Whats the scoop on the latest inexpensive AN fittings im finding on ebay? I can spend $20 for 1 fitting or $20 for 4 fittings. Any harm in using the cheaper fittings?

Some fittings are undersized internally, which restricts flow; some are dimensionally inaccurate, which allows leakage.
Seems to follow price-point, in that I've had some problems with Russell fittings and no problems with Earl's. Speedway's fittings have been pretty good, though I've had mixed results with their tube-to-AN compression stuff.

When it comes to flammable liquids or lubricant supply...that stuff's pretty important, and leaks or failure can be catastrophic.

I've bought stuff off of E bay, from Energy something, don't remember. Anodizing looked super great, but for some reason, all the surfaces were different sizes from what you would normally use. All metric. I found some purple fittings on AliExpress out of China, took 2 months to get my 90's, never got my straight fittings. Can't find anyone that made purple fittings. Will be going back to red/blue or black USA made stuff.

Ok. Looking at XRP and Boostec. Those any good? Using these for my oil cooler set up.

I like and use a lot of XRP

I'm really poor, but a.n. fitting is something I have yet to try and save money on. Use a good AMERICAN made fitting and you will see the difference I promise you. Its your money spend it as you wish, but I'll always use good fittings. Period.

AN, and inexpensive doesn't go together. That is aviation stuff which isn't inexpensive. If it's really cheap, then it probably came from china. The best prices on REAL AN fittings is at Aircraft Spruce, and Specialty

I always made sure the fittings I used were Hard Anodized. The cheaper fittings are not.

No way I would use china made fittings even on my lawn mower...

And the obvious question: why do you need them, as opposed to high temperature, 3,000 psi hydraulic hose for 20% of the cost?

And the answer is... SHINY!!!

I have used the JEGS brand fittings with no problems.
The Russel fittings are OK, but the ProClasic hose is pretty stiff to get into the fittings. Been told to warm the hose to make it easier to install. Been using the expensive Aeroquip StartLight hose. Pretty easy to assemble.

XRP is top shelf. I've used Aeroquip for years. Everyone has it and being able to get stuff quick matters. Earl's is also fine and they have some odd stuff that no one else has. Never heard of some of this stuff. I don't mix and match manufacturers for hose and ends, and I pay attention to IDs. And of course, the cheap, no name, eBay, off shore trash doesn't come in my door. Seen too much stupid stuff and failures. Not interested in burning a car to the ground over $10. There's a reason it's a quarter of the price.

Well, the brass i can get local is shiney too, but i want some color.

I can get XRP for a reasonable price.
.

I only use Aeroquip for hoses and hose ends but I'll use the Summit brand for adapters and bulkhead fittings.

I used Aeroquip for my fuel lines. I like to save a buck too but I also don't want to cheap out and have my car burn to the ground because of a cheap Chinese fitting made by Uncle Ho and his parts shop. I suppose you will want a Chinese fire extinguisher too?

I have been real happy with Fragola, if I need something quick the local speedshop has some fragile but mostly aeroquip, I have mixed and matched with no trouble.

Buy Earls or any AMERICAN made fittings and enjoy the good stuff instead of the imported crap...............

It just feels better to put good USA stuff on the car than some cheap junk made by someone who hates you, and wants to cheat you and defeat you.

There is a lot of truth in the video.

Hey Dom, do you use any Pro-Form stuff?

BTW, I use Earls fittings and line.

Just curious to the quality of this stuff. Didnt know if it just a name your paying for like some stuff. I wouldnt want to pop a oil hose fitting going down track. That could get ugly.

XRP is hard to justify the price for myself. A couple shops carry red horse brand fittings locally and I have had great luck with them for the price point.

Having worked with hydraulic hose.... obviously weight is not a priority with you.

I have used a number of AN fittings over the years on different cars for fuel, oil and water. Aeroquip, Russel, Earls , Jegs , Summit and even E-Bay cheapy ones. Never has a problem with any of them except the red / blue fading on Summit or Jegs fittings, can't remember. The hose is where I found problems, The cheaper braided hose from the popular catalogs when cutting just flair apart. Never had a problem in the past , just in the last year. And I know how to cut and install the fittings. So in my future ,I will spend the money on good brand hose.

One of the best vids ever..............lol

The xrp swivel hose fittings are 12.50 and the Boostec fittings are 8.50. Both look like good quality fittings.

I mixed and matched an stuff. I don't like The cheap fittings. They seem softer and lighter. I've been using black fragola fittings, price is decent and they seem like decent quality.

Isn't this what Trump is trying to get the American people to realize?

Earl's and Russel fittings here.

Digger73 (Mike)

Saving weight at $100 per pound?
Pass.

Next time you pass a construction site, see what they use on $.4 million earth movers.

