare tool. Stick the line in the hole until it sticks up just a little above the surface of the tool. Slide the other piece over that and place a dab of oil on the end of the cone and tighten down until it clicks or gets seated (depends on the type of tool).
 
GsxrMike said:
As far as flaring goes it sounds like you aren't using the right size hole on your flare tool or you have a POS flare tool. Stick the line in the hole until it sticks up just a little above the surface of the tool. Slide the other piece over that and place a dab of oil on the end of the cone and tighten down until it clicks or gets seated (depends on the type of tool).
Click to expand...

i think we have a winner ;) ill be investing in a better one once i get the bending sorted out.
 
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