Hydraulic and AN are two different design standards and not interchangeable. Most if not all AN made for for race cars does not meet the Military or aerospace standards.

I like the Jegs house brand when possible.

I'm having issues now trying to use Summit AN fitting on other brand AN S.S. hose
I may have Fragola #4 AN neopreme hose instead of the Summit brand SS covered #4 hose
I order a 3Ft. piece of the Summit brand #4 AN hose and some #4 Fragola hose ends, the #4 AN hose I have now is 10 ft long coil so I don't want to not use it
I hate the bleeding when you have to fight this hose

Having the same flair out problem after the cut? I finally took a small hose clamp after the normal taping , slipped the clamp to the cut line, snug it up and cut right next to the clamp. After the cut loosen the clamp just enough to move it back to start the fitting , pushing the clamp back as the fitting goes on. I do leave the tape on also. I found as stated above it's the cheap hose , not the fitting.

Here's a couple more, Speedway and PRE. These any good? Gonna get some thing ordered tonight.

Aeroquip it is. found a good buy on 4 for $8ea. 8AN straight swivel black. Thanks for your help guys.

Hate to admit it, but that's the truth. Hydro stuff is way tougher, easier to get, way cheaper, and ugly as a cobb. The weight isn't a deal for anyone but a class racer

Cab,

I have this kit and it is AWESOME! no more bleeding for the braided lines. Koul Tools AN Hose Assembly Tools 416 Summit has this kit for $150.
I can install ends in seconds with this. Well worth the money if you make lots of lines.

Digger73 (Mike)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Business/donald-trump-sells-chinese-goods-accusing-china-stealing/story%3Fid%3D31826791?source=images

Just to balance. 😉

One of the worst things about cheap fittings is the oring used in swivels. Must be made out of used chewing gum. When they dry out even a little they make a shower head leak. Solid fittings I'm not so scared of, or non swivel stuff.

Another trouble is "made in America" mostly means put in the box here, or a sticker put on it, or something like that. Made entirely of american components, and manufactured completely in th usa is a tough thing to find indeed.

That's a good idea! - I have used the zip ties and cur between two of them - but i like the clamp idea better - lately I have been using the black braided line - much easier to put together!

Thats what i just ordered. Black braided nylon outer layer. Have it all over the car.

Sure i could have went right down the road to exotic hoses and fittings to buy what i needed in brass fittings, but its not how i roll. Also didn't want the push on hose with ugly hose clamps some guys use either. Just not how i do it.

There are some differences between AN,SAE,and JIC hose fittings.
I used to do a lot of work on boom trucks and heavy equipment so I've used just about every type of hose and hose end there is.

SAE and JIC 37* flare are identical, there is no such thing as a JIC 45* flare, however, there is such a thing as a SAE 45* flare. The SAE 45* is used in low pressure applications such as plumbing and LGP or NPG installation.

Both JIC and -AN fittings are 37* flare seat angles. -AN is often incorrectly assumed to be the aluminum version of a JIC fitting, but in all actuality, -AN can be made from as many or more alloys than the garden variety JIC. Technically the fittings should not be interchanged, however, the only difference between -AN and JIC is the thread class. -AN is a military/aerospace spec fitting, with a tighter thread class (but still the same size and pitch as JIC) and is mostly intended for space shuttles and air planes. JIC was standardized to be a less costly High Pressure fitting that has no requirements of keeping a space shuttle in the atmosphere.

The fact of the matter is, that you would be extremely unlikely to find a actual -AN fitting for sale in any motorsport's catalog, or online web store. Most of the stuff marketed as AN whatever thingamajigger is actually just an anodized aluminum JIC fitting. Any true -AN fitting will be listed in it's catalog as conforming to mil spec MIL-F-5509.
Gus

I think most of us would be surprised as to which fittings are made in China nowadays. As Darren alluded to, some that may be packaged as being made in the USA etc, may only be anodised and packaged in that country. If the cost of those operations exceed the cost they're sourced for, they can have made in USA on the packaging. Despite being machined in China. Happens quite a lot with things like carbon bicycle frames etc

ok. thanks for the info.

Alot of trickery with the chinese stuff these days. Lets just hope things change for the better soon.

It's interesting that everyone is blasting Chinese made products. If you do the research you probably would find that most major brands are made in China. I did a quick search on Aeroquip. Major brand highly thought of as a great product. Aeroquip is a sub company of Eton a big conglomerate of different companies. Aeroquip states in their bio that all their [ hose ] is made in the USA and all of their [ fitting ] are shipped from their distribution center in OHIO . Now why would they say that???? I don't have the time right now , you guy's do some digging and see what brands are MADE IN THE USA

I bet not much. Seems like someone said MSD products are made in china as well. Havent researched it yet.

I used all summit brand fittings and hose on my Challenger. Not proud of it, but was on a tight budget and figured I'd probably be changing the setup a lot in the not so distant future so I didn't want to break the bank. 2 years later, no leaks (on 50psi EFI setup) no sign of deterioration of hoses even using their cheapest nylon braided while running e85 for a year. I hate to cheap out on something as critical as the fuel system but it does work and no indication that anything will fail prematurely.

I did have one of the smaller 6an swivels lose its swiveling ability after taking it off/putting it back on a few times. It made it a PITA to tighten and had to lube it up with a lot of motor oil to get the nut to spin freely. Didn't leak, and may have just been user error from me over tightening it.

I've had some cheap ebay fittings on cars for several years w/ no trouble from any of them.

Some people don't care, but I get tired of playing "hide the bologna" with these companies. The "assembled in" and "made in" game. Or they make it impossible to find that information (if made in China is OK with you, man up and say it's made there, bucko). A lot of the small, hard parts sold by most of these companies, like AN/NPT adapters, AN unions, etc. are made overseas and you just have to watch. The hose ends and hose are my main concern. "Where is this stuff made?" is one of the main questions I ask people at PRI every year. Most will be honest about it.

That said, I think that a company like Aeroquip will have stringent oversight and specifications for their stuff and/or their own facility for stuff made overseas. Not so much for the guy buying no-name, private label stuff from Phakin Junq Industries that he sources on Madeinchina.com.

My advice is pick one well known company - Aeroquip, Earls, XRP are about all I will let in the door - for your hose and hose ends to avoid compatibility issues. Stay away from the private label stuff for any of the rest of it unless you know where it comes from. Big Bubba's Race Car Parts on eBay is not making his own parts or selling decent -10 hose ends for $4. It's just not worth wrecking or burn a car up to use junk. There's different levels of "trouble", from pee poor threads galling when you put it together, up to losing the car because a hose end fractured. I have seen and heard enough to know it's happened more than once or twice.

Now I didn't say that Aeroquip AN fittings were made in china or overseas, I just referenced their "Quote" that their [ Hoses ] were made in the USA and their [ fittings ] were shipped from their warehouse in Ohio. That just struck me funny that they put that in the same sentence leading me to believe the fittings were not USA made.

All black Fragola fittings & hose with a few Earl's, XRP & Aeroquip mixed in on my Challenger. To me, the Earl's seem to be the cheaper made of the brand names with Fragola & XRP being the better made.

Good thing is I have hundreds of mixed fittings in black, blue, red, clear, brass & stainless at home & in the trailer so I never have to run to the performance shop to buy any. In fact, most everyone stops by my house for fittings before going to the performance stores. LOL.

Yep just googled it. MSD says some of there 6 boxes and the blaster 2 coils are made off shore, but we all know where off shore. I wouldnt say china niether if i had a company like that. I believe there caps and rotors come from china as well.

I remember a thread on a few years back about crankshafts being made in china and machine work done here in us. Thats not american made in my book.

That is what I refer to as playing hide the bologna. It may be USA, China, Taiwan, Mexico, Canada, the Moon. The CoO is usually listed on the packaging. Their company information allows them to have stuff made wherever they desire without being committed to any of them.

Made in the USA doesn't always mean what you think. You do know that there is a city in China that they renamed USA just for that reason.

Remember when "Made in Japan" was a derogatory term? It isn't any more...

Japan also made a city in 1967 - USA

At my prior employer when we did the turbo challenger the engineer in charge of it was adamant on using Jegs house brand stuff in black so that's what we did. He disliked the appearance of red/blue. I was against it at first but it wasn't my decision, and after working with it a little bit, it seemed pretty decent. If I wanted cheaper stuff that's probably where I'd look. All I have used on my own garbage is Aeroquip products.

LOL. Didnt know that.

I remember it well. Called it Japanese junk.

I have been buying Fragola fittings for my latest fuel system plumbing project and I was impressed at the fit and no leaks.
I saved some money on the fittings but they fit and worked as well as the Aeroquip fittings I have at the rear of the car.

Gus

I have earls and russel on my car. Been on there for a long time and no leaks yet.

For the past 4 years I have been buying all my hose and fittings from a place called "Getfast1"
Excellent pricing and no issues, the last batch of fitting were Fragola.

They currently have fittings listed on Ebay.

on my car 95% of the fittings and braided hose including pre made stainless brake lines is Jegs house brand, been using their stuff foe years and will keep on using their stuff.

Having some first hand experience in the hyd hose and fitting world in both the industrial and aerospace markets I would say that there is not much difference between the cheap fittings and the high dollar Aeroquip types. Except for true AN or MS spec'd fittings. Nothing industrial is ever qualified for use in the air.
There is a good read on Air-Way's website providing a brief history of the AN to JIC fitting.
https://www.air-way.com/news/whats-the-d...-air-way-fit-in

Most of the companies in the states are using mfg sources with screw machines set up to pump out straight fittings (hose ends and adapters). Forged shapes come from companies such as Brennan Industries and are then machined at centers to be finished off. Hex bar stock (cold rolled or aluminum) can come from anywhere and fed into the screw machines in the states to be "Made in USA". The brand/mfg stamp is struck on the bar stock before machining. A single screw machine could pump out several mfg's parts just by changing the feed.

Take a look at the Earls site and even Fragola and look at the carbon forged shape pics. There is a BI stamped on the body. That is Brennan Industries. Based on the info on Fragola's site they run their own screw machines and possible cnc centers (for forged shape machining).

Companies such as Parker and Aeroquip have or had production plants in Cleveland, Maumee, and Van Wert OH and pumped out fittings for OEM, Aerospace, and Industrials. That may have changed since I left the hose mkt, but that was back in the early 2000's.

And for pricing on AN fittings...the supply chain group I was a part of supplied true AN/MS fittings to the Gov't and even Stratoflex for fractions of what they are going for on some of the aircraft supply sites.

And one hex past finger tight is all it should take to seal up a 37deg union.

There are many things, some very common and simple, easily available to the public and cheap, that once they are certified for and allowed in aircraft facilities, take on new names, part numbers and costs.

Likewise, there are few things that have not been copied appearance wise and dumbed way down quality wise in the far east for an American market that wants their fancy stuff without paying the price.

I want to revisit this because I recently had a little experience with Summit house brand fittings vs Fragola on some #12 line I was putting together, and can give somewhat of a review.

The Summit house brand fittings went together easier than any I have ever seen. They have...I won't call it threaded, but more of a spiral in the area the hose is put into that allows you to very easily twist the hose in place.

Like Aeroquip, Fragola does not have this spiral inside, and the hose has to be very forcibly pushed into place before the end is assembled/it fits very tightly.

During assembly, the Fragola puts up much more of a fight and noticeably crushes the hose similar to the Aeroquip products I have used in the past. The Summit brand does not noticeably crush the hose very much at all, and it goes together very easily. Summit brand does pass a pull test.

In the end, I believed the Fragola to be slightly more trustworthy due to the manner it crushed the hose...and ended up returning the Summit house brand.

The "spiral" inside the summit brand hose ends did seem like a good idea, and did speed up assembly a little. The anodizing was just as good.

I don't make 800 hoses a day or anything, if you do then you'd probably find my post ridiculous...if you're like me and only do a few here and there, maybe this post will help a little........

I have used primarily (90%) Jegs housebrand and they are like the summit brand with the threading, very easy to assemble and not one failure.

All of the good stuff I've used requires some force or effort to get it together. I've never used any of the cheap stuff, but I would be wary of "easy". Long ago when I started paying attention to the ID of the hardware vs. the hose itself, was when I really started to pay attention to what I was getting.

I love tim!

Racing cost money Son, How fast do you want to go?

The painfull lesson of using cheap parts will catch up to everybody.

AN stand for Army/Navy so you know that was not built to be cheep.

I cheaped out and tried JEGS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,once!

I use mainly for fragola and XRP but use many Earl's and Aeroquip also. I literally have 1000's still laeft over after plumbing probaly over 35 of mine & my buddies cars over the years. These don't include any of the black hose & fittings that I now use for my car only.

We tend to use Phenix Industries fittings. I've never had a problem with any of their fittings on multiple builds, I get dealer pricing, and the entire inventory is right down the street from my parent's house. Convenience is the key in my case, but they offer a pretty decent piece at a very fair price.

Phenix Industries

The problem I have with Jeg's fittings is the price is often the same as Aeroquip.

Fragola & Earls only for me.

We have lots of Fragola and some Summit house brand on the Daytona. Both seem to be quality and made in the USA.

I've had excellent luck with Earls UltraPro line. I think it's their top shelf stuff, also most expensive. PTFE lined.

Fragola started as a private label maker and probably make stuff for Summit and others.

I use Earl's and Aeroquip and a Russel here and there if I cant find what I need in the other two.

I have quite a few old blue fittings from my swap to black on ebay....

I use Parker fittings for my braided teflon hoses, otherwise it is Aeroquip only. But I am using this on airplanes...
here is the best AN hardware book in the INDUSTRY..
https://www.askbob.aero/sites/default/files/Genuine_Aircraft_Hardware_Catalog.pdf

most people dont know that AN does not mean Air Force/Navy, it actually stood for Air Corps/Navy because the specs came out before there was an Air Force. Tim

I bought 80% of my fitting for my Road Runner though them. It all looks nice... Haven't installed any yet.

Well thanks for that. I had one when I was in an aircraft facility and it got misplaced. Never remembered where it came from or how to get another. Just ordered a new one.

Does the FAA still require every part used on aircraft be certified with them